Planning Minister says every NSW council will have increased housing targets

NSW council’s have been warned to play their part to solve the state’s housing mess, with the planning minister vowing to “go to war” with councils that fail to meet targets. Find out the new housing targets.

NIMBY local councils will be told exactly how many extra new homes they have to build to meet a new target of 314,000 more homes across the state in the next five years.

Property developers are urging Planning Minister Paul Scully to enforce those new targets by seizing control of the planning process for any development a council tries to block.

The battle to solve the state’s crippling housing crisis comes as new figures show that NSW has almost 30,000 homes on the market for Airbnb style short-term holiday lets that are not on the rental market.

Mr Scully has already streamlined the planning system to cut red tape and remove a lot of the power of the Greater Cities Commission to speed up the approval process.

He said a review was already under way to identify suitable areas such as around Metro stations where new homes could be built. Councils are about to be given their new housing targets.

NSW planning Minister Paul Scully at his office, in Martin Place, Sydney, who will give NSW Councils new housing targets. Picture: Justin Lloyd

“We will now start the process of reviewing and updating housing targets in all councils across Sydney,” Mr Scully said.

Mr Scully has vowed to go to war on any NIMBY (not in my back yard) council that fails to take on its fair share of higher density new housing to meet the Federal Government’s target for NSW of 315,000 new homes over the next five years.

Only eight out of 33 Local Government Areas are set to reach their housing targets by 2025/26. But even then those targets set by the Greater Cities Commission are for just 180,000 new homes and fall far short of what is needed now under the National Housing Accord.

New housing being built in Oran Park. Picture: Jonathan Ng

And some councils are taking on a far bigger burden than others with, for example, Parramatta taking 127,000 more people over the next 20 years compared to just 425 in Mosman.

Mr Scully said: “There is a shared responsibility to deal with the housing situation we’ve got so that means every community is going to have to do their share.”

He has introduced a new Housing and Productivity Contribution for developers to pay towards infrastructure on greenfield projects that will ensure homes are not built without proper facilities such as new roads and schools.

Ben Sidey and Rob Mills, from the UK, live at the Nomads Backpackers Hostel and cannot find a flat to rent. Picture: Tim Hunter

“It is expected to provide up to $700m each year,” Mr Scully said. “Over 10 years $1 billion of that will go back to councils. This means if you’ve got growth, you get infrastructure.”

Property Council of Australia chief executive Mike Zorbas said the new housing targets meant Mr Scully needs to get tough on councils that refuse to increase density and seize their planning powers.

“Councils that are working against the state target have to have that decision making process elevated out of their hands to a higher authority,” he said.

He said NSW had the worst record for building new homes in Australia. “Housing deficits are coming home to roost across the country, however NSW wins the national wooden spoon for housing supply.

“With many new households being formed since the pandemic and 400,000 welcome skilled migrants and students coming to the country this year we simply need more housing, better and faster,” Mr Zorbas said.

Ben Sidey and Rob Mills moved to Australia from the UK just over six months ago and have been forced to live at Nomads Hostel in Sydney because they cannot find an apartment.

Ben Sidey, from the UK, who live at the Nomads Backpackers Hostel because he cannot find a flat to rent. Picture: Tim Hunter. Picture: Tim Hunter

“It is absolutely impossible to find a flat,“ hostel receptionist Mr Sidey, 22, said. ”It‘s been a nightmare. Some of the agents didn’t turn up or we didn’t hear from them.”

The shortage of supply is exacerbated by the number of houses pulled off the rental market for holiday lets. Short term rentals registered with the Department of Planning show there were almost 44,000 Airbnb-style rentals across the state in May, almost 30,000 of which are whole homes not on the rental market.

Reverend Bill Crews whose foundation supports families unable to find accommodation said the number of short term rentals in high density residential areas was too many.

“It’s a massive failure of successive governments,” he said. “How did they not see this problem was coming?”

Mr Crews said in 50 years working in the crisis accommodation space, he had not seen things so bad.

“A whole lot of people miss out not because they’ve done something wrong, there’s just nothing around,” he said.

More than one third of the empty homes are in Greater Sydney with more than 10,000 homes unoccupied for most of the year.

And a spokesman for the NSW Department of Planning said the number of unoccupied homes was probably even higher than the figures showed.

“In many areas, particularly in regional and coastal locations, the rate of unoccupied homes is generally much higher than the number of active STRA registrations, suggesting these areas have a greater proportion of holiday homes or second homes held only for private use,” he said.

FORCED OUT OF OUR OWN TOWN

Renters Eliza Putnis and Damyn Santi-Hunt will likely be forced out of Sydney and move to the Centtral Coast because of increased rents in the city. Picture: Tim Hunter

Renters Eliza Putnis and Damyn Santi – Hunt said as price hikes loom and it becomes impossible to rent in Sydney, they are forced to look at moving to the Central Coast.

“We are going to have to move out of the suburb, probably Sydney and do long commutes,” Ms Putnis said.

“I’ve got a law degree and I’m studying social science and my dream is to work in government policy but all the opportunities are in Sydney, so I definitely feel I am taking a step back.”

The University students and retail workers first secured their Erskineville rental “quite easy” in 2021 at a rate of $700 a week. Now it’s

$850 per week, with the couple expecting the figure to rise above $1000 in January.

“We feel like we are being bought out of Sydney and we’ve done all the right things,” Ms Putnis said.

The last time the couple’s rent was increased by their landlord, Mr Sani – Hunt had to defer his full-time university study to afford the rent.

“We felt like we didn’t have the power to negotiate a cheaper price because you can be evicted on no grounds and there will always be someone else willing to pay,” he said.

“The system is letting us down.”

The couple expected the new state government would create a “more hopeful” future for tenants.

“The original Australian dream was to own a home and that was a legitimate aspiration. Now your aspiration is to have a roof over your head,” Mr Santi – Hunt said.

“There’s a big question mark when we think about the future.”