Waiting list for social housing in NSW explodes by 15 per cent in one year

Herbriella George is a single mother of seven who’s been on the social housing waitlist since 2012. She’s just one of nearly 58,000 trapped in a cost of living crisis.

The number of people waiting for affordable housing in NSW has exploded as the cost of living crisis grips the state.

Figures obtained by The Daily Telegraph reveal the waiting list for social housing blew out by a whopping 15 per cent in 2022 from just over 50,000 to 57,750, believed to be largely driven by single parents and low-paid workers.

There is also a more than 10-year wait in a number of Sydney areas, including St George, Fairfield, Liverpool and the inner west as well as regional areas including Gosford, Wyong, Port Macquarie and Tweed Heads.

It is typically everyday families — those not deemed to be at acute risk of homelessness — who are being pressured onto the list and waiting the longest.

Social or affordable housing includes both traditional government-owned public housing but increasingly also subsidised community housing that is integrated into private house and unit developments.

Herbriella George with her 11-month-old son Mautara Ngauma and daughter Armani George, 3, at her rental home in Hurstville. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Housing groups will today launch a campaign at Sydney Town Hall ahead of the March 25 election demanding both parties commit to fixing a system they say is in crisis.

The Community Housing Industry Association — the peak body for non-government housing providers — said whoever wins government needs to slash bureaucratic red tape preventing people from getting into social housing and drastically increase supply.

“Too many people are struggling just to keep a roof over their heads. The fact that more than 57,000 households and individuals are waiting for social housing shows just how dire this situation is,” CHIA NSW CEO Mark Degotardi told the Telegraph.

“Interest rates and rental prices are soaring, while vacancy rates are plummeting. These figures should be a wakeup call to every politician in this state – you cannot continue to sit idly by while tens of thousands of everyday families and individuals struggle for the basic necessity of housing.”

Herbriella George is a single mother of seven children. Picture: Jonathan Ng

A recent report found applicants needed to answer 31 questions and provide up to eighteen supporting documents just to get on the waiting list. Even the form explaining the types of evidence required for applicants to even begin the process is eleven pages long.

The government has so far committed only to “rejuvenate” 15,800 social homes through a capital maintenance program, deliver 120 new homes and extend the life of existing properties.

Labor leader Chris Minns last month announced he would merge three state government housing bodies — the Land and Housing Corporation, Aboriginal Housing Office and Department of Communities and Justice Housing — into a single entity called Homes NSW, which he said would remove unnecessary red tape.

The housing crisis is worsening. Picture: Jonathan Ng

The Albanese government has announced plans for an additional 30,000 social housing homes nationwide — which housing groups have welcomed — yet this would barely cover half the need in NSW alone.

And a growing number of people are not even eligible for social housing because even amid rampant inflation of up to eight per cent the income limit in 2022 was just $690, which is below minimum wage for a single person on a standard working week.

Herbriella George is a single mother of seven who has been on the social housing waitlist since 2012, often being struck off and having to reapply as her income circumstances changed.

She currently lives in private rental accommodation in Hurstville — in Chris Minns’ own electorate of Kogarah — which she says is beset by mould which has caused respiratory problems in her baby.

Ms George says officers from the Department of Communities and Justice saw her house, said it was not fit to live in and wrote her a letter of support for priority housing — which would have fast-tracked her application — but she was still knocked back.

“It’s just ridiculous the waiting time, especially with the conditions I’m living in,” she told the Telegraph.

“It just seems like it’s not a concern for the government to be looking at the conditions I’m living in and the health of my children.”

She wants the government to help more families to get into social housing — including cutting the red tape and lengthy process it takes to apply for housing.