Homelesness bosses say new boarding houses are failing to fix the housing problem

Modern boarding houses touted as a solution to the housing affordability crisis on the peninsula are failing to fix the problem.

Modern boarding houses touted as a solution to the housing affordability crisis on the peninsula are failing to fix the problem.

Homelessness NSW said the people who need low-cost accommodation are being priced out of the developments, which are planned for Cromer, Balgowlah and Frenchs Forest.

Residents have protested against the plans, saying they’re the wrong area for the developments and fear they could devalue their houses, cause parking and traffic chaos, and put their children in danger if people with social issues move in – something homlessness bosses say will not happen.

Homelessness NSW said the people who need low-cost accommodation are being priced out of the developments, including one which is planned for this site in Cromer.

Affordable accommodation is defined as costing less than 30 per cent of the average household income, a figure of $433 a week in Sydney.

But Homelessness NSW chief executive Katherine McKernan, said those who need them will be priced out.

“New generation boarding houses provide additional housing at the lower to medium end of the market for people with regular and steady income.

“However, due to the current cost of private rental market housing, they are setting their prices to meet the market,” she said.

Warringah mayor Michael Regan added his voice to the chorus of opposition to plans for the Cromer site, with the number of submissions against it topping 800.

135 Griffiths St, Balgowlah, an artists impression of an approved boarding house.

Mayor Regan is writing to Warringah Development Assessment Panel to share the council’s “strong objections and concerns” over the eight-room boarding house on Grover Avenue.

However, councils are restricted in what they can do.

The new planning rules make boarding houses acceptable in a wide range of zones, including low density residential areas, and applications can override the Councils Local Environment Plan (LEP) and Development Control Plan (DCP).

Regan said the rules – which offer incentives for developers to build the accommodation – “hideous”.

He called for the State Government to talk to councils and communities to identify suitable areas.

Residents are opposing a boarding house in Frenchs Forest over traffic and parking fears. Picture: Braden Fastier.

“This particular development falls very much outside the intention of the State Government’s legistlation and it does not address Warringah’s need to create affordable accommodation in the community,” he said.

The housing is more like studio apartments than traditional boarding houses, each having their own bathrooms and kitchens.

One in Brookvale is billed as “corporate studios” and costs from $500 a week.

A spokesman for the NSW Department of Planning and Environment, said exemptions for developers depend on how much they charge, and said they “typically still offer an affordable local housing opportunity compared to comparable rents of larger apartments.”