Fears over NSW social housing sell-off

Nearly $2.7bn worth of social housing in NSW has been sold off over the past nine financial years without any substantial change in the state’s waiting list for accommodation.

NSW Labor Leader Jodi McKay . Picture: Gaye Gerard

Nearly $2.7bn worth of social housing in NSW has been sold off over the past nine financial years without any substantial change in the state’s waiting list for government-subsidised accommodation.

New figures obtained by The Australian reveal the state government sold as many as 3954 properties from 2011 to 2020.

The sell-offs come amid concerns the NSW government has failed to make a dent in the social housing waiting list or to ­allocate additional grants in its most recent budget while selling its highest-valued assets.

While the government says it has increased the budget for social housing by more than 80 per cent this financial year, observers say it has failed to find a solution to the state’s “unsustainable” social housing model.

About 50,000 households are on the waiting list for social housing in NSW, but the number of ­eligible households is far greater at about 140,000, according to Chris Martin from the University of NSW’s City Futures Research Centre. Many were discouraged from long waiting lists, while others weren’t a priority, he said.

“Quite a large number of ­people would have fallen off the list,” Dr Martin said.

“If they’ve nominated that they want to live in the inner ring of Sydney and they don’t have some sort of factor that makes them a priority case, they could easily be waiting 10 years more.”

From 2014 to 2017, the NSW government sold one of its ­highest-valued assets in Sydney’s Millers Point, which included the sale of 340 public housing dwellings. These sales were reflected in figures seen by The Australian that confirmed income generated from the sale of social housing almost doubled in that period, generating $513.6m in the 2017-18 financial year alone.

Dr Martin said while money generated from the Millers Point sale had been reinvested in social housing, the government had yet to make headway into its long waiting lists. “This strategy of cannibalising the social housing stock — that’s not a sustainable strategy,” he said.

“It hasn’t enabled the government to add stock to the system in such a number that it meets need.

“Rents from tenants is the largest source of funds for the social housing system but doesn’t cover the cost of running the system.”

Dr Martin said NSW was not alone in facing social housing problems.

“Recently, Victoria has committed to making a big investment in new social housing. On the other hand, it has done so on the back of years of doing less than any other state,” he said.

NSW Property and Housing Minister Melinda Pavey challenged the notion that NSW’s ­social housing model was unsustainable, saying other states had delivered far less. “Unlike other states, NSW isn’t playing catch-up with delivering social housing,” Ms Pavey said.

“The NSW government for years has put in place a policy framework to not only deliver new and better social housing but in a more most cost-effective way.

“We are increasing the number of new dwellings by over 150 per cent by June this year.”

NSW Opposition Leader Jodi McKay has slammed the government’s handling of social housing, calling the selling off of assets to generate income when there were huge waiting lists “criminal”.