THE City of Greater Bendigo will seek to grow social housing to almost 10 per cent of total dwellings by 2036, if a proposed plan is adopted.
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A draft affordable housing action plan identifies the unmet need, with almost as many people waiting for social housing as there were properties in 2019.
"To meet the current wait list demand, the social housing supply would need to double," the document, released this week, states.
A city in need of housing help
BENDIGO will need more than 4000 new social housing properties within 16 years to meet demand, a proposed strategy suggests.
The draft affordable housing action plan addresses a "growing affordable housing problem" in the local government area.
The City of Greater Bendigo has outlined opportunities for leadership and advocacy as it seeks to boost social housing, in particular.
Story continues below draft plan
It also identifies opportunities to partner to achieve its aims, which include growing social housing to 9.5 per cent of total dwellings by 2036.
There were 2386 social housing properties in the Bendigo region in 2019, and 2183 people on the waiting list.
With an estimated 318 people experiencing homelessness, the city identified an unmet acute social housing need of 2501.
The region's acute social housing need was likely to rise to 6530 by 2036, based on the city's projections.
If the action plan is adopted, the city will seek to better understand affordable housing issues.
It will also seek to improve council processes and timeframes that affect affordable housing, and increase the supply and improve the quality of affordable housing.
City staff have drafted 28 actions to work towards those objectives. The proposed plan suggests they be implemented within four years of the document's adoption.
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Almost 25,000 households in the local government area had low to very low incomes at the time of the 2016 census.
More than a quarter of all households were vulnerable to a housing crisis or eviction due to rental or mortgage stress, according to the draft plan.
It identified a "substantial" increase in the low income range from 2011 to 2016, of 3177 extra households.
Outlining the scale of the city's housing problem, the document says: "An insufficient and inappropriate housing supply is causing a growing number of households to be priced out of the housing market."
"This results in individuals and families living in housing that they cannot afford, or waiting and hoping to secure social housing, or becoming homeless."
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It highlights social housing's importance in supporting some of the community's most vulnerable residents.
"Despite its importance, over time the supply of social housing has decreased," the draft plan says.
"Capital investment by government has decreased from building an annual average of 8000 to 14,000 dwellings to now just 3000."
It says the focus shifted to individual subsidies like first home owner grants and rent assistance.
The draft plan acknowledges "a considerable shift in the state government's housing policy, with a growing momentum and priority placed on how to increase affordable housing."
"It is likely we will see even further changes over time from both state and federal government as a result of the coronavirus pandemic," it says.