A PLACE TO CALL HOME € AFFORDABLY. AND MORE TO COME

The first affordable rental property to be built by a community housing provider under the ACT Government's Land Rent Scheme was handed over to a family of seven in Franklin today.

Chief Minister Jon Stanhope said the home, one of 1000 being built for rent or sale by CHC Affordable Housing under a deal with the ACT Government, was the first of four CHC rental homes to be delivered in Franklin over the next two months.

CHC would build another 77 affordable rental homes on Land Rent blocks in the nearby suburb of Bonner over the next two years.

Mr Stanhope used the occasion of the handover to announce that the Government would convene an expert roundtable next Wednesday, to explore further creative ideas for delivering affordable housing options for Canberrans on low incomes who were in the private rental market.

"I am this week writing to a number of organisations which work with Canberrans on extremely low incomes to examine what more we can do as a community to provide appropriate and affordable housing to those struggling in the private rental market," Mr Stanhope said today.

"The discovery in recent weeks of a number of possibly illegal and allegedly unsanitary and substandard boarding houses, being run out of suburban residences, has highlighted that while considerable advances have been made in tackling affordability over the past three years, there is always room for fresh ideas and fresh thinking.

"For example, I sometimes ask myself why it is that a city that housed so many of its residents in boarding houses and hostels in its first decades now seems to reject these as legitimate housing options.

"I wonder whether we could be encouraging - and properly regulating - different housing models, particularly for those who don't seem to be captured or well-served by what's on offer in our private rental market.

"Do we offer enough options for those who cannot scrape together a bond, those who are in town only temporarily for work, or those confronting sudden and unexpected housing crises?"

Mr Stanhope said the Government was also working speedily to draw up regulations and possible legislation that would ensure minimum standards for boarding houses and protect tenants in such establishments.

Media Contact:

Chantelle Lustri 6205 2775 0434 560 770 chantelle.lustri@act.gov.au
Jess Wurf 6205 0504 0411 772 700 jess.wurf@act.gov.au