Image: Australian Co-operative Housing Alliance
Australia needs to embrace a “third way” instead of focusing on the Great Australian Dream of owning a house or opting for lifetime rental, the peak body for the co-operative housing sector has warned.
The Australian Cooperative Housing Alliance (ACHA), which is hosting a national summit in Melbourne this week, is concerned that without a significant shift in the rent-or-buy mindset, the affordable housing crisis will continue. Summit details below.
The summit, to be opened by Josh Burns MP, Special Envoy for Social Housing and Homelessness, is an opportunity for developers, bankers and governments alike to get curious about co-ops and recognise that new models of renting are needed to provide stable, long-term tenancies. ACHA’s Victorian affiliate, Common Equity Housing Ltd, is showing the way, working in partnership with more than 80 co-ops to manage more than 2000 co-op properties across Victoria to deliver affordable housing for people on low-moderate incomes, including people who receive government income support, key workers, people working part-time, students and independent retirees.
ACHA Chair Liz Thomas says with long waiting lists for rental properties and home ownership out of the reach of many, co-ops offer people a genuine alternative to the rent-or-buy choice. “Co-ops are the missing piece of Australia’s affordable housing puzzle,” she says.
“We need to look at what’s working elsewhere, including Europe, Canada and the UK. In Copenhagen, co-ops make up 20% of the housing stock; Canada recently launched a C$1.5 billion co-op housing program and the UK Government announced a £20 million funding package to bolster community-led housing projects.”
“A recent example here is the Victorian Government’s use of interest from a rental bond fund to help pay for a new housing co-op in Brunswick. But Australia is not keeping pace and needs to look to creative solutions.”
National Co-operative Housing Summit
When: Thursday September 18, 9am-5pm
Where: Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Richmond
Speakers include:
1. Josh Burns MP, Special Envoy for Social Housing and Homelessness
2. Liz Thomas, Chair, Australian Co-operative Housing Alliance
3. Dr Marcus Spiller, deputy chair of the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council
4. Chantell Martin, director and member of Australia’s first transgender housing co-operative
5. Dr Scott Jennings, student co-op housing advocate
6. Tim Riley, Founder, Property Collectives
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