The future of social housing is being redefined across the Sunshine Coast with a new wave of architecturally designed complexes to provide homes for those who need them most.
Millions of dollars of construction is underway in Caloundra, Beerwah and Yandina on modern social housing in direct response to an “unprecedented” affordability crisis.
However, advocates have warned that the region is still drastically short of stock, with hundreds of people waiting on the housing register.
The new down-sized developments are part of a ‘generational shift’ away from large three and four-bedroom houses to one and two-bedroom units, which are in more demand.
The projects include a $15 million four-storey complex for seniors at Little Mountain and architecturally designed townhouses near the Beerwah CBD (scroll down for more detail).
Another 137 contemporary dwellings are also planned for the next four years under the State Government’s Queensland Housing and Homelessness Action Plan 2021–2025, touted as the ‘largest investment in Queensland’s history’.
Coast2Bay Housing Group CEO Andrew Elvin said the region needed another 800 to 1000 dwellings just to catch up.
He said the region had one of the lowest rates of social housing stock in the country.
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Social housing as a percentage of dwellings on the Coast was about 2 per cent in 2019, about half that of other cities and below places like Brisbane, Toowoomba, Townsville and Cairns.
But he said even as more public properties were built, the population was growing so fast and housing and rental prices soaring so high that the region would still be behind.
As of June 2021, there were 1728 applications for social housing on the Coast’s housing register.
The department owns and manages 2506 social housing dwellings, the bulk of them in Caloundra, followed by Maroochydore and Nambour.
Of the tenancies, about 62 per cent were single-person households as of June. That meant there were 268 homes that were under-occupied, with two spare beds.
Another 97 homes were overcrowded, meaning an extra bed was needed.
Demand for one-bedroom units
A Department of Housing spokesperson said there was a ‘generational shift’ underway in social housing from large three-bedroom homes to single person and two-bedroom units.
“That’s why the department is managing its portfolio to invest in more smaller dwellings that meet local needs,” said the spokesperson.
This has led to the design of modern new complexes to provide smaller homes for more people.
The four-storey complex under construction at Little Mountain, which is a partnership between the State Government an Churches of Christ, will support seniors looking to downsize.
It will also provide a stable home for people in need and incorporate some specialist disability accommodation with semi-independent living support.
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The development will consist of 50 affordable housing units, of which 32 would be one-bedroom units.
Another eight units would have two bedrooms and the remaining 10 will be specialist disability homes.
Residents will live on a campus built more than two years ago and will have access to the community centre, cafe and aquatic centre.
“The development has been very successful, creating a local community hub that brings together generations of people in one place,” a Churches of Christ spokesperson said.
“The success of the residential care facility has created a high demand for retirement living accommodation for those wanting to age in place in the area.
“There is also a local need for more affordable housing for seniors.”
Another State Government project nearby is a 20-unit complex in Meridan Plains that will deliver 12 one-bedroom and eight two-bedroom apartments.
Construction of that $6 million project is forecast for completion in December 2022.
In Beerwah and Yandina, a charity which is the Coast’s largest provider of affordable housing expects its unit developments to start coming on line this time next year.
Coast2Bay Housing is building around 27 architecturally designed townhouses close to the Beerwah CBD to suit a mix of individuals and families.
It’s also working on 26 units in Yandina.
Mr Elvin said Coast2Bay was bidding to build most of the other 137 new homes earmarked for the region over the next four years.
Rise 2 Project
Coast2Bay Housing is also building eight new dwellings for people impacted by domestic family violence but needs an extra $450,000 in capital to complete the project plus $120,000 in ongoing support and counselling of families and children. Find out how you can help here.
Money ‘missing’ from Federal Government
However, even with all these State Government-supported projects, Mr Elvin warned there would not be enough social housing properties.
Mr Elvin said what was “missing” was investment from the Federal Government which “holds the purse strings”.
In the same way the Federal Government partnered with the State on building new roads and hospitals, he said the Commonwealth should also be contributing to social housing.
But during the Federal Coalition’s time in office he said there had “not been serious investment in social housing or affordable housing models”.
“My concern is that when you look at needs on the Sunshine Coast…it’s not going to close the gap. There needs to be more investment,” he said.
“The State can’t do it without an agreement with the Federal Government about making this kind of investment.
“I do believe the State Government’s 10-year plan (is making a difference) but it’s never going to close the gap unless the Federal Government (provides funding).”
Mr Elvin said he wanted social housing to be a key election issue when in this year’s Federal Election which is due to be held before May?
What our Federal MPs say
Responding to Mr Elvin, Member for Fairfax Ted O’Brien said public housing was the responsibility of state governments and the Queensland Government “has proven to be woefully incompetent”.
“Despite the Federal Government committing to $1.6 billion for the Queensland Government to build public housing, guess how much extra supply has been created? None,” said Mr O’Brien.
“This is not to suggest the federal government doesn’t have a role to play, but we need a better system than the current one.”
Mr O’Brien said the Federal Government’s Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) had approved more than $2.7 billion in loans to community housing providers to build more than 14,000 new and existing public affordable homes.
“Locally, I was pleased to secure $500,000 in Federal Funding for The Shak Community Centre in Nambour to construct a homeless shelter for men on the Sunshine Coast – the only housing for homeless men between Brisbane and Maryborough.
“And I’m a big fan of Coast2Bay to whom we delivered a $2.9 million grant last year to build safe places for women and children escaping domestic violence here on the Sunshine Coast.”
Member for Fisher Andrew Wallace said he led “the single-largest inquiry into homelessness the Australian Parliament has conducted” and was passionate about the issue.
“The fact is that state and territory governments are entirely responsible for affordable housing,” said Mr Wallace.
“However, despite this fact the Federal Government has once again stepped up to address critical issues in the sector and to support Australian families and back the building and construction sector.
This included $9 billion in the 2021-22 Budget to housing and homelessness, with $124.7 million devoted to the construction of social housing.
“An additional $2.5 billion has been made available through low-cost loans to Community Housing Providers.”
