A five-year rebate is set to pave the way for more affordable housing in the region.
Sunshine Coast Council endorsed a proposal, at its January Ordinary Meeting, to provide identified community organisations that deliver affordable housing with a 100 per cent rebate on standard council infrastructure charges until 2028.
The council share of the levied charge for a three-bedroom dwelling is about $16,800 and is subject to indexation.
Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson said the rebate supported council’s Housing and Homelessness Action Plan 2023 and would support more housing, including separate housing, boarding and emergency facilities, to be delivered for those who needed it most.
Do you have an opinion to share? Submit a Letter to the Editor at Sunshine Coast News via news@sunshinecoastnews.com.au. You must include your name and suburb.
“This rebate will greatly reduce the development costs for particular organisations that provide affordable housing on the Sunshine Coast,” Cr Jamieson said.
“When you consider that the average levied charge for a three-bedroom home is around $16,800, this 100 per cent rebate has the potential to provide significant support for organisations that deliver affordable housing in our region.”
Affordable housing is appropriate to the needs of low-income households in terms of design, location and access to services and facilities.
It is housing where rent paid by households in the lowest 40 per cent of income units does not exceed 30 per cent of gross household income after any applicable Commonwealth Rent Assistance is deducted.
It includes separate housing, as well as boarding and emergency housing, and other specialist forms of housing.
The rebate will be made available to entities registered on the national and/or state register as providing community housing services under section 37 of the Housing Act 2003.
The rebate applies to all forms of affordable housing provided by registered entities that meet the eligibility criteria of the newly adopted changes to council’s rebate policy.
Local journalists supporting local people. Help keep independent and fair Sunshine Coast news coming by subscribing to our FREE daily news feed. All it requires is your name and email at the bottom of this article.
