Skyrocketing Melbourne rents underscore need for more community housing

Melbourne's rent is going up quickly, which shows that there needs to be more affordable community housing.

The Community Housing Industry Association Victoria says that the record-high rents in Melbourne show how important it is to have a long-term funding pipeline and delivery plan for more social and affordable housing.

Domain reported today that the median rent for an apartment in Melbourne reached $450 per week in the last month. This represents a 20% increase from the same time one year ago. The report says that this is the fastest annual growth rate the city has ever seen.

According to research conducted by the national arm of CHIA in Victoria over the past year, more than 146,100 households are unable to afford the homes they require. If nothing is done to stop it, this number will skyrocket to 223,200 by the year 2041. It was discovered that three of the top ten highest areas of unmet housing need in Australia are located in the city of Melbourne.

Jess Pomeroy, the acting CEO of CHIA Victoria, stated that the creation of more social and affordable housing is an essential component in the solution to the rental crisis.

"An increasing number of Victorians are being priced out of the rental market, and they are being presented with few options for a safe place to call home." While rents in Victoria continue to be high and vacancy rates remain low, there will be an ever-increasing demand for additional social and affordable housing, she predicted.

"The state's historic investment in the Big Housing Build has been a solid start towards correcting the decades-long underinvestment in social housing," However, it is obvious that this is not enough, and even with the housing commitments made by the Commonwealth, Victoria will not be able to meet the growing demand for housing”, She said

To meet the growing need, the state of Victoria will need to build at least 60,000 new social housing units over the next ten years, which is 6,000 new homes each year.

"We want the Victorian Government to keep putting a lot of money into social housing by committing to a long-term funding stream to build the homes Victorians need. We are also calling on the Victorian Government to heavily involve not-for-profit community housing organisations who can provide the best value for the money." She dislosed