Moved by Councillor Ellsmore, seconded by
Councillor Worling –
It is resolved that Council note:
(A) Sydney has now become a more expensive city
to live, in terms of housing costs, than comparable international cities Paris
and London;
(B) in July 2023, Deputy Mayor Sylvie Ellsmore
met with the Deputy Mayor for Housing for Paris Council, Councillor Ian
Brossat, the Deputy Mayor for Housing and Development for London Council,
Councillor Tom Copley, and a range of other Paris and London Council
representatives, to discuss public, social and affordable housing strategies;
(C) Paris Council:
(i)
implements a range of strategies to protect and increase affordable, social
and public housing which include: significant direct investment in new public
housing ($500M Euros per annum); purchasing private housing and converting it
to social housing; construction of new public housing on public land including
converting car parks; strong requirements that developers build affordable
housing on site; and rent caps;
(ii)
requires private development to deliver a minimum of 25 per cent
affordable or social housing on private sites; and
(iii) has recently achieved its target of 25 per
cent social (including public and community) housing, up from 13 per cent in
2003;
(D) London Council implements a range of
strategies in partnership with local borough councils to increase council-owned
public housing, social housing and affordable housing. Strategies include:
infilling existing public housing estates; buying back council housing
previously privatised; buying private housing from distressed developers and
turning it into social housing; and strong affordable housing contributions
from development;
(E) the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan:
(i)
requires developments determined by the Mayor on private land to include
a minimum of 25 per cent affordable, public or social housing, and developments
on public land to include a minimum of 50 per cent public, social or affordable
housing. Some local borough councils have set higher targets than this;
(ii)
increased the London-wide target for construction of new City
Hall-funded council homes (to be underway) from 10,000 to 20,000 by 2024, after
the 10,000 target was met earlier than projected, in 2022; and
(iii) requires proposals to renovate or develop
public housing estates to be subject to a binding ballot of tenants, with
tenants retaining a right of return if development is undertaken, and
demolition only as a last resort. The policy has led to an increase in
co-designed, staged projects for the rejuvenation of council estates, many of
which have old and poor quality housing. Since introduction of the policy in
2018 there have been 20 ballots, 19 of which have been passed;
(F)
the
City of Sydney has a range of strategies to increase affordable housing
including an Local Government Area wide affordable housing levy. The affordable
housing levy is generally one per cent of floor space for non-residential
development, and three per cent of floor space for residential development. In
a selected number of areas (including some sites in the Botany Road corridor)
where rezoning results in a residential floor space uplift, a higher affordable
housing contribution applies;
(G)
the
City of Sydney has targets of 7.5 per cent social (including public housing)
and 7.5 per cent affordable housing, by 2030; and
(H)
at its
26 June 2023 meeting, Council requested that the Chief Executive Officer review
the City’s Affordable Housing contribution rates, including what changes could
deliver more Affordable Housing in our area such as rate increases, changes to
City policies, planning controls and rezoning proposals; and report back to
Council via the CEO Update.
Carried unanimously.
X086659