NSW Passes Act Allowing Transferral Of Public Housing Leases To Community Housing Providers
Tuesday 1 November 2016 @ 12.13 p.m. | Legal Research
The Housing Legislation Amendment Act 2016 (NSW) was assented to and commenced last week, on 25 October 2016. The Act will allow the Land and Housing Corporation, who own the State’s public housing, to enter into concurrent leases of public housing properties with registered community housing providers (CHPs). The community housing providers will then manage these public housing properties, with tenants paying their rent directly to the providers.
Introducing the original Bill into Parliament, the Minister for Disability Services, Minister for Ageing and Minister for Multiculturalism John Ajaka said that the changes would allow the Baird-Grant Government to implement some of the policies outlined in their ‘Future Directions for Social Housing in NSW’ strategy. Mr Ajaka said ‘Future Directions’ would see 23,000 new and renewed social housing dwellings, with most of these to be delivered by 2025. The Act is part of the announced plan to transfer up to 35 per cent of the State’s social housing to community housing providers.
Mr Ajaka said:
“This largely delivers on the 2009 Council of Australian Governments [COAG] agreement for the community housing sector to take on a bigger role in delivering services to vulnerable tenants and increasing their opportunities to obtain education and/or employment and/or capacity in life skills. The size, capacity and service quality of the community housing sector will grow as providers will now have access to a stream of income that is not available to the public housing system. I am referring to Commonwealth Rent Assistance, which is expected to be worth about $1 billion over 20 years. This increase in income will enable community housing providers to spend more on support services for tenants. It will also reduce the New South Wales Government's maintenance costs in its social housing portfolio, freeing up funds for other potential social housing initiatives.”
Andrew McAnulty, the chief executive officer at Link Housing, told the Sydney Morning Herald he welcomed the policy:
“As good as state governments can be they are generally not good housing managers," said Andrew McAnulty, the chief executive officer at non-for-profit Link Housing… Community providers are smaller, are more nimble, have lower overheads and are focused on housing.”
The Sydney Morning Herald also reported that the “properties to be transferred are in the Shoalhaven, Northern Sydney, Mid-North Coast and in the New England area.”
Changes to the Housing Act 2001
The Act amended the Housing Act 2001 (NSW) to insert a new section 13A, “Entering into concurrent leases”. The new section allows the Land and Housing Corporation to enter into a concurrent lease with a registered CHP, regardless of whether the housing is leased to a tenant at the time. On entering the lease, any rent payable by a tenant will become payable to the CHP (s 13A(2)(a)) and the tenant will no longer be regarded as renting public housing (s 13A(2)(b). The Land and Housing Corporation may provide information to the CHP about the housing and tenants (s 13A(3)) , but may not provide personal or health information of tenants unless the CHP has ‘procedures in place to ensure the privacy of the information’ (s 13A(4)). Tenants’ consent is not required for Land and Housing Corporation to enter into a concurrent lease (s 13A(6)).
Changes to the Community Housing Providers (Adoption of National Law) Act 2012
The Act also amended the Community Housing Providers (Adoption of National Law) Act 2012 to establish a registration scheme for ‘entities that provide community housing but are unable to be registered under the Community Housing Providers National Law.’
Mr Ajaka said this would include “local Aboriginal land councils that are prevented from seeking registration under the national system because of wind-up provisions governed by the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983” and said:
“The ability to register as a housing provider is important because it enables local organisations that deliver housing services, such as local Aboriginal land councils, to be provided assistance as housing providers where they meet the criteria for registration.”
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Sources:
Housing Legislation Amendment Act 2016 (NSW), Bill and Second Reading Speech - available from TimeBase's LawOne Service
