With more than 80% of Singaporeans living in state-provided housing, the city rates well for affordability compared to Sydney, where the figure is just 5.5%.
Bill Roque/Shutterstock
A coordinated mix of policies does more to keep housing affordable for a significant proportion of a city’s residents than the unbalanced approach we see in Sydney.
Increasing numbers of older Australians face a harder time paying the bills when they retire because they’ll still be paying off a mortgage or renting a home.
Art_Photo/Shutterstock
People over 65 who still have a mortgage or are renting are projected to double in number by 2031. The trend is likely to hit government budgets and leave more retirees in poverty.
Governments have been more focused on managing waiting lists than heeding calls to invest in increasing the stock of social housing.
Josh Dye/AAP
The need to manage long waiting lists for social housing, rather than serving the best interests of tenants and prospective tenants, is a major driver of policymakers’ approach.
The Addison Act of 1919 introduced admirable housing standards, but in the century since the industry has put a sqeeze on space and quality.
Many people exit the mental healthcare system into homelessness, only to return repeatedly to hospital-based care, and sometimes the prison system.
Shutterstock
Without a place to live it is nearly impossible to take care of your mental health needs.The upcoming Royal Commission should recognise the connection between stable housing and mental health.
Energy efficient social housing in Tasmania.
Xsquared, Hobart
Australia needs to build 730,000 more social housing units in 20 years.
Older private renters are far more likely to experience loneliness than their counterparts in social housing and that loneliness can be acute.
Shutterstock
‘People felt totally trapped’: what it’s like to be a pensioner renting privately as Australia’s housing costs soar
The Conversation, CC BY39 MB(download)
On today's episode, Alan Morris shares some of the deeply moving stories he heard when he set out to interview older Australians in private rental accommodation and social housing about loneliness.
People living in private rental housing were much more likely than social housing residents to say they felt lonely.
Dundanim/Shutterstock
Increasing numbers of older Australians don’t own their homes. Whether they are private renters or live in social housing can make a big difference to their risk of loneliness and anxiety.
Many places overseas require developers to build a certain proportion of affordable housing, but Victoria has opted for a voluntary negotiated approach.
Lichtwolke/Shutterstock
People on the minimum wage can afford only 2% of private rentals and only 1% if on the pension. Affordable housing requirements are often mandatory overseas, but Victoria is relying on negotiation.
Too many Australians struggle to get their housing maintained and problems fixed.
Trevor Charles Graham/Shutterstock
Having quality housing matters. What’s standing in the way of ensuring every Australian has housing that meets basic comfort and health standards? And how can we overcome these problems?
Policies focused on ownership do little to help lower-income households that are struggling to pay the rent.
Iakov Filimonov/Shutterstock
The policy focus remains on home ownership, but a new survey shows slight improvements in affordability do little to help people on low incomes. Their plight calls for better social housing policy.
Social housing providers can help people get into work, with tailored, long-term support.
This shed has been illegally converted into housing. Two prams and three mattresses are visible.
Informal Accommodation and Vulnerable Households, author provided courtesy of Fairfield City Council
With Australian city rents too high for low-income earners, increasing numbers are forced to share houses or rooms or to live in options like ‘beds in sheds’ and other illegal dwellings.
Public housing in Paris (left) and Melbourne (right) has similar impacts on residents’ integration into the community.
Wissem Felah, Sandra Carrasco
Landlords could have a big impact on public health, if they help their tenants to feel at home.
The numbers of buyers able to celebrate moving into their first home are still well down on pre-GFC levels – and low-income renters are faring even worse.
fizkes/Shutterstock
Housing policy is a stark point of difference at this election. While the government took promising steps to set up social housing finance, it has yet to give any sign it will finish what it started.
Councils have sold off vast amounts of land since 2014 – land that was previously used for important public services.
The recent slump in building approvals is a reminder of the risks of an over-reliance on a boom-and-bust market to meet all housing needs.
Joel Carrett/AAP
Housing markets never have met the lowest-income households’ needs. Now is the time to tackle problems that have been years in the making by creating a better system to supply their housing.
The Heights is a new ABC TV soap opera set on a social housing estate. From a working class perspective, there’s a lot to love about the show.
Ben King/ABC TV
Professor; School of Economics, Finance and Property, and Director, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Curtin Research Centre, Curtin University