Mr BALCH - 1999-08-19
With the introduction of Housing 2003, there has been some debate about the eligibility criteria for access to public housing. Can the minister provide details of the financial and other limits on people seeking to take advantage of taxpayer-funded housing?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, this has been the subject of some debate. I need to remind members that the driving force behind Housing 2003 was a resolve to ensure that, as we move into the next century, there is affordable housing fairly available to those Territorians most in need. Housing 2003 was introduced to ensure that taxpayer-funded housing was available to Territorians on low incomes. A means test and an assets limit were introduced to determine whether intending tenants were in a financial position that warranted access to government housing.
The rules for tenant eligibility are outlined very clearly in this pamphlet which I table. For instance, if you do not own a home - and I remind members that applicants for public housing must not own or partly own a residential property anywhere in Australia - and there are two people living in your household, and you have an average income of less than $596 per week, and you have assets not above $50 400 - that excludes a family car and household furniture - then you are eligible. If there are three people in your house, the income limit is $697 per week and the asset limit is about $80 000, excluding a family car and household goods.
If you find you are not eligible for continued subsidised housing - and that’s what it really is, subsidised housing - you have two options. Existing public tenants have been required to pay market rents since 25 January 1999. But they were also offered the option to purchase their dwelling.
Market rents are decided on advice provided by the Australian Valuation Office. However, the government recognises that in some regional centres market rents would be higher than is reasonable. As a result, the former minister announced in October last year that Nhulunbuy public housing tenants would pay rent based on an average across Territory centres rather than the market rent in Nhulunbuy, due to the limited availability of land for building purposes and the small private market over there. Therefore, the rent in Nhulunbuy is considerably lower than the cost of private accommodation. We charge $144 per week for 2 bedrooms. For 3 bedrooms the rent ranges up to $223. So people living in Nhulunbuy certainly enjoy an advantage. But I stress that the aim of our Housing 2003 policy is to ensure that people on lower incomes have access to public housing.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, this has been the subject of some debate. I need to remind members that the driving force behind Housing 2003 was a resolve to ensure that, as we move into the next century, there is affordable housing fairly available to those Territorians most in need. Housing 2003 was introduced to ensure that taxpayer-funded housing was available to Territorians on low incomes. A means test and an assets limit were introduced to determine whether intending tenants were in a financial position that warranted access to government housing.
The rules for tenant eligibility are outlined very clearly in this pamphlet which I table. For instance, if you do not own a home - and I remind members that applicants for public housing must not own or partly own a residential property anywhere in Australia - and there are two people living in your household, and you have an average income of less than $596 per week, and you have assets not above $50 400 - that excludes a family car and household furniture - then you are eligible. If there are three people in your house, the income limit is $697 per week and the asset limit is about $80 000, excluding a family car and household goods.
If you find you are not eligible for continued subsidised housing - and that’s what it really is, subsidised housing - you have two options. Existing public tenants have been required to pay market rents since 25 January 1999. But they were also offered the option to purchase their dwelling.
Market rents are decided on advice provided by the Australian Valuation Office. However, the government recognises that in some regional centres market rents would be higher than is reasonable. As a result, the former minister announced in October last year that Nhulunbuy public housing tenants would pay rent based on an average across Territory centres rather than the market rent in Nhulunbuy, due to the limited availability of land for building purposes and the small private market over there. Therefore, the rent in Nhulunbuy is considerably lower than the cost of private accommodation. We charge $144 per week for 2 bedrooms. For 3 bedrooms the rent ranges up to $223. So people living in Nhulunbuy certainly enjoy an advantage. But I stress that the aim of our Housing 2003 policy is to ensure that people on lower incomes have access to public housing.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016