Social housing

In NSW we have Australia’s largest social housing portfolio of 125,000 properties. Funding is needed to maintain these properties, extend the life of ageing homes and provide a better experience for residents.

$300 million will go toward capital maintenance works for more than 15,800 NSW Land and Housing Corporation owned social housing properties over the next 3 years, improving the condition and quality of homes, reducing future maintenance costs and addressing cost of living.

Maintenance upgrades include:

• kitchen, bathroom and roof replacements
• modifications to improve accessibility – so our homes can better support people with a disability and older people to keep living at home.
• fire safety upgrades to keep our tenants safe.

This investment in capital maintenance will extend the life of around 455 homes and support around 900 construction services jobs.

Funding allocation

$300m received 2022.

Delivery

The Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) will deliver:

• capital upgrades to social housing properties owned by LAHC including those managed by community housing providers
• improvements to social housing stock such as new kitchens, bathrooms, roofs, windows, fencing, internal and external paint, and floor finishes.

Who will benefit

• Social housing tenants will benefit from improved living conditions.
• Local communities and businesses will benefit from jobs created to deliver the works.
• The NSW Government will benefit from reduced property maintenance and operating costs in the future, as upgrading homes now will decrease LAHC’s forecast maintenance liability.

Key milestones

• July 2022: Critical works commenced with upgrades to roofs, internal and external paint, windows, kitchens and bathrooms in social housing stock throughout Sydney, Central Coast, Hunter and Illawarra.
• September 2022: Planning for year 1 completed.
• March 2023: Program planning for years 2 and 3 completed.
• March 2024: Review of program planning for year 3 completed (before commencement).
• December 2024: Full program of works completed.

Key benefits

• Upgrades to up to 15,800 aged social homes (dependant on cost increases, labour shortages and LAHC’s ability to adjust its program to respond to these pressures).
• Support for 900 construction workers and trades people.
• 455 social homes retained that would otherwise become untenantable.
• LAHC’s maintenance liability reduced by $244m between FY2023 and FY2025.

The Together Home Transition Program is an important NSW Government investment that supports the Premier’s Priority to halve street homelessness by 2025.

The $177.5 million program will deliver 250 new social homes, helping prevent rough sleepers from having to return to the streets. This includes 130 homes funded previously, and $37 million for 120 homes funded by the 2022 Housing Package.

The Together Home Transition Program was first launched in July 2020 during the COVID-19 outbreak to uphold the NSW Government’s commitment to keeping rough sleepers safe during the pandemic.

This program will be delivered by community housing providers in partnership with the Department of Communities and Justice through the Community Housing Innovation Fund approach.