We’ve adopted an Affordable Housing Strategy to help our low-income residents and key workers continue to live and thrive in Bayside.
Continued population growth and a strong property market is creating pressure on housing affordability and the inclusivity of our community. This has led to affordable housing options being increasingly out of reach for current residents, as well as for those who want to live where they work or start a new life in our community.
While Council does not provide or build affordable or social housing, there are many ways we can help through the planning system, direct support, partnerships and advocacy.
Over the next four years, we’ll be helping to increase the supply of appropriate and accessible affordable housing in Bayside through:
- Advocacy to State and Federal Government
- Partnerships with State Government and the housing sector (private market and community housing providers)
- Support for affordable housing providers and Bayside residents in housing crisis
- Planning provisions to encourage affordable housing in appropriate locations that is sustainably designed to reflect Bayside’s values.
One of our first steps is to incorporate our Affordable Housing Strategy into the Bayside Planning Scheme.
Homes for Homes
There are ways you can help too. If you’re selling a property, please consider donating to Homes for Homes, an independent, not-for-profit organisation established by social enterprise The Big Issue.
Under the Homes for Homes initiative, homeowners voluntarily agree to a caveat on their property and make a tax-deductible donation at the time of sale of 0.1 per cent of the sale price (for example, a $750 donation on a $750,000 sale). As a voluntary initiative, the homeowner can opt-out of Homes for Homes at any time.
Revenue from the caveats is then aggregated by Homes for Homes in the state or territory in which they were raised to fund social and affordable housing projects. Through the planning process, Council has also begun applying the Homes for Homes contribution as a condition of planning permits for multi-dwelling developments.
