A 7.5 per cent levy on short-stay rentals, land tax reform and a rezoning windfall charge are among a suite of recommendations the NSW community housing sector is calling for to boost housing stock and address lengthy housing waiting lists.
The Community Housing Industry Association NSW (CHIA) is pitching to the NSW government to adopt measures they say could raise $26 billion over the next 10 years and provide support for around 50,000 new social and affordable homes by 2050.
Among the proposals analysed by the Labor-aligned McKell Institute is increasing NSW land tax rates from 1.6 per cent to 2 per cent and from 2 per cent to 2.5 per cent for larger landholdings, while also adding a new 2.9 per cent rate for holdings above $50 million.
The changes would still retain the $1.075 million tax-free threshold and the family home exemption and would bring in an estimated $25.9 billion over 10 years.
CHIA NSW is also proposing a 7.5 per cent levy on short-stay rentals like Airbnb and Stayz, similar to the Victorian scheme that came into force last year. The levy is expected to raise $135 million annually.
CHIA NSW CEO Luke Achterstraat said the proposals would help the 72,000 NSW households that remained on the social housing waiting list, which he said was an "all-time record".
"Whilst we acknowledge the government's record $6.6 billion building homes for NSW package, we argue that funding should be turbocharged," Mr Achterstraat said.
Mr Achterstraat stressed that the proposals were options rather than a full package of reforms.
The peak body also suggested a windfall charge for land value increases after rezoning, which would raise $80 million a year.
Mr Achterstraat said the revenue should be channelled into a long-term funding pool for community housing for future builds.
"We need to move beyond funding cliffs and establish a long-term investment pipeline that gives community housing providers the certainty to keep building homes year after year," Mr Achterstraat said.
CHIA NSW will present the commissioned research at an event in the NSW parliament today.
Labor government investing $6.6 billion
Housing Minister Rose Jackson said the Labor government was investing $6.6 billion to deliver tens of thousands of social and affordable homes.
"We're building 8,400 new public homes that will be owned by the people of NSW and remain part of the public housing system for generations," Ms Jackson said.
"A long-term pipeline of social and affordable housing is essential to tackling the housing crisis."
Shadow Housing Minister Chris Rath said the government was not using the $6.6 billion funding package fast enough and was 40 per cent behind on their National Housing Accord target of 377,000 new homes by 2029.
"The social housing waitlist has increased from 55,000 to 72,000 under their watch. This is a massive failure."
Mr Rath said the coalition planned to build 12,000 new homes to replace Long Bay Correctional Complex, 30 per cent of which would be social and affordable housing.
NSW Greens housing spokesperson Jenny Leong said the government needed to look at rent controls to address the growing social housing waiting list. Her party has called for a rent freeze and then a 2 per cent annual cap on rent increases.
"We need investment in public housing, we need government support for genuinely affordable community housing, we need a crackdown on those seeking to profit from the housing crisis," Ms Leong said.
Short-term rental industry says levy not the answer
Australia and New Zealand Short Term Rental Association (ASTRA) chair Yoav Tourel said short-term accommodation was also used by people for reasons other than holidays, such as travel for medical treatment, interim accommodation during property repairs, and escaping domestic violence.
"ASTRA absolutely recognises the seriousness of Australia's housing affordability crisis and supports measures that genuinely increase social, affordable and long-term housing supply," Mr Tourel said.
"Our concern is whether a blanket 7.5 per cent levy on short-term accommodation is the most effective way to achieve that."
Ms Jackson said the government was reviewing the short-term rental accommodation framework and would provide an update "in due course".
The current framework provides a government-run register of short-term rentals and a 180-day cap in parts of Greater Sydney, the Northern Rivers and Hunter regions.
Ms Leong said a levy was a distraction from solutions such as bans or caps set by local councils.
"Levies don't work to limit short-term rentals, and any money they raise is a drop in the ocean compared to the thousands of homes being lost to investor Airbnbs," Ms Leong said.
