Latest news with #housingstrategy
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Council tax hike on second homes in this part of Wales raised over £1.6m in its first year
A council tax premium on second homes and empty properties in Carmarthenshire has raised just over £1.6m in its first year. The 50% premium was implemented on April 1, 2024, and affected 1,167 second homes and 2,102 long-term empty houses. The figures exclude a much smaller number of properties in each category which were exempt. The council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service it collected £651,985 in premiums from second home owners in 2024-25 and £967,276 from empty home owners. It added that unpaid amounts - or arrears - totalled £204,282 for second homes and £308,238 for long-term empty ones. Carmarthenshire wasn't the first authority in Wales to charge the premiums - councils have been able to bring them in since 2017 - and several in England have also introduced them. Stay informed on Carms news by signing up to our newsletter here READ MORE: Free parking to be scrapped at two popular Welsh seaside towns READ MORE: This man has vanished, now his family have been sent a letter telling them where his body is buried Cllr Alun Lenny, cabinet member for resources, speaking about the second homes premium, said: "It brings revenue but the whole intention of the strategy is to curtail the number of second homes in those areas where they're having a negative impact on communities." An aim of the long-term empty home premium is to encourage owners to bring them back into use, increasing the supply of housing. Cllr Lenny said such properties could become dilapidated and reflect poorly on the appearance of streets. Council tax premiums for second home owners increased to 100% in April this year in the county while land transaction tax - formerly called stamp duty - for the purchase of second homes also rose in Wales. Properties in Carmarthenshire which were registered as empty since April 1, 2023, and chargeable for the 50% council tax premium last year now have a 100% premium. Neville Thomas, manager of the Carmarthen branch of Morgan and Davies estate agent, said he felt the combination of the second home premium and land transaction tax rise had generally slowed the market for second homes and also pushed a couple of second homes onto the market for sale. "A few second home owners down this way have had a bit of shock about council tax," he said. Sian Evans, the owner of BJ Properties, said she believed the second home premium was having an impact in Carmarthenshire but probably more so in Pembrokeshire. She said it affected not just people from outside the area who came to their second homes on holiday but also some local people. She explained she knew of one person who was in the fortunate position of being able to buy a smaller house to live in before selling her current one and that she was hit with "astronomical council tax" on her current one due to the time it was taking to sell. Miss Evans added that local businesses which benefited from lots of visitors in places like Laugharne and Ferryside would be affected if second home owners sold up. It is and has been a big talking point for years. Speaking in 2021 a resident of Laugharne, Iris John, said: "There are so many second homes here - it's absolutely killing the town. There's such a lot of empty homes come the winter. It's like a ghost town. "Our young have got nowhere to go. There are no houses in their price range."
News.com.au
03-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Revealed: $2bn social housing opportunity
EXCLUSIVE Victoria has just a 'narrow window' to roll out a groundbreaking social housing strategy that could unlock 26,000 new homes and slash taxpayer costs by almost $2bn, or risk missing a once-in-a-generation opportunity. An exclusive report by Swinburne University and Ys Housing, backed by the Community Housing Industry Association Victoria and ten community housing providers, reveals how amalgamating fragmented housing sites could supercharge the supply of affordable homes across Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo. The bold strategy would allow not-for-profit housing organisations to purchase neighbouring lots next to their existing homes, merging them to build larger, modern social housing projects at scale, without relying on private developers. How this basic Melb unit blitzed auction The discussion paper suggests the strategy could be expanded beyond the initial 26,000 homes, eventually delivering up to 65,000 new social dwellings with further funding, enough to wipe out Victoria's current social housing waitlist. The report identifies 1637 sites that could be consolidated over a decade, cutting project costs by up to $250,000 per dwelling thanks to cheaper land and more efficient construction. CHIA Victoria chief executive Sarah Toohey said the government had a 'golden but narrow window of opportunity' before rising land prices made these sites unaffordable. 'If we don't act quickly, it will mean fewer affordable homes for Victorians and a more expensive social housing budget in the long run,' Ms Toohey said. 'This is a chance for not-for-profits to build homes that are genuinely affordable, not hand prime land to private developers chasing profit.' The model would cost the state an estimated $80m per year over 10 years, with long-term public savings forecast at $1.99bn. Ys Housing chief executive Oscar McLennan said the plan would only apply to sellers already looking to move on, making it a 'voluntary and strategic' solution. 'Site amalgamation is a strategic and sustainable way to help safeguard Victoria's social housing future,' Mr McLennan said. Monash University urban planning expert Dr Elizabeth Taylor has researched lot consolidation extensively and said it was a proven approach overseas that could deliver vastly improved housing outcomes, if supported by planning reform and long-term funding. 'Amalgamation is a pretty important tool internationally,' Dr Taylor said. 'It opens the door to better housing typologies, more green space and co-ordinated masterplans, instead of the site-by-site scramble we currently see.' Dr Taylor said Victoria's planning system were still too focused on individual sites, particularly in Neighbourhood Residential and General Residential Zones, which account for most of the flagged locations. 'Most of these sites are not in activity centres where fast-tracking happens,' she said. 'Planning settings like zoning and carparking requirements make it hard to deliver the well-designed, 'missing middle' housing we actually need.' The proposal also highlights the challenges faced by community housing organisations (CHOs), which, despite holding long-term land, often struggle to access finance for precinct-scale projects. 'CHOs are probably better placed than most to do this, but they face bigger financial constraints than private developers,' Dr Taylor said. 'Our current funding models are too short-term and fragmented. This approach needs real support to succeed.' The new model aims to correct the system's current bias toward cheap infill townhouses and speculative high-rise towers, shifting focus to quality, longevity and liveability. While the plan's backers emphasise it won't involve forced relocation, some tenant groups remain sceptical. Renters and Housing Union (RAHU) secretary Harry Millward said any voluntary buy-up of neighbouring sites still risked pushing low-income families out of the area. 'This is gentrification dressed up as gentle density,' Mr Millward said. 'Community housing groups act like landlords, and this could quietly displace people who've called these neighbourhoods home for decades.' But CHIA Victoria chief executive Sarah Toohey pushed back, arguing the plan would increase access to affordable housing where the private market had failed. 'Critics claiming to speak for renters have it wrong,' Ms Toohey said. 'Amalgamating sites for community housing could deliver tens of thousands of additional genuinely affordable homes, something the private rental market is failing to do. 'The properties next door to community housing may not even be rentals, let alone be affordable for low-income families who are increasingly priced out of the private housing market.' The private rental market is failing, and expanding social housing through site amalgamation is an innovative solution.' The proposal comes as CHIA Australia and PowerHousing Australia merge this week to create Australian Community Housing, a new national peak body representing over 160 community housing providers and 134,000 homes. ACH chair Rebecca Oelkers said the newly unified group would speak with 'one voice' to help accelerate affordable housing delivery at scale.
CTV News
13-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Community members call on Stratford to improve housing affordability, city says it's a top priority
Stratford is being called out for its lack of an affordable housing strategy. CTV's Jeff Pickel has the response from the city. A group of people concerned about Stratford's housing plan took the issue straight to council chambers. Former resident Tanner Bergsma led the group on Tuesday. 'It really comes to light that the city could do a lot better in terms of its housing plan,' Bergsma, who now lives in Waterloo while attending Wilfrid Laurier University, said. Bergsma also runs a not for profit called Unity Beyond Borders, and said he works with local low income residents who have trouble finding suitable housing. Bergsma said he met with the city's housing manager and left feeling the city did not have a good grasp on the affordable housing situation. 'By logic, how can you fix a problem if you don't understand the problem and understand the statistics of the problem?' said Bergsma. Bergsma said the city's approach lacks specific aims at increasing the supply of affordable housing, and is more interested in increasing the overall supply of market rate housing. Tanner Bergsma, Stratford, Ont. Tanner Bergsma, founder of Unity Beyond Borders and housing advocate, posed for a photo. (Jeff Pickel/CTV News) According to the city, while they appreciate the concern, Bergsma's critiques are not accurate. They said they are in the process of drafting a new housing and homelessness ten-year plan after the previous ten-year plan ended in 2024. They said using real time data is at the core of it's decision-making process. 'We use data that we collected locally to identify what the needs are, every month we publish statistics that will show what the current needs are for individuals seeking housing in the community,' said Kim McElroy, director of social services for Stratford and Perth County. The City of Stratford estimates there are currently 148 people in Perth County who are homeless, including roughly 23 who are unsheltered, a number that has increased since March of this year. The current waitlist for affordable housing in Stratford is just over 250. The city said they are currently looking at city owned properties that could be used for affordable housing, but said, like every community, there are challenges. 'The speed of this is slow because there's a big need, and there's a limited supply of money,' said Stratford Mayor Martin Ritsma. Bergsma said he plans to keep the pressure on city council and plans to be back at city hall on the June 23rd meeting.
CBC
29-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Plan to build 3,000 homes in Nunavut still a success even if it falls short, housing corp. presidents says
Nunavut's premier and housing corporation president are defending the government's record on public housing following the release of a new Auditor General's report, which said Nunavummiut aren't being provided fair access. The report also stated there has been a lack of communication and misinformation about the targets outlined in the Nunavut 3,000 strategy — which aims to build 3,000 new homes by 2030. "We've been open and transparent in terms of showcasing what levels — they're all in different stages in terms of the construction phases," Premier P.J. Akeeagok said in the Nunavut Legislative Assembly this week. Nunavut Housing Corporation president and CEO Eiryn Devereaux said even if that target of 3,000 homes missed, the strategy will still be a success. "If we had kept doing everything the same, building a hundred units a year over nine years, we would have seen 1,000 units come into the territory," Devereaux said. "So we're talking about doubling and trying to triple the supply of much-needed housing." Devereaux said the 3,000 figure relates to units under construction since 2021, not since the launch of the strategy in 2022. "The 3,000 was always a target and it was always a target to drive change, drive the system, to say we have to do better, we have to do things differently because the status quo is just not working," he said. Devereaux said there are currently 440 units at "various stages of construction." "What's more important than people counting the numbers? It's the transformative change," he said. The Nunavut Housing Corporation accepted all of the report's 10 recommendations. More than 60 per cent of Nunavummiut rely on public housing, 45 per cent of which is overcrowded, according to Nunavut Housing Corporation data included in the auditor's report. The audit also found the housing corporation did not know whether publicly funded units were being allocated to applicants who needed them the most. Devereaux said they have a new maintenance management software system for local housing authorities, which should start rolling out later this year. "That'll help to centralize and to get data across all (local housing authorities) instead of them sort of doing it on their own in-house," he said. He said the housing corporation also plans to launch a new tenant relations and portfolio management system to take that burden off housing authorities too.
RNZ News
22-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Planning for Auckland's rapidly growing 'vibrant' south
The Franklin area is one of the New Zealand's primary food production regions. Photo: Chris McKeen/Stuff A strategy to help support one of Auckland's fastest-growing regions with housing and its thriving farming industry has been approved by Auckland Council. The southern rural areas, which includes the Franklin Ward, are expected to see an increase of 89,900 people, 37,500 households, and 16,500 jobs by 2052. Auckland Council recently approved the new Southern Rural Strategy , which supports the region to accommodate its growing population, while enabling industries like farming and food production to thrive. "The southern rural area is expected to account for approximately 15 percent of Auckland's overall population growth over the next 30 years," Franklin Ward Councillor Andy Baker said. The area was one of New Zealand's primary food production regions, with abundant natural resources and some of the most productive land in New Zealand. "Its strategic location - close to airports, seaport and key export markets - helps to further cultivate these industries." In a statement, Baker said the strategy provides direction for where housing choices, industries and employment opportunities will grow, "in a way that supports the area to thrive economically and ecologically". It includes strengthening the role of Pukekohe and Waiuku as rural service towns, focuses growth in existing urbanised settlements and avoid growth outside settlements, and minimises urban growth where it could have negative impacts on rural production and industries. The strategy also makes sure there is sufficient infrastructure to support new development, support safe access for residential and rural production users with transport and access needs, and celebrates the Māori and Pākehā heritage of towns, villages and other areas. The strategy covers the full Franklin ward. It also includes some rural land from the Howick, Manurewa, and Papakura local board areas. The strategy does not cover the area's quickest growing towns - Drury, Ōpaheke and Pukekohe - which already have community-backed plans to guide their growth. Consultation on the Southern Rural Strategy took place in October to December last year. Deputy chair of Auckland's Policy and Planning Committee, Angela Dalton, said the strategy supports the southern rural area to grow well. "This is a vibrant region, where traditional industries thrive alongside emerging sectors," Dalton said. "The strategy is about balanced growth that minimises the impact on the environment, while improving housing choices and socially connected communities." By making the most of existing infrastructure, and focusing on projects that deliver multiple benefits, the council was helping set up the region for a resilient and sustainable future, she said. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
