Community Housing in NSW

Community housing provides affordable rental housing to people on low to moderate incomes, housing over 18,000 households all across New South Wales, Australia.  

This year the NSW Government announced a plan to increase the sector’s role over the next decade, with the expectation that it will mange 30,000 tenancies by the end of that time – more than a quarter of all social housing. 

The majority of the housing provided is subsidised by government and is part of a broad social housing system that includes community housing, public housing and Aboriginal housing.  However, housing associations are increasingly taking on a wider range of affordable housing services.

Community housing has a well deserved reputation for innovation.  It is 'people centered' and approaches housing issues locally.  It has a strong emphasis on involving tenants in decisions about their housing.

It already provides a range of housing – from housing that is affordable to moderate income households, through to housing for people with very high needs (usually in partnership with a specialized support provider). 

Increasingly community housing providers are working in partnership – with support providers, with local government, with public housing providers, and with private sector partners.

Different types of organisations
Some community housing organisations are very small - for example some self managed co-operatives have only 6 houses.  Other community housing organisations are much larger with the largest housing association managing over 2,700 houses.  Over the next year or two, a small number of housing associations will also grow to manage between 2,000 and 3,000 tenancies.
In between are a broad range of organisations - small, medium and large - and a variety of management styles.

There are 3 main types of community housing: housing associations, co-operatives and church owned housing.  Housing associations manage the vast majority of community housing tenancies.  But the others play a crucial part in making community housing the vital and diverse sector that it is. 

1. Housing associations are specific professional not-for-profit housing providers.  While they mainly manage rental housing, they may provide other services as well.
2. Co-operative housing is subsidised by government, but is fully managed by the tenants themselves, providing real control and ‘ownership’ of their housing. 
3. Church-based agencies have responded to need in their local communities and bring church resources to the table.  In partnership with government they have played an important role in providing local solutions.

There are  peak bodies for each of the 3 ‘mainstream’ types of community housing.  The Federation is the peak for housing associations.  The web sites of the other peaks provides information about their type of community housing and the resources they provide.

Aboriginal housing –  There is also a distinct, Indigenous-controlled, housing system.  While much of this housing is managed through the NSW Department of Housing, there is also significant number Aboriginal community based housing providers.  This sector is administered by the Aboriginal Housing Office.

In NSW, many organisations support the provision of community housing.  See our links page for a fuller list of government and community organisations in NSW, Australia and overseas, who may be relevant to community housing management.