❓ Dr. Honey raises concerns about rising rental costs in WA, questioning the Minister's plans to alleviate rental stress. The Minister responds by outlining government initiatives focused on increasing housing supply and highlighting WA's relative affordability compared to other states.
AnsweredQoN 205Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
RENTAL ACCOMMODATION — COST
205. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for Housing:
I
refer to last year's average rental cost increase of 12 per cent and to
last month's average cost increase of 2.4 per cent , noting that if this rate of increase continues,
rental prices in Perth could increase by more than 25 per cent this year. In
the upcoming budget, will the minister commit to reducing rental stress for
families struggling to make ends meet?
205. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for Housing:
I
refer to last year's average rental cost increase of 12 per cent and to
last month's average cost increase of 2.4 per cent , noting that if this rate of increase continues,
rental prices in Perth could increase by more than 25 per cent this year. In
the upcoming budget, will the minister commit to reducing rental stress for
families struggling to make ends meet?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for his question.
There is no doubt that we face
challenging times in the rental market—it is tight—but that is
being seen across Australia. I am very cognisant of that. We, as a government,
have undertaken a number of initiatives to drive the key answer, which is
housing supply. That is the answer to assisting the rental market. We have done
that in three ways. The first is that we brought in the building bonus grant,
which saw unprecedented growth in the number of homes approved—27 000
building approvals, with 4 000 in the regions. We also brought in an
off-the-plan stamp duty rebate. We also have our Keystart program, which saw
huge growth in the number of Keystart approvals. The second key part of our plan is land supply, which can be a constraint.
Under our $116 million Regional Land Booster program, new land has been
released in regional communities to assist with that housing supply. Of course,
the third, which I have talked about a lot,
is our huge investment of $875 million, with a total of $2.1 billion over four years
to deliver 3 300 new homes. What you can see there is a very measured approach
across a range of different areas to increase housing supply in Western Australia.
I also want to tackle the issue of
rental affordability. I note that the most recent Housing affordability
report by the Real Estate Institute of Australia found that Western Australia
retained the title of most affordable place in the country for renting and the
most affordable state in the country for housing. We know the market is tight.
We are doing everything that we can to increase housing supply, but we also
know that where Western Australia currently sits, it is still better positioned
than all other states.
There is no doubt that we face
challenging times in the rental market—it is tight—but that is
being seen across Australia. I am very cognisant of that. We, as a government,
have undertaken a number of initiatives to drive the key answer, which is
housing supply. That is the answer to assisting the rental market. We have done
that in three ways. The first is that we brought in the building bonus grant,
which saw unprecedented growth in the number of homes approved—27 000
building approvals, with 4 000 in the regions. We also brought in an
off-the-plan stamp duty rebate. We also have our Keystart program, which saw
huge growth in the number of Keystart approvals. The second key part of our plan is land supply, which can be a constraint.
Under our $116 million Regional Land Booster program, new land has been
released in regional communities to assist with that housing supply. Of course,
the third, which I have talked about a lot,
is our huge investment of $875 million, with a total of $2.1 billion over four years
to deliver 3 300 new homes. What you can see there is a very measured approach
across a range of different areas to increase housing supply in Western Australia.
I also want to tackle the issue of
rental affordability. I note that the most recent Housing affordability
report by the Real Estate Institute of Australia found that Western Australia
retained the title of most affordable place in the country for renting and the
most affordable state in the country for housing. We know the market is tight.
We are doing everything that we can to increase housing supply, but we also
know that where Western Australia currently sits, it is still better positioned
than all other states.
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