❓ WA Parliamentary Question on Notice regarding social housing stock, sales, and historical comparisons. The answer provides data on housing numbers and criticizes the previous government's handling of social housing.
AnsweredQoN 950Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
For all social housing currently in the system and available to be let, please provide the following: (a) A breakdown of the number of public housing properties and social housing properties for each year from 2020 to 30 Sept 2025: (i) For each of the above years, how many rooms do these properties represent; and (b) The number of public housing properties sold per year since 2017 to 30 September 2025?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
2 December 2025
Responded by
Minister for Housing and Works
Response time
8 days
(a) Since 1 July 2021 the Department of Housing and Works has completed over 3,800 social homes.
Social Housing State-wide Stock as at specified reporting dates
Reporting Date
Public Housing Properties
Community Housing Properties
Total Social Housing Properties
30 September 2020
35,582
7,319
42,901
30 September 2021
35,289
7,419
42,708
30 September 2022
35,882
7,405
43,287
30 September 2023
36,502
7,413
43,915
30 September 2024
37,161
7,430
44,591
30 September 2025
37,772
7,485
45,257
(i) Properties are not categorised according to the total number of rooms.
(b) Sales of social housing properties are currently at historic record lows.
The State Government inherited ageing and inappropriate housing stock that had not been maintained, refurbished and was in poor condition due to the mismanagement of the previous Liberal-National Government.
Under the former Liberal-National Government, many hundreds of social homes that counted towards their social housing numbers lay vacant and derelict with no plans to redevelop them, including over 160 uninhabitable apartments in Brownlie Towers alone.
Since 2012, where comparable data is available, the average number of social houses sold under both the Liberal-National Government and the Labor Government are the same at an average of 121/122 homes per financial year. Social housing properties sold by financial year: 2017-18: 298
2018-19: 243
2019-20: 208
2020-21: 142
2021-22: 36
2022-23: 15
2023-24: 13
2024-25: 20
2025-26: *3
*To 30 September 2025
Social Housing State-wide Stock as at specified reporting dates
Reporting Date
Public Housing Properties
Community Housing Properties
Total Social Housing Properties
30 September 2020
35,582
7,319
42,901
30 September 2021
35,289
7,419
42,708
30 September 2022
35,882
7,405
43,287
30 September 2023
36,502
7,413
43,915
30 September 2024
37,161
7,430
44,591
30 September 2025
37,772
7,485
45,257
(i) Properties are not categorised according to the total number of rooms.
(b) Sales of social housing properties are currently at historic record lows.
The State Government inherited ageing and inappropriate housing stock that had not been maintained, refurbished and was in poor condition due to the mismanagement of the previous Liberal-National Government.
Under the former Liberal-National Government, many hundreds of social homes that counted towards their social housing numbers lay vacant and derelict with no plans to redevelop them, including over 160 uninhabitable apartments in Brownlie Towers alone.
Since 2012, where comparable data is available, the average number of social houses sold under both the Liberal-National Government and the Labor Government are the same at an average of 121/122 homes per financial year. Social housing properties sold by financial year: 2017-18: 298
2018-19: 243
2019-20: 208
2020-21: 142
2021-22: 36
2022-23: 15
2023-24: 13
2024-25: 20
2025-26: *3
*To 30 September 2025
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