The solutions

Years of neglect have contributed to this crisis and it will take years to resolve, but it can be done.

It is a complex issue and understanding the causes will allow us to provide a ‘cure’ rather than just treat the symptoms that allow the real issue to fester.

The actual solution comes down to one single outcome - SUPPLY.

We need more dwellings, more places for people to live.

There are two places this needs to come from - The Public Sector (Government and institutional investor provided) and the Private Sector (individual and corporate investors).

The following solutions address the many contributing factors to ensure we create sustainable change over time.

Here are solutions being explored: 

  • Build the Olympic Games village now to be used to bridge the gap as the crisis is eased and resolved.

  • Repair the prescriptive and complex planning scheme and its application to encourage the right kind of supply in the right areas sooner.

  • Provide the right kind of incentive for rental properties through planning, legislation and fees and charges.

Keep in mind we have only just launched this intiative and are still building out the detail. Some solutions are outlined below and more, and more detail will come. I you have other solutions, or if you know of other causes to be solved, please contact us for them to be included here.

TAKE THE INITIATIVE, JOIN THE MOVEMENT, BE THE CHANGE.

SOLUTION - A CRISIS RESPONSE

GOVERNMENT ACTION NOW

Successive governments, at all levels, have failed us. We now have a Rental and Homelessness CRISIS. At a federal level, they will say that they have a meeting in July of Federal and State Housing Ministers. It’s a nice start, but we don’t need more discussion or committees, we need action.

State Government will say they have a ‘Housing and Homelessness Action Plan.’ Well, they have had one during the peak retreat from the market of rental properties from 2017 to 2021 and here we are. Admittedly, there have been ‘steps’ such as the LSDM Report Peer Review, an acknowledgement to accept all recommendations. So let’s get on with it.

At a fundamental level, however, the way forward is to continue on the current planning scheme path and an increase in social and affordable housing that has no chance to bring the market back into balance. You can’t be the cause and the cure. We need a dramatic turnaround.

At a local council level, they will talk about the Local Government Housing Advocacy Plan committed to last year by LGAQ. Yet, that plan takes no responsibility for the actions at a local council level and essentially lays blame and responsibility to solve the crisis at the Federal and State level. One of the core recommendations will actually cause the problem to get worse. Since that ‘plan’ was released Councilors have voted for actions that will make the housing crisis worse, the planning scheme proposed changes will fail us, application of the planning scheme has caused delays and projects to be shelved and actual supply is falling - from an already dangerously low level.

We need a Crisis response, like we would for any other crisis we need the following action (much expanded on further below):

  • A Crisis Coordinator (like the Chief Health Officer’s role during the pandemic) at each level of government to drive a focused response team.

  • An emergency action plan fast-tracking planning changes and actual construction of new dwellings in both the private and public sectors.

  • Incentives for supply (including disincentives for those actively adding to the undersupply of rental accommodation).

  • Emergency funding - for construction, for incentives, for homes!

  • Dramatic, pivotal changes to the planning scheme and its application at all levels

  • Construction of government-owned dwellings and land (as appropriate)

SOLUTION - SUPPLY

BUILD THE GAMES VILLAGE NOW

Why is this the centrepiece? Because it talks to the single most important outcome and that is SUPPLY and the way to get there which is an all of government and united community approach. We all know we will have the need for a games village and it will come in 10 years’ time, so why, when faced with the greatest crisis in accommodation our community has seen would we not build it now?

The underlying theory here is that we could build the games village and all its amenities to provide urgent social and affordable housing solutions in a short period of time. Working with not-for-profit and commercial enterprises a model could be put in place to house those with emergency needs through to those that just simply can’t find a rental. The support to each category could vary and the ‘village’ would be a place to enable each group to move ‘up’ a category and eventually out into the general market as the crisis is eased and resolved over the medium and long term. As the balance of the solutions are executed, general supply will increase and can be SOLVED within 10 years creating a balanced market.

The games village could then be refurbished ready for the 2032 Olympic Games’ needs and on completion be returned to the market as general housing stock or remain as long-term community housing - or both.

There are multiple parcels of public and private land on the Sunshine Coast in key locations that would suit not only the delivery of the games village but essentially a parallel model while the crisis is eased in other locations. A very specific, Sunshine Coast version of Build to Rent.

We have a model for this to be executed very quickly and encourage all levels of government to meet with us so we can help them execute the plan and model.

Under this model, we believe 2,000 additional dwellings could be delivered over the next 2-3 years!

We will provide further detail here over time.

SOLUTION - SUPPLY

GOVERNMENTS PROVIDING HOMES

There are multiple ways all levels of government can supply housing today. Some of those methods might require a change in legislation. Keep in mind what legislation is - a decision that politicians made at a point in time. As we know, not all decisions are wise or remain relevant. Politicians can make bad laws.

There is no reason, especially in a crisis, some of these can’t be reviewed with a view to change, or put in a temporary exception to get us onto the other side of the crisis.

A perfect example is that of TAFE Qld land. On the Sunshine Coast they are losing students to other regions on completion of their training due to lack of accomodation options. It would make sense to allow them to create accommodation (even if only temporary) to provide a solution for a student and former student (say up to 3 years) to rent accommodation from them while their income improves as does general supply as the crisis is resolved. It would also be an income generator for TAFE and the State. The challenge is that the land is owned by the State and legislation doesn’t permit it and they don’t have a model in how to deliver and execute. Easy, change the legislation and we have the model! But it takes political courage to act.

Similarly, Sunshine Coast Council has done a very good job with the Airport and CBD, they should consider becoming land speculators and delivering a simliar outcome of creating the opportunity and then onselling that to a managed fund or private investors creating an increase in supply and financial benefit to the community. Council has land, lots of it. It can be done if the will exisits.

A summary of the solutions we will futher expand on include:

  • State and Council being land speculators

  • Construction of all forms of social and affordable housing funded by each level of government

  • Construction of social and affordable housing in partnership with enterprise and private developers and investors

  • Construction of temporary accommodation solutions on surplus land (TAFE example)

SOLUTION - PLAN BETTER

RESTRUCTURE OF PLANNING SCHEME, MODELING & PRACTICES

The prescriptive and complex planning rules in Queensland have led to a reduction in the number of dwellings actually built. Not only through a lowering of density, but it has also failed to create the right kinds of property.

For example, a way to provide an increase in small accommodation quickly is to allow our community to have secondary dwellings (think ‘granny flat’) on their principal place of residence that can be rented to those in need. The problem is that the planning is very restrictive (must be a min 90sqm in size and within 20m of the main dwelling) and it can’t be rented (only used for ‘family’). This makes it too problematic and cost-prohibitive. It doesn’t make sense, and when you hear the justification, even less so. Let’s change that one TODAY!

For years, industry bodies have been warning the State government and local council about the undersupply. Both levels of government have been resistant to the view of the ‘industry agenda’ and a lack of understanding of the data. This lack of understanding has also come from a distinct lack of transparency in the data and therefore the ability of the industry to point out to the government the exact points where they got off track. Similar to the need to ‘hide’ data, the same motivation, fear, gives rise to a view of ‘agenda’. If they had listened we wouldn’t have a crisis, it’s not an ‘agenda’ to point out the fault and potential consequences. We need openness and brace discussions.

This section will grow extensively over time as we provide detailed inputs into every specific area. For now, the key areas that need to immediately be addressed to ensure we get the right kind of property in the right areas are:

  • Transparency in data at all levels of government and willingness to work with industry experts for best outcomes. Real, practical, data and science-backed outcomes.

  • Institute a Temporary Local Planning Instrument that supports the rapid delivery of housing, that should have already been provided, and the logical changes (such as secondary dwellings) in consultation with industry experts

  • Provide support to state and council planners to ensure they are able to execute their role in line with legislation without undue political or community interference, including penalties for operating outside of legislative provisions

  • Immediately improve decision review processes internally, such as a Peer Review prior to approval/decline and urgently move more roles to industry experts external to Council / State as appropriate

  • Land requirements in the planning scheme must reflect changing demographics, housing needs and business models

  • Incentivise density increases in appropriate locations around centres and mass transit nodes

  • Review code provisions and overlays that limit appropriate land use such as setbacks and site cover

  • Expand the urban growth boundary to facilitate new growth corridors

  • Expand the provisions for ‘Manufactured’ homes

  • Revise the review timeline for town plans to increase responsiveness to market needs and changes

  • Improve communication with the community and business with genuine engagement

SOLUTION - INCENTIVES TO SUPPLY

we can do this together

Residential property investors and developers are VITAL to supply. We cannot and should not rely on the government alone to provide for our housing needs. We also can’t resolve this within our own community and we need to support the means to increase supply from individuals, families, Australians and even those who would invest here, to fill the gap.

This is not an ‘OR’ policy, we believe we need to provide support to residential property investors AND all levels of government to invest further in social and affordable housing

We will provide much more detail on the below solutions and we have a model for each:

  • Residential property investors should not have any additional financing constraints - loan-to-value ratios, lending products and interest rates should be the same as or better than owner-occupiers

  • Assessment rates (interest rate buffers) should be relaxed in line with increasing interest rates.

  • There should be clear and unchanging policy settings for residential property investors

  • Tax benefits should be increased, with particular benefits to those providing social and affordable housing (eg. an increase in capital gains tax discounts)

  • Land tax be discounted for 5 years for new supply, land tax on properties in other states (double dipping) be removed and no land tax be applied for 5 years for those providing social and affordable housing

  • Stamp duty for residential property investors should be the same as or better than owner-occupiers with a discount for those providing social and affordable housing

  • Local Council Rates for residential property investors should be the same as or better than owner-occupiers with a discount for those providing social and affordable housing

  • Development costs and taxes should be discounted for the next 5 years with additional incentives for those developers providing social and affordable housing

There are some disincentives that should be applied too - penalties for those properties that have been withdrawn, inappropriately, from the supply. We need much more short-stay accommodation on the Sunshine Coast to support businesses here, especially with all that is coming, yet there are some forms of short-stay properties (AirBnB for example) that should be in the long-term rental pool, along with some vacant properties. While we believe in choice, in such cases, there should be additional charges for that choice, which would go towards some of the other incentives above. More on this to come.

SOLUTION - the brave discussion

it’s about people, homes, livelihoods

This site exists to hold the discussion needed for our community to understand and SOLVE the crisis. It requires unity and effort. We will add constantly to this page, and this discussion until there is a Home for Everyone Under the Sun. Please join the conversation, show your support and help others jump on board the movement. We all know someone who needs it.