Labor unveils NSW housing plan with South Coast chosen as pilot site

NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns unveiled the $30 million election promise which will aim to assist families as well as workers specifically in regional sectors who have been hit the hardest by the housing crisis.

"It's a pilot program of $30 million to begin to build to rent in New South Wales," Mr Minns said.

"We want to start on the New South Wales South Coast and the reason for that is really simple.

"Vacancy rates for rental properties in the state are at 1.1 per cent and there's been a 30 per cent increase in rents for the Bega Shire, a 30 percent increase in rents for the Kiama region and a 37 per cent increase in rental accommodation for the Nowra region," he said.

Mr Minns called the proposed program "a crucial first step" in addressing the issue crippling our region.

"We're squaring the ledger for the two million people that live and rent in New South Wales," he said.

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Build to Rent programs commonly involve the construction of multi-unit developments which are owned and operated under the guise of a single owner for rental purposes.

Regional areas such as the South Coast have felt the brunt of the housing crisis as a result of increasingly expensive markets as well as fewer options available to those looking for a home.

Mr Minns said the driven up prices and lack of housing opportunities are a large component as to why regional centres struggle to attract and retain key workers.

"We are desperate to keep young people and young families working in the New South Wales economy," he said.

Speaking on the Build to Rent program, South Coast Labor candidate Liza Butler said: "Today's announcement is extremely exciting, especially to have the pilot here on the South Coast."

"I have been harping on about housing on the South Coast and the shortage of housing as well as the number of homeless people that we have, so this is really an exciting announcement," Ms Butler said.

"As a small business owner, the lack of available rental properties is not only impacting those struggling to find a home but also the ability of businesses to retain staff, many I know had to shut on days last year because they had no one to work."

NSW Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness Rose Jackson further echoed the importance of this program and said it was a "desperate crisis" that the state found itself in.

"We have teachers living in tents and caravans, we have people who are desperately needed service providers in childcare, age care and hospitals that cannot find places to live," Ms Jackson said.

"They're giving up on regional communities and they're moving elsewhere because they simply can't find an affordable rental."

The NSW Government's land and property development organisation, Landcom, will come on board and assist in working with local government to identify appropriate sites and opportunities to build on.

Properties that are constructed on surplus land will have a mandatory requirement of 30 per cent of dwellings to be used for social, affordable and universal housing.

Ms Jackson called the newly announced program a "proof on concept" and said it was one that they hoped to roll out across the state.

"We want to make sure we get the settings right, the evidence base right and then hopefully roll it out right across NSW," she said.

"People want to see something real, they want a real practical path forward and that's exactly what we are proposing today."

When asked about whether a specific site had already been identified for the first builds, Ms Jackson said that investigations were underway about where to begin but nothing concrete had been confirmed as of right now.

Today's announcement comes on the heels of NSW Labor announcing a major tax cut for first home buyers in the state.

Stamp duty has been reduced for every first time buyer that's purchasing a property under $800,000.

"They won't pay any stamp duty in this state and there will be a reduction or reduced rate up to a million dollars," Mr Minns said.

He further provided an example of what this would look like saying, "For a $850,000 property you'll pay $10,000 in stamp duty under Labor's plan, as opposed to $30,000 in stamp duty under the coalition's plan."

"They've had their opportunity [The Coalition] to make a big difference when it comes to housing affordability, renters rights and squaring the ledger for renters in NSW and they've virtually done nothing," Mr Minns said.

"We've seen some announcements in the last six months but why would you trust them to solve the issue in the 13^th, 14^th, 15^th, or 16^th year when they have had 12 years to make a difference in relation to this policy area."

Local resident Jacqui Green spoke candidly about her struggles on finding somewhere for her family to live in the area.

"I'm a single working mum with three teenage kids, currently in a three bedroom house which is really too small," she said.

"We aren't willing to move because any property we go to isn't going to be secure because of the fact that people put their houses up as Airbnbs or there's 20 other families all applying for the same house where everyone is trying to outbid one another.

"Hopefully this proposed plan will relieve the situation a little bit and make life a lot easier for everyone," Ms Green said.

Mr Minns said policies needed to be "grounded in common sense".

"We need to change the housing crisis in NSW and we think that our suite of policies from stamp duty reform all the way up to changes in the rental market will make a significant difference," he said.