HOUSING — RENTAL ACCOMMODATION — PUBLIC
RENTAL PROPERTIES
179. Hon JAMES HAYWARD to the Leader of the House
representing the Minister for Housing:
I refer to the
end of the rental moratorium on 28 March.
(1) How many
eviction notices from public housing have there been?
(2) Further to
(1), how many people or families have been evicted into homelessness from
public housing?
(3) Is the
minister aware that a family with five children is one of 159 families in the
Magistrates Court over the last two days facing tenancy hearings and evictions;
and, how many homes has the government spot purchased in advance of the
moratorium lifting?
(4) Is the
minister aware the ''by name'' homelessness count for Perth,
Fremantle and surrounds increased by 58 per cent since November 2020?
(5) Can the
minister name any programs currently in place to directly increase the supply
of affordable rental properties?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1)–(2) Since 28 March 2021,
there have been zero evictions from public housing.
(3)–(4) Matters
regarding the Magistrates Court and the project should be referred to the
Attorney General and the Minister for Community Services respectively.
(5) The McGowan
government is investing nearly $1 billion in social and affordable housing
programs and homelessness support services programs, including the social
housing economic recovery package and the
housing and homelessness investment package. In partnership with the
commonwealth government, the WA government is continuing to increase affordable
rental supply through the national rental affordability scheme, which
stimulates new privately owned construction to be delivered for affordable
rental purposes. Under the scheme, owners receive incentives to rent their
property to eligible low-to-moderate-income households for at least 20 per cent
below market rate. Tax incentives from the commonwealth and financial incentives
from the state are provided in arrears for 10 years. The McGowan government's
$20 000 building bonus grant is playing a critical role in the significant
increase in new home building approvals in WA, with over 24 000 applications
received as at 20 May 2021. In the 12 months to March, there have been 23 100
new homes approved for construction, the largest growth on record. As new homes
come online, supply side pressures will begin to ease with more properties in
the rental market.