Councils release housing hit list to get more homes built

Queensland councils have zoned almost 600,000 new home sites and are urging the major parties to commit to addressing bottlenecks preventing their development ahead of the October State Election. 

The State Government’s own figures show councils have already zoned for 595,636 greenfield homes and have approved more than nine years’ supply of townhouses and apartments in SEQ alone. 

Three years on from Queensland councils first sounding the alarm on the housing crisis gripping the state, Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) research has identified five bottlenecks slowing the roll out of desperately needed homes.

LGAQ Chief Executive Officer Alison Smith said that across Queensland, councils are doing their part – but barriers to housing remain which are beyond what councils control. 

“Councils can zone for and approve as much housing as they like, but if it’s not commercially feasible to build, those approvals won’t deliver desperately needed new homes.  

“We know 95 per cent of Queensland’s homes are delivered by the private sector so we have identified a hit list of five key measures to shift the dial and get more homes built. 

“Our recent research indicates that the cost of infrastructure that unlocks new housing supply is a significant roadblock to getting more homes delivered for Queenslanders.  

“More homes can’t be built without more infrastructure – and there’s currently a $2.2 billion projected infrastructure funding gap over the next four years. 

“The LNP has committed to fill this infrastructure funding gap – while Labor has yet to respond beyond its $350 million infill funding.

“In regional Queensland, where the capacity to address infrastructure challenges can be more significant, the forecast trunk infrastructure gap is more than $650 million over the next four years, which could add an additional $437 per annum to rates for regional residential properties.  

“Over the past three years there has been plenty of goodwill from all parties and sectors but without urgent commitments and action from government, we won’t see the homes we need now. 

“Despite the State Government and Opposition releasing significant new housing policies in recent months, there are still some critical missing pieces of the housing puzzle that exist.  

“While solving the housing crisis is complicated, three years on we can see the gaps that need action – activating existing approvals, paying for infrastructure, making sure affordable housing is locked in as affordable, reducing State fee financial barriers, and setting up a reliable pipeline for the future.  

“First of all, we need both Labor and the LNP to have a plan to activate the hundreds of thousands of existing approvals. 

“Just setting ambitious housing targets does not help activate existing approvals which councils have already granted. 

“Neither Labor nor the LNP’s plans have proposed comprehensive measures to activate these existing approvals – or ‘uncompleted lots’ – which are a big missing piece of the puzzle.  

 “Keeping housing affordable means looking at options to ensure councils can support and prioritise affordable housing proposals. 

“At present, councils have no way to ensure the housing they approve as ‘affordable’ for their communities will continue to stay that way as it’s sold and on-sold. 

“Labor has committed to exploring a ‘covenant-on-title’ scheme to address this, but there is no word from the LNP.  

“Councils are calling for a review of existing State property fees, charges and duties to remove barriers to development and improve feasibility for Queenslanders to build and own homes.   

“A healthy pipeline of housing relies on collaboration between all tiers of government and the private sector. 

“As the level of government closest to the community, Queensland councils have outlined over 40 solutions to the housing crisis in our Local Government Housing Strategy.”  

Getting more secure, affordable and available housing is one of a suite of cost of living and liveability measures included in the LGAQ’s Vote for Local election platform. 

To have your say and see which candidates’ priorities most closely align with yours and deserves your vote at the October 26 election, visit voteforlocal.com.au.

Click here for footage of Local Government Association CEO Alison Smith

Further background information:  

Both urban and regional councils are doing what they can, with the latest Queensland Government data showing swathes of zoned housing supply:  

For more information, please contact:
Dan Knowles, Media Advisor