Renewal and growth in social housing

Presentation to Community Housing Federation of Victoria and housing agencies

25 August 2015

Social Housing & NDIS Reform Division

PILLARS OUTCOMES

Reduce homelessness, and prevent and address housing

crisis

Renew and grow social housing; take action to

increase affordable housing

Making the homelessness and social housing system

work better for people

Better social and economic outcomes for vulnerable

Victorians

· More nuanced approach to prioritising clients to recognise present and prospective risk of homelessness

· Revision of crisis operating models to better meet client needs, aspirations and housing outcomes· Systems integration to better respond and resolve episodic and chronic homelessness· Housing responses that provide the quickest possible path to long term sustainable housing rather than

only through a pathway approach· Worker with portable support to follow client through a range of accommodation where necessary

· More social housing supply that meets growing demand and people’s needs· Reduce concentrations of disadvantage· Promote and expand not-for-profit, community-based Housing Associations · Work with other agencies to increase affordable housing options so that low income Victorians can rent

where there are jobs and training opportunities · People with a disability have more housing options that promote independence

· Work with the sector to implement a common housing register to simplify the process for applicants· Broader forms of housing assistance that more quickly help people into housing that they can sustain · Homelessness and social housing response is embedded within the community care system so that it is

easy to access, navigate and empowers people to makes choices and achieve their potential · Greater choice introduced into social housing system as part of a person-centred approach

· Renewal and growth of social and affordable housing close to education opportunities, jobs, transport and services increases the economic and social participation of disadvantaged, low-income Victorians

· Social housing tenants (working age and with capacity) get jobs and move on in their lives and tenure· More young people leaving care having safe and stable accommodation from which they can build

independence founded on education and employment · Social housing tenants who need longer term support achieve their highest possible levels of stability,

health and wellbeing· Service investment and models of support are targeted to the intervention(s) that most effectively

address individuals and families’ specific forms of disadvantage, and prevent the ongoing costs of that disadvantage for them, the community and economy

Our developing agenda for reform – a work in progress

What we want to discuss with you today

• Government objectives and principles for growth & renewal

• Thinking about a growth strategy – Capital and Funding, Estate Redevelopment, Precinct renewal process

• Asset management transfers

• Opportunities for the community housing sector

• Capability and strengths of the sector to deliver growth

• Conditions required to enable growth

• Partnership to develop a common housing register

Government objectives and principles for growth

• Minister has signalled he wants to focus on the most disadvantaged

• Realistic and deliverable growth and renewal in social housing stock - not a decline in numbers

• Value extraction to be a key funding source for growth, with some capital funding possible

• A more efficient social housing system through partnership with the sector and better outcomes for clients

• Potential for management transfers where strength of community housing is demonstrable for tenants

Thinking about a growth strategy – Capital & Funding

• Introduce structured and formalised funding rounds for grants to the sector (VPF and DoH grants)

• Improve utilisation of assets to meet service needs. Make existing deployed capital work harder.

• Redirect operational funds where appropriate to provide asset responses to high needs cohorts

• Accelerate sales program of outdated properties no longer needed to increase capital reinvestment

• Unlock capital through a program of estate redevelopments

• Collaborate with other agencies to deliver housing on surplus government land

Thinking about a growth strategy - Estate redevelopment

• Identify estates which are suitable and most in need of redevelopment

• Prioritise redevelopment projects and establish a project pipeline

• Proactively manage tenants to enable timely and cost efficient redevelopment including re-scoping of estate

• Establish an efficient procurement mechanism to engage Community and Private sector partners and fast track large scale estate redevelopment

Thinking about a growth strategy - Precinct renewal

• The department will implement a precinct approach to provisioning for renewal and growth

• Develop precinct renewal plans aligned to Plan Melbourne, regional growth priorities, and geographic demand for key priority groups to increase the total housing stock

• Work collaboratively with Metropolitan Planning Authority and local government to deliver planned precinct renewal

• Expedite planning where required through Minister for Planning making decisions on selected sites

Asset Management Transfers

• Management transfer program under consideration

• Potential to structure transfers to achieve:

• Improved services for clients

• Addressing maintenance needs

• Neighbourhood renewal and better place management

• Continued focus on key priority groups such as people experiencing family violence, people with disabilities, young people and single people

• Draw on lessons learned from national developments – South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland

Asset Management Transfers

• Could build in title transfer if sector can demonstrate meeting key performance targets

• Management transfers could lead to title transfer after 3-5 years if KPI's are met, for example:

• tenant satisfaction improves from set benchmarks

• maintenance benchmarks maintained or exceeded

• agreed allocations made from common housing register

• commitment to leverage/ growth delivered through title transfer

• Interested in sector’s views on parameters for asset management transfers

Opportunities for the community housing sector

• The sector will have the opportunity to participate in significant estate redevelopment opportunities through a transparent competitive process

• Possible management transfer process

• DHHS will support the establishment of structured funding rounds to the sector (VPF & Doh)

• DHHS will work with CHFV on a more structured approach to community housing sector led proposals

Capabilities of the community housing sector to deliver growth

Questions for the Sector

•What is the sectors value proposition & strengths that make the sector a preferred partner?

•Is the sector resourced appropriately to participate in a rolling program of large scale estate redevelopments?

•Does the sector have a preferred development partnership model with the department and private sector?

•Does the sector have a preferred asset management transfer model? (large scale full title transfer not being considered as a first step)

Conditions required to enable growth

• Ministerial authority

• Establish efficient procurement mechanisms

• Create an ongoing pipeline of renewal and growth projects

• Secure funding and finance sources to support growth

• Refine a best practice asset management transfer model for broad implementation

Outcomes for people

We don’t want to lose sight of how we renew and grow social housing as part of achieving complementary outcomes for people:

•Better needs assessment and alignment with other support needs

•Simplified access

•Common housing register

•Choice based letting

•A renewed focus on private rental assistance

A more integrated and holistic responses to people’s needs – a conceptual model to test with sector partners

Housing supports provided as part of a coordinated, holistic

service response

Expansion of products and support services to support flow through the system

Crisis Accommodation

Public Housing

Community Housing

Private Rental with government

assistance

Affordable Housing Initiatives

Persons presenting with housing (and support) needs

Common Housing Register

Greater flexibility of funding for short

term interventions that deliver long-

term outcomes and rapid rehousing

Common access -

intake and streaming process

Divert people from crisis services and public housing through rapid rehousing in private rental

Better supported transition from crisis accommodation to other options

Referral to comprehensiv

e needs assessment

where appropriate

Assertive outreach to key cohorts to prevent and address housing crisis

Choice Based Letting

Entry to service response

Front End Access

Example – no departmental status14

Better access: common housing register What is a common housing register?

• Social housing providers working together to create a single register of social housing applicants: a common application form, a single database of applicants, coordinated housing information and advice.

The common housing register is a first step in terms of maximising and simplifying access to housing assistance for disadvantaged Victorians. A common housing register will:

• Create better access to housing through one simple and effective entry point to the widest range of housing opportunities.

• Create greater transparency and accountability across the social housing system.

• Embed homelessness and social housing into the wider community care system.

Better access: common housing register

Better access: common housing register

Allocations framework and referral policy

Allocations framework

•To make the common housing register work, an allocations framework will need to be developed in consultation with the sector to guide allocations from a common housing register.

•It is timely to review the allocations process and the referral protocol

Referral policy

•In the interim a referral policy that mirrors the settings of the allocations framework will be put in place for housing organisations who have not yet joined the common housing register. This ensures no competitive disadvantage.

Working in partnership with the sector

•DHHS and CHFV will meet this week to agree on a governance structure to drive this work.

Testing these ideas

• There is an ideal opportunity to test these ideas in 1-2 selected areas across Victoria before any wider roll-out.

• Place based testing could occur where there are the following elements available:

• Supportive homelessness access point(s) that is willing to test the model.

• Strong engagement from DHHS area office.

• Registered housing agencies that are keen to engage.

• Reasonable access to affordable private rental properties.

• What other elements are crucial?

17