NOT-for-profit housing provider Nightingale is calling Housing All Australians (HAA) new affordable housing development model a “game changer” amidst the ongoing housing crisis.
The Progressive Residential Affordability Development Solution (PRADS), developed by HAA, was taken for its first test drive in Nightingale’s latest North Coburg project and resulted in the provision of affordable housing in the development climbing from 5% to 15%.
PRADS works through leveraging of increased land value in the planning process, allowing projects to increase social housing without risking its financial viability or leaving the project to seek subsidies from taxpayers.
The PRADS model sees local government acting as the planning authority, grants concessions related to height limits to developers in exchange for a commitment to include a substantial number of affordable housing units in the project.
HAA has been leading the way with Rob Pradolin calling on the public and private sectors to come together and solve the social housing and homelessness crisis.
“The housing crisis won’t be fixed with a single solution. It’s going to require us trying many different things, from many different angles, to ensure the homes we need are built in a timeframe that will help people put a much-need roof over their heads,” said Dan McKenna, CEO at Nightingale.
“The PRADS model is a fantastic approach and we hope it will only gain momentum as more projects like North Coburg demonstrate its benefits.”
The inclusion of PRADS comes as the Victorian Government announced incentives for developers to create projects with a minimum 10 per cent social housing in its recent Housing Statement.
“Those changes flagged by the Victorian Government, deployed concurrently with PRADS, will make it just so much more attractive for any developer to include a significant affordable housing component in their multi-unit residential projects,” added McKenna.
Nightingale worked with Merri-bek Council on the North Coburg project, to see an increase in height of two storeys as part of the rezoning of a warehouse site from commercial to residential.
Increasing the height in turn increased the value of the land, with Nightingale then using that increase to fund the additional affordable housing units.
“Nightingale acknowledges the collaboration with Merri-bek Council in their support of the PRADS model, and the work of HAA in developing the model,” said McKenna.
“To fix a broken Australian housing market will require exactly this kind of innovation and collaboration.”
Last month, HAA and ASX-listed PEXA Group joined forces to deliver Australia’s first digital Affordable Housing Register, as the property industry looks at new solutions and attracting capital to solve the social housing and homelessness crisis.
