By Colin MacGillivray

NATIONAL housing advocates and Mitchell Shire Council leaders have called for greater government commitment to building social housing following revelations the region has one of the worst rates of rental stress in Victoria.

National housing advocacy group Everybody’s Home last month released figures from SQM Research showing a housing crisis in regional Victoria.

Fewer than one per cent of rental properties in northern Victoria, which includes the Mitchell and Macedon Ranges shires, were vacant, with rents in the region increasing by an average of more than six per cent in the past 12 months.

Across the past three years, rent rose by an average of 5.5 per cent annually in northern Victoria, with wages rising by only 2.6 per cent a year across the same period.

An interactive map on Everybody’s Home’s website showed the federal McEwen electorate, which incorporates parts of the City of Whittlesea and Mitchell and Macedon Ranges shires, had one of the worst rates of rental stress in Victoria at 61.5 per cent, with 59.2 per cent of mortgagees also in stress.

Everybody’s Home spokesperson Kate Colvin said low vacancy rates left tenants more vulnerable to rent increases as landlords attempted to recoup the cost of rising interest rates.

Ms Colvin said pressure on renters, particularly those with low-income jobs, would continue to mount unless the state and federal governments upped their commitment to building social and affordable housing.

“What we’re hearing now is that a lot of people are struggling to buy the food they need each week at the supermarket. They’re struggling to get petrol in the tank, and of course that cost has also increased,” she said.

“The increased rents are really putting people on the precipice of homelessness, because if they’re so stretched in their budget that they’re struggling to even afford food, then any extra impact on their budget – like losing a shift at work or an unexpected expense – means they can’t make their rent payments.”

Housing Minister Danny Pearson visited Mitchell Shire last month to inspect 71 new homes in Wallan and Seymour under construction as part of the State Government’s Big Housing Build.

Ms Colvin said while the build – a $5.3 billion program to build 12,000 new dwellings from 2020 to 2024 – was admirable, it fell short of addressing the rental crisis facing regional Victoria.

“The Big Housing Build … is a significant commitment, but it expires in 2024. We want the Victorian Government to keep the Big Housing Build investment going because the need is obviously still ongoing,” she said.

“The Victorian Government also shouldn’t have to go it alone, and that’s what happened under the last Federal Government – they just said the states had to do all the heavy lifting in regards to social housing.

“But it is a shared responsibility, so we want the Federal Government to partner with the states and also invest. If they work together we can get the best outcomes for communities.”

Labor committed to building 30,000 social and affordable housing properties across Australia in the lead-up to this year’s federal election, but Ms Colvin said the government could do more.

“It shows they are accepting responsibility for housing issues and acknowledging that the Federal Government has a role to be investing in social housing growth, but the issue is that 30,000 properties over five years across eight states and territories is not enough to address the need,” she said.

“We’re calling on the federal and state governments to work together to commit to building 25,000 social housing properties a year. That is a bigger ambition that what the Federal Government has currently.”

Federal Member for McEwen Rob Mitchell said the government would introduce a National Housing and Homelessness Plan.

“The new plan will set out the key short, medium and longer-term reforms needed to improve housing and homelessness outcomes,” he said.

“The government will introduce legislation to parliament to enact the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund that will build 30,000 social and affordable homes within its first five years. This is the most fundamental way rental stress and homelessness can be addressed.”

Mr Mitchell said the initial stages of the project would focus on at-risk groups.

“Recognising that domestic violence is the leading cause of homelessness for women, the fund will deliver $100 million for crisis and transitional housing options for women and children fleeing domestic and family violence and older women on low incomes who are at risk of homelessness,” he said.

Mr Mitchell said $30 million from the fund would go towards housing and specialist services for veterans who were experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

Mitchell Shire Council Mayor Bill Chisholm agreed that ‘much more’ investment in social housing was vital for the region.

“The federal and state governments need to make ongoing commitment and investment to the renewal of existing social and public housing, new builds that comprise of a range of living options and crisis and transitional housing,” he said.

“As we grow and change Seymour will need an increase in services, this must happen along with the growth in social housing.

“This investment has never been more needed than now, with high inflation, increasing mortgage interest rates, and low wage growth having the greatest impact on those in our community who can least afford it.”