Some 90,000 more than 2021 levels,to be exact,says the state government’s South East Queensland Regional Plan. And it needs those by 2031 (plus another 120,000 or so by 2046).
What are the major political contenders proposing to do to ease fast-growing Brisbane’s housing crunch? We’ve gathered the answers (and context) below.Getty
This places the target as a key challenge for those taking up seats in City Hall after Saturday’s election:with a deadline three years after the next election,much work needs to happen this term.
The regional plan,,also sets sub-targets for what types of homes these need to be,with a greater reliance on filling the urban footprint with second dwellings,townhouses and apartments – rather than detached homes – to deal with flood and fire risk constraints.
So,how would the parties vying for control of the council make this happen? We’ve laid that out below,with comments and context from,the managing director with the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute.
LNP
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner says Brisbane needs to provide.
The LNP will reduce infrastructure charges by up to 75 per cent for new unit developments and new built-to-rent housing projects under the LNP’s,to.
The policy allows for a:
Brisbane Housing Company in October 2023,which would be re-invested into new projects. The community housing element is also supported by Labor.
Fotheringham agreed the concession for community housing would probably drive more of these needed projects,while noting developers often argued infrastructure charges were making building harder.
The LNP will relax height and car parking requirements in the inner city and designated areas near shopping centres at,because most new housing has to be in existing suburbs.
It has also identified under its Suburban Renewal Program,which Fotheringham said could be a “great solution” – and something the state had also been pursuing.
Australia's housing crisis will likely get worse before it gets better,with the pace of new home construction slowing.
Under the council’s,the LNP administration had pledged to reassess land use in flood-prone areas to boost future resilience by May.
Labor
The council’s current Labor opposition,and its lord mayoral candidate Tracey Price, for “urgent action” to develop its own housing strategy and lift density in areas near public transport,employment centres,major parks and shopping centres,while maintaining “suburban character”.
The party also plans to audit all development applications which haven’t started in approved timeframes,and all vacant residentially zoned land to help owners activate it or consult the community about increasing density.
Such an audit would include investigating options to activate undeveloped medium and high-density residential-zoned land held by developers through measures such as built-to-rent incentives and “penalties for land banking”.
Fotheringham commended the idea of an audit in response to regular concerns about unused land. “If parcels of land that could be housing people are sitting there vacant over five years,it is reasonable to ask why,” he said.
While Labor’s pitch includes reviewing the City Plan to boost standards for development in and restricting development in some,Price has this was more about ensuring drainage and infrastructure was appropriate.
Labor also wants to reinstate a council flood buyback scheme worth $5 million each year (while the Greens have pitched one).
Fotheringham said he did not support buybacks as council initiatives,which were more suited to federal and state governments.
Greens
The Greens,largely via lord mayoral candidate Jonathan Sriranganathan, to cap short-term accommodation use of entire homes to 45 days annually in purpose-built properties near major tourist attractions,business hubs or transport.
Significantly higher rates categories are pitched to make it cheaper for owners not to rent more than half the bedrooms in a property as short-stay accommodation for more than 45 days,and long-term rents would be capped at January 2023 levels for two years.
A similar levy is also proposed to be applied for investment properties,including land,left empty for more than six months “without good reason”. The combined effect of these and other proposals have seen the Greens set a target of pushing rents down 20 per cent in two years.
“The overwhelming evidence internationally is that is an incredibly blunt instrument when you freeze rents for large-scale areas – and Brisbane is a very large area – for long lengths of time.”
Michael Fotheringham
“That’s a great headline,it’s a great soundbite,” Fotheringham remarked of the target. But the devil was in the detail.
Fotheringham said he had not seen plans to discourage owners from choosing to rent out properties on a short-term basis work in other jurisdictions,or much evidence it would make a big difference (a point one recent state government-commissioned report).
A rent freeze,Fotheringham said,might have the unintended consequence of encouraging landlords to turn to the short-term rental market instead,but had been used in the US on some smaller categories of properties for six-month periods.
The Greens also proposes planning code changes to allow greater use of granny flats and tiny homes,making height limits and other requirements binding and,like the LNP,also looking at car parking ratios to ensure new development did not boost congestion – something Fotheringham supported.
The party would also investigate and developing them in partnership with community housing groups.
New developments on land with the two highest flood-risk categories would be banned,with renovation and raising of existing buildings allowed. Those in lower-risk but still flood-prone areas would need to be at least two metres above predicted flood levels,rather than 50 centimetres.
While there was merit in individual climate-sensitive design,Fotheringham said this was not the case with “flooded property” bans.
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