An apartment complex designed by Jackson Clements Burrows will be one of the first build-to-rent projects to incorporate community housing under an agreement between developer Assemble and not-for-profit housing provider Housing Choices Australia.
The Melbourne-based developer says that for its future projects at least 20 percent of dwellings will be allocated for low-income tenants, with Housing Choices Australia managing these houses.
This community housing component will be delivered through a long-term lease arrangement across six Assemble development sites in inner- and middle-ring Melbourne, including the Jackson Clements Burrows-designed apartments at Carinish Road in Clayton, south-east Melbourne.
“We are proud to partner with Housing Choices Australia to deliver much needed long-term mixed-income rental housing,” said Assemble managing director Kris Daff.
“At a time that has been socially and economically devastating for Victoria, fuelled by uncertainty in housing tenure and barriers to home ownership, our communities need support now more than ever to ensure we do not reach crisis point.”
“Build to rent is a scalable model, and when executed to its best effect, it has the potential to meet our nation’s demand for secure-tenure affordable housing. We see mixed-income communities as a blueprint for the future of Australian housing.”
Housing Choices Australia and Assemble will co-invest alongside institutional equity investors in all projects. Both parties will jointly participate in the procurement, delivery and management of the mixed-income housing. Groups offered tenancy could include women experiencing domestic violence, young people living with disabilities, or key workers on low, fixed incomes.
Housing Choices Australia managing director Michael Lennon said the build-to-rent model had been widely adopted internationally: “The establishment of build to rent as an asset class reflects the growing maturity of the community housing sector in Australia,” he said.
“Build to rent recognises that there are very significant unmet housing needs in Australia coupled with a strong desire by institutional investors to diversify and to contribute solutions to the housing crisis. The community housing sector offers ideal partnership opportunities because of its depth of experience in managing tenancies and communities cost effectively.”
“International examples of build to rent offer a wider array of housing choices, enrich city communities, benefit local economies and most importantly, take pressure off the housing system overall.”
