Affordable Housing for Trans Women in Sydney Secured Through Govt Funding

Sydney’s first dedicated affordable housing project for transgender women will be built in Darlinghurst following the sale of City of Sydney properties as part of the council’s excess land program. 

Last year, seven properties were sold at a “significant discount” to Common Equity NSW, which will partner with All Nations housing co-operative to create permanent, affordable housing. 

The properties were sold at a 70 per cent discount in a bid to address housing insecurity for trans women, who are highly vulnerable to homelessness. 

“Having access to a safe and secure home is one of the most important things for people’s mental health, income and employment,” Councillor Sylvie Ellsmore told City Hub last year. 

Common Equity Secures Properties Under Council’s Excess Land Scheme

The properties all sold under an excess land scheme, which determines unused or under-utilised properties that council owns then sells them to those most in need.

In a release published on Friday, the NSW government announced that more than 210 new social and affordable homes would soon become available due to investments made by the Minns Labor Government under Federal Labor’s $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator Fund (SHAF).

Under a co-contribution model with community housing providers, the NSW Government is “fast-tracking the delivery of 211 new homes in areas where they are needed most, including 184 social homes and 27 affordable housing dwellings”.

The successful housing providers include:

• Common Equity NSW Ltd – who will deliver 7 new social homes in Darlinghurst
• CORE Community Service Ltd – who will deliver 4 new social homes in Mt Pritchard
• Housing Plus – who will deliver 4 new social homes in Bathurst
• Macleay Options Ltd – who will deliver 6 new social homes in Kempsey
• Pacific Link Housing Ltd – who will deliver 4 new social homes in Cessnock
• St George Community Housing Ltd – who will deliver 10 new social homes in Sydney
• St Vincent de Paul Housing – who will deliver 7 new social homes in Griffith
• YWCA Australia – who will deliver 10 new social homes in Lavington

Almost 50 of the new SHAF homes are now complete and are already housing over 70 residents in Albury, Gunnedah and the Central Coast.

What is Co-Op Housing?

Co-operative rental housing is a community-led form of social housing where the housing is run by the people who live in it.

Common Equity, a not-for-profit organisation and the peak body for housing co-operatives in NSW supports existing housing co-ops and helps to develop new ones, including the latest seven property project for trans women. 

Additionally, they are a Tier 2 Community Housing Provider who define the co-op model as one that  generates “significant social, financial, health and wellbeing benefits”.

NSW Minister for Housing and Homelessness Rose Jackson said, “Everyone deserves to live with the safety and security of a roof over their head. We know the housing crisis is hitting communities hard, and that access to affordable housing is a key part of the issue”.

“That’s why we are getting on with the job of delivering new social and affordable homes right across the state, working closely with community housing providers and the federal government to make sure we are pulling every lever available,” she said. 

Minister Jackson stated that with the almost 50 homes already delivered, and 211 more social and affordable homes in the pipeline, the funding would make a “real difference for the people and families of NSW who need it most”.