THE ACT Budget promises another 1200 homes for Housing ACT tenants. 

This program will be guided by the Growing and Renewing Public Housing 2019-24 plan, which was a key action under the new ACT Housing Strategy.

“It builds on our major Public Housing Renewal Program which will be concluded during 2019, having delivered 1288 renewed public housing properties across Canberra,” the government says.

“Building on the success of Common Ground in Gungahlin, the 2019-20 ACT Budget will get work underway on a second Common Ground apartment complex in Dickson. Like the successful Gungahlin complex, Common Ground Dickson will provide a housing-first approach with on-site supports to meet the needs of residents.

“Common Ground Dickson will provide more social and affordable homes for people experiencing chronic homelessness, with 40 units offering a mix of one, two and three bedroom homes to accommodate both individuals and families.”

In monitoring the quality of house building in the ACT, the government will hire eight new rapid response officers and four additional compliance officers for Access Canberra to undertake more monitoring and compliance activity to protect consumers.

With Canberra’s population growing by around 8000 people a year, the government says it is adding more land supply to keep up with growing demand to help keep housing affordable.

“The 2019-20 Indicative Land Release Program will see another 15,600 sites for homes released to the market over the next four years in a mix of urban renewal areas and new suburban estates,” the government says.

“In 2019-20, the land release program includes 488 affordable housing blocks, 140 sites for social and community housing, and 294,085 square metres of land for community uses.”

From July 1 the government will fully abolish stamp duty for eligible first home buyers.

Canberrans with a household income below $160,000 will pay no stamp duty, regardless of whether they are purchasing a newly-built home or an existing property in an established suburb.