Housing Plan Falls Short

Opinion Editorial published in the Herald Sun on 21 September 2023
By Quentin Kilian, CEO Real Estate Institute of Victoria

REIV welcomes, in principle, yesterday’s government efforts to ensure the long-term sustainability of Victoria’s housing supply.

While we applaud the focus on improving the availability and quality of social and affordable housing in Victoria’s Housing Statement – The Decade Ahead 2024-2034, the announcement does little to address the short-term rental crisis plaguing Victorians.

The policy prioritises long-term initiatives and investments with decade long targets and ambitious development goals, while the burden of today’s renters and investors alike have been overlooked.

It does very little to relieve the immediate needs of the rental crisis, by failing to articulate a plan for attracting and retaining existing residential real estate investors in the market. We know that rental providers are seeking confidence and reassurance that a property investment now will support them in retirement.

We have called repeatedly for government to prioritise investors incentivisation, to stabilise supply and relieve pressures being felt by Victorian renters competing for limited listings at a record low vacancy rate.

With an overwhelming majority of Victorians renting from the private rental market (almost 90 per cent), in the face of rising cost of living, land taxes and interest rates, this was a missed opportunity to ease the costs associated for rental providers.

We need initiatives to keep rental providers in the market. The REIV has provided recommendations to simplify the Residential Tenancies Act and attract more investment through tax initiatives.

While certainty is important for both property owners and tenants, this must be balanced with the ability for property owners to cover increasing costs such as land tax and interest rates.

The Statement has been long awaited and highly debated and there is still a lot to be detailed when it comes to proposed portable rental bonds and the Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria.

Ongoing professional development is a practice REIV Members have also been long expected to comply with, so aligning these standards across the sector makes sense.

We welcome the effort to futureproof accessible and affordable housing for Victorians in the long-term, and we seek initiatives to support and attract investors to Victoria to assist with supply issues now.

We will take every opportunity to engage with government to help define the detail of this plan. 

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