Stable, affordable and accessible housing linked to health, justice and community support services is critical to helping people live independently and improve life opportunities related to family, work, education, recreation or other pursuits. Objectives for housing need to be seen in this context.
Some key housing objectives for local government are suggested below in relation to specific principles. Local priorities will, of course, vary and your council needs to consider which of these or other objectives are most important in your area.
Objective: to promote community wellbeing through better provision of housing to meet diverse community needs.
A principle of promoting community well-being implies that housing needs to be recognised as central to community wellbeing to gain the focus it deserves, and to ensure that strategies for its improvement are successful. A number of more specific objectives fall under this general objective. In relation to housing, the two most frequently cited involve appropriateness and affordability.
Objective: to give households access to housing that is appropriate to their needs.
Appropriate housing meets the needs of residents in terms of size, physical attributes and location. Housing should be of a sufficient standard that it is safe and does not affect the health or wellbeing of household members in a negative way. It should accommodate the daily requirements of residents, and allow sufficient space and privacy for all. If household members have special needs, their housing must also accommodate them adequately.
Objective: To promote a range of housing that is affordable to households of varying financial capacity, including an adequate supply of housing that is affordable for very low, low and moderate-income households.
Affordability generally refers to housing costs that are reasonable in relation to income. When looking at affordability, the focus is usually on the availability of accommodation that is affordable very low, low and moderate-income households, or those who are most likely to be having difficulty accessing affordable housing on the private housing market.
Housing affordability is commonly measured in relation to the proportion of income spent on housing costs. When a very low, low or moderate-income household is spending more than 30 per cent of its gross income on housing costs, it is said to be in housing stress. Households in housing stress are unlikely to have sufficient funds to meet their other needs.
These central objectives of relating to principles of affordability and appropriateness should sit alongside other objectives related to principles of community wellbeing, such as choice, opportunity, inclusiveness and sustainability.
Objective: To provide housing choice by encouraging housing of different types, size and tenure in suitable locations, at a range of prices within the reach of households of varying financial capacity.
Housing choice refers to a household’s capacity to select a home that suits its needs, preferences, aspirations and financial means. Housing choice requires the availability of an appropriate and diverse range of housing that is accessible to households from different socio-economic groups within the community.
An inclusive community is one that offers such choice and diversity.
Top of page
Objective: To provide housing in a way that contributes to the sustainability of communities and is compatible with the goal of environmental sustainability.
“Sustainability” means two things in this context: firstly, an inclusive, diverse community is one that is most likely to be socially and economically sustainable. The sustainability of a community is closely linked with its ability to maintain and build on existing social networks, local services and economic opportunities. Diverse communities support a range of services and local businesses and also provide the labour force to deliver these activities. Providing a range of suitable housing to meet changing needs allows communities to stay intact and social networks to grow. Environmental sustainability, on the other hand, means recognising the fragility of our environment and ensuring that development can meet “the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Brundtland Report 1987). To be compatible with this aim, urban development should protect the natural environment, contain environmental impacts, and reduce reliance on non-renewable resources.
Affordability and environmental sustainability are sometimes considered to be competing objectives for housing. This is not necessarily so, particularly when long-term affordability is taken into account. Many of the approaches that represent environmentally sustainable design, such as careful site planning and building orientation, do not in themselves add to housing costs. Other measures, while contributing to upfront costs, can result in long-term costs savings in, for example, heating or water consumption. If housing meets rather than exceeds needs, it can be affordable and can also contain the use of resources. Homes without multiple bathrooms are one example.
Objective: To provide housing that allows people the opportunity to pursue goals related to family, work, education, creativity, recreation or other pursuits.
Housing and the communities in which people live often shape the quality of life and opportunities they have. The availability of suitable housing will very often have a bearing on an individual’s or a household’s ability to achieve their goals.
These opportunities may be influenced by the accessibility and location of housing (to jobs, education and services, for example), the availability of space for particular activities such as space to work from home, the capacity for privacy, and so on.
Objective: To ensure that the location of housing offers residents adequate access to transport, employment, services, and to social and support networks.
Access refers to the proximity of housing to services, employment and commercial centres or the availability of safe, reliable and convenient public transport to these facilities.
To maximise access, housing should either be concentrated in areas close to commercial or employment centres or major transport nodes or should be serviced by regular and efficient public transport.
Objective: To encourage adaptable and accessible housing that can respond to the changing needs of residents
Adaptable housing describes a home that can be modified or extended at minimum cost to suit the changing needs of its occupants. The aim should be to design and build housing so it can be adapted for use by any person, irrespective of their age, level of mobility, health conditions or lifestyle preferences.
Accessible housing refers to housing that has been fully adapted to meet the needs of a particular client or client type (e.g. a wheelchair bound person).
See Your Home Technical Manual for further guidance on adaptable housing, and for Guidelines on accessible housing see, for example, those prepared by the Independent Living Centre of WA (inc.).
The findings of your housing market demand and supply analysis will form the basis of a problem statement containing the issues that your local government will commit itself to addressing. Any gaps between stated objectives and actual experience will identify the areas which an affordable housing strategy must cover. For example, if one objective is to provide a range of housing choice by encouraging housing of different types, size and tenure, then the absence of such choice has to be addressed in the housing strategy. The analysis may also identify additional goals and objectives, or require the refinement of existing goals and objectives.
The aims and objectives of your housing strategy are an important statement of your council’s intentions and guiding principles in relation to housing. Information collected during the housing study informs the development of your housing strategy, and the identification of the aims and objectives to guide it, but is not in itself sufficient. Input from councillors, council staff, as well as broader perspectives from key stakeholders such as local community organisations and resident groups, is generally needed. The next subsection discusses public involvement in more detail. The need for the objectives of planning instruments to be compatible with your housing strategy objectives is discussed under Urban planning.
Top of page