GameChanger - Labor's plan for home buyers

Labor will change the game for Tasmanian renters who don't currently own a home by enabling them to purchase a house with zero deposit. This is based on the simple idea that if you can afford to pay the rent, you can afford to pay a mortgage.

We will do this by creating a new shared equity scheme, GameChanger, that will allow people to buy with zero deposit.

• The standard arrangement will be for the government to take a 20% share of the property, though higher shares will be considered where need can be demonstrated.
• The value of eligible properties will be capped at $600,000 for existing houses, and $800,000 for newly constructed homes.
• The scheme will be open to couples earning up to $200,000, or singles earning up to $150,000, with extra allowances for people with children.
• There will be no cap on the number of people who can participate, but the scheme will be reviewed after two years, with the possibility of extension.
• This will enable any Tasmanian renter who can afford their rent to get a foot in the door of home ownership.

READ MORE

Constructing 1000 dedicated rental homes

Rents in Tasmania are out of control. And there are simply not enough rental properties available to meet demand.

Labor has a plan to increase the number of rental homes available, and put an end to out of control rent rises.

Labor will oversee the construction of more than 1,000 new dedicated rental homes. This will deliver more homes to meet demand and help lower rents.

We’ll do this by providing 50 per cent land tax concessions for developers who build build-to-rent developments which stay on the market for 30 years.

A Labor government will also build a 50 home development itself.

And we'' provide 100 per cent land tax concession for build-to-rent developments which are rented at least 20 per cent below market rate.

READ MORE

Encouraging development of 2000 new apartments

A Rebecca White Labor Government will encourage the development of more apartments and medium-density developments.

Labor has set a target of building 2,000 new apartments within the next 4 years. To achieve this, we will:

• Finalise an Apartment Code to speed up planning approvals
• Reduce stamp duty by 50% for new apartments valued under $750,000
• Get more people trained to work at heights and build apartments
• Purchase up to 20% of new apartment developments for public housing
• Hold councils accountable for their decisions by creating a Planning Dashboard that compares every council’s performance
• Prevent needless holdups by implementing a “Three Strikes Rule” for councils

READ MORE

Helping renters make their house a home

A Rebecca White Labor Government will ensure renters can make a house a home.

After 10 years of the Liberals, more and more Tasmanians are renting, but they don’t have the rights they do in other states.

Labor’s top priority is taking urgent action on the cost of living – and that includes urgent action on housing.

To achieve this, we will allow all renters to:

• Hang pictures, plant veggie gardens and have pets
• Affix furniture to the walls to keep their homes safe
• Put in child safety gates and mobility aids
• Carry over their bond from one home to another
• Apply for rentals more easily, without losing their privacy
• Require genuine grounds for eviction

READ MORE

Bringing back a public housing workforce

A Rebecca White Labor Government will address the public housing maintenance backlog and train more tradespeople by bringing back a new, in-house maintenance workforce.

Labor’s public housing workforce will carry out an additional $10 million of maintenance on public and social housing each year, on top of current contracted works.

This will help to bring more than 200 currently uninhabitable public houses back into the system, and lift the standard of public housing across Tasmania.

Labor’s public housing workforce will:

• Repair more than 200 uninhabitable public housing properties
• Provide new training pathways for more young Tasmanians in construction
• Have fixed ratios for apprentices, women and older workers
• Provide a dedicated workforce focused on improving the housing crisis.

READ MORE

Housing our key workers

A Rebecca White Labor Government will make more housing available to key workers in our regions.

Schools, hospitals and key industries in regional Tasmania are struggling to find workers because there is nowhere for them to live. Regional Tasmania has the second-lowest rental vacancy rate in the country.

A Labor Government will work to solve this problem as part of our Plan for a Better Future. Labor will:

• Build 500 additional rentals for key workers over the next five years
• Work with local government and key industries to identify priority areas and suitable land
• Adopt the successful Defence Housing Australia model to ensure an ongoing supply of new key worker housing into the future.

READ MORE

Removing the red tape that's holding back new housing

If we’re going to start making housing more affordable, we need to build more homes.

But after 10 years of the Liberals, there’s too much red tape holding back housing developments, and building approvals are in decline. Labor will:

• Finalise the statewide planning scheme
• End the “first mover disadvantage” that is holding up new subdivisions.

Stopping homes being lost to short-stay accommodation

Too many local homes are being lost to short-stay accommodation operators like AirBnB.

And with the current shortage of homes in Tasmania, we need to look after locals first.

A Rebecca White Labor Government will immediately pause the issuing of all new permits to convert entire homes into short-stay accommodation.

Labor will work with local councils to ensure that short-term accommodation can operate sensibly and sustainably, but not in a way that takes housing away from local Tasmanians.

Labor has a plan for Tasmania.