Council endorses affordable housing policy for Redlands Coast

Redland City Council has endorsed a new policy to support and encourage the delivery of affordable housing developments on Redlands Coast.

Mayor Karen Williams said the Affordable Housing Policy, endorsed at today’s General Meeting, aimed to assist residents struggling to secure affordable housing.

“The provision of affordable and social housing is not the responsibility of local government, however there are some measures we can implement to help make a difference,” Cr Williams said.

“The policy adopted today will support community housing providers who want to deliver affordable housing on Redlands Coast.

“This includes offering discounts on development application fees and infrastructure charges, waiving fees for Council’s pre-lodgement service, and fast-tracking the decision-making period for applications.

“We hope these measures will encourage the delivery of more affordable and diverse housing options that will meet the long-term needs of our residents.”

Key points of Redland City Council’s Affordable Housing Policy:

A community housing provider will be entitled to a 50 per cent discount on development application fees and infrastructure charges up to a maximum value of $250,000 per development. The discounts will be available for five years or until the total funding pool (of $1 million in foregone revenue) is expended. Building works must commence within two years of approval. The policy will waive the $533 pre-lodgement meeting fee for a community housing provider delivering affordable housing on Redlands Coast. The assessment of code assessable affordable housing proposals will be fast-tracked where satisfying certain criteria, with a 20-day maximum decision period instead of 35 days.

The Affordable Housing Policy will take effect immediately.