PART ONE - Fishers Ghost

Affordable housing developments approved under the SEPP must be managed by aregistered community housing provider for least 10 years to ensure the units are letat affordable rents to genuine low and moderate income households.The fact the dwellings are affordable housing must also be registered on the relevantland title so that anyone buying the units is aware of this. Other units (not registeredaffordable housing dwellings) within a development can be sold immediately atmarket value to help subsidise the percentage that must be affordably rented for 10years. This aligns with the Australian Government’s National Rental AffordabilityScheme (NRAS), which provides a subsidy of $8,000 per dwelling to housingproviders each year for 10 years on the condition that the dwelling is rented toeligible low and moderate income households for at least 20 percent below marketrates.Key Initiatives of the SEPPThe SEPP provides new initiatives to facilitate the supply of affordable rentalhousing, and incorporates the relevant provisions of existing State Governmentpolicies that deal with the supply and retention of affordable housing (including SEPP10 which has now been repealed).The key initiatives of the Policy are summarised as:a) Provide certain planning incentives for developers to partner with registeredcommunity housing providers to provide additional affordable housing;b) Enable secondary dwellings ('granny flats') to be developed in all residentialzones;c) Expands the planning zones in which boarding houses are permissible, andprovides for new forms of boarding houses to be approved; andd) Provides self approval for public authorities, and complying developmentprovisions for private developers to make easier, the approval of long termresidential accommodation for homeless people (boarding houses and grouphomes) which include on-site support facilities and services.These matters are discussed in further detail below.Floor Space Ratio Incentives – Residential Flats and Low Rise HousingThe SEPP provides for an increase in allowable floor space ratios (FSRs) forproperties that provide affordable rental units, where there is a commitment to usepart of the development for affordable rental housing for at least ten years.There are two floor space incentives available under the Policy:a) A minimum FSR standard of 0.5:1 for low rise affordable rental housing -however for affordable housing projects approved in the next 2 years, the FSRstandard is increased to 0.75:1 (for the purpose of providing additionaleconomic incentives during the current building downturn), andb) A FSR bonus for affordable flats in areas already zoned for flats. The bonus is0.5:1 (or 20%, whichever is greater) on top of the existing maximum FSRallowed by the existing local planning controls.