Submission: New Planning System for NSW & Draft Metropolitan Strategy for Sydney to 2031

In this brief submission the Tenants' Union focusses our remarks on the implications of the proposed New Planning System, and the Draft Metropolitan Strategy, for low income households in areas of high demand for housing.

We submit that, without considered targets for affordable housing built into the planning system, and a commitment to additional investment in the construction of new social housing, these implications will be to the detriment of the housing system in NSW. They will present particular difficulties for low income households currently living in areas of high demand for housing.

There is a strong focus on urban renewal in both the proposed New Planning System and the Draft Metropolitan Strategy for Sydney. This suggests that areas of established housing will be considered for redevelopment – existing homes will be demolished, and the former inhabitants will need to consider their options for rehousing.

Without adequate targets for affordable housing or a commitment to invest in the construction of new social housing across a range of locations, there are three types of household who stand to be adversely affected by this strong focus on urban renewal: low income owner-occupiers, low income tenants in the private rental market, and tenants in social housing.