Along with eligibility/allocations policy and the supply of housing stock, rental policy is one o... more Along with eligibility/allocations policy and the supply of housing stock, rental policy is one of the constitutive elements of social housing and critical to the achievement of its objective.
• Social housing organisations (SHOs) in Australia, like similar organisations in Canada, New Zea... more • Social housing organisations (SHOs) in Australia, like similar organisations in Canada, New Zealand and the United States, typically operate a dual rental system: a property rental system which determines the rent for each dwelling, and a household rental system which determines the rent for each household based predominantly upon household income. Household rent is the main mechanism through which affordability can be achieved in these countries because of the absence of any income subsidy to public housing tenants. In Australia, 88 per cent of all tenants are charged income-related or rebated rents.
This study indicates that the binary of choosing to invest in property, rather than some other ar... more This study indicates that the binary of choosing to invest in property, rather than some other area of investment is, in practice, misleading: most of the property investors interviewed also invest in other areas, mainly shares. It’s not an either/or decision for many people. However, shares are generally seen as being of a different (ie, lower) order and scale to property, and are treated accordingly. It also transpires that many investors have previously lost money in shares, and are not keen to repeat the experience. Regardless of whether they have owned shares or not, there are several reasons behind investors’ choice to invest in property over other forms of investment.
... an explicit analytical framework: examples of Empiricists are those who gather data using var... more ... an explicit analytical framework: examples of Empiricists are those who gather data using various quantitative and qualitative methods; an example of a Theorist is Michael Ball's structures of ... 14 For an outline of this material see McNelis and Burke (2003) and McNelis (2006) 6 ...
• Coordinated strategic action by peak aged care organisations and the Federal and State Governme... more • Coordinated strategic action by peak aged care organisations and the Federal and State Governments would ensure the continued relevance of this form of social housing. The report suggests a range of options that could be considered. Based on research by Sean McNelis, of the AHURI Swinburne-Monash Research Centre, this project is one of the few pieces of research about Independent Living Units (ILUs), which are a significant part of the Australian social housing scene and an important housing option for older people with few assets.
Public and community housing as housing options for older people with relatively low income and l... more Public and community housing as housing options for older people with relatively low income and low assets are well documented. However, other not-for-profit organisations also provide housing for this group. Commonly known as independent living units (ILUs), they are mainly owned and managed by organisations within the aged care sector. As a significant housing option, ILUs add diversity and constitute one of the major policy responses to current and future changing socio-demographics. Most ILU organisations and the stock they manage developed as the result of subsidies from the Commonwealth government between 1954 and 1986 under the Aged Persons’ Homes Act. ILUs constitute the first phase of the retirement village industry. This paper draws on a national survey of ILU organisations undertaken as part of an Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) research project. It highlights the importance of ILUs. It presents a national profile of ILU organisations. It discusses...
Hall and Berry (2004) in Operating Deficits and Public Housing: Policy Options for Reversing the ... more Hall and Berry (2004) in Operating Deficits and Public Housing: Policy Options for Reversing the Trend highlight the financial crisis facing public housing in Australia. One way in which policy makers can respond to this crisis is by increasing rents. But are such increases justified? This paper locates the current dual rental system within the Australian social housing finance system, comparing it with finance systems operating in other countries. It will show that financial viability is the objective of the social housing finance system. As such it is not an objective of social housing but it is a necessary prerequisite for the functioning of social housing and the ongoing achievement of the objective of social housing. The paper will also explore the relationship between affordability and the objective of social housing. It will argue that this objective is ‘to ensure that all households have access to housing which is adequate and appropriate as a key component of an equitable s...
ABSTRACT This article is a comment on Mark Stephen’s article, “How housing systems are changing a... more ABSTRACT This article is a comment on Mark Stephen’s article, “How housing systems are changing and why: a critique of Kemeny’s theory of housing regimes”, in this issue of Housing, Theory and Society. It distinguishes between three types of linked explanations – an explanatory definition of a housing system; an historical explanation of how a housing system develops; and, a critical explanation which critiques the use and abuse of power. These distinctions are necessary if we are develop an adequate understanding of how housing systems work. The article then expands on first type of explanation as one which seeks to develop an integrated comprehensive heuristic and notes that the theory of housing-welfare regimes focuses on one particular technological aspect (tenure) of the housing system. Finally, in response to Mark Stephen’s note that “one of the most enduring challenges in housing studies” is to understand “how housing systems function and change”, the article concludes by summarily expanding this single challenge into eight enduring challenges in housing studies by distinguishing different stages in both research and implementation.
Along with eligibility/allocations policy and the supply of housing stock, rental policy is one o... more Along with eligibility/allocations policy and the supply of housing stock, rental policy is one of the constitutive elements of social housing and critical to the achievement of its objective.
• Social housing organisations (SHOs) in Australia, like similar organisations in Canada, New Zea... more • Social housing organisations (SHOs) in Australia, like similar organisations in Canada, New Zealand and the United States, typically operate a dual rental system: a property rental system which determines the rent for each dwelling, and a household rental system which determines the rent for each household based predominantly upon household income. Household rent is the main mechanism through which affordability can be achieved in these countries because of the absence of any income subsidy to public housing tenants. In Australia, 88 per cent of all tenants are charged income-related or rebated rents.
This study indicates that the binary of choosing to invest in property, rather than some other ar... more This study indicates that the binary of choosing to invest in property, rather than some other area of investment is, in practice, misleading: most of the property investors interviewed also invest in other areas, mainly shares. It’s not an either/or decision for many people. However, shares are generally seen as being of a different (ie, lower) order and scale to property, and are treated accordingly. It also transpires that many investors have previously lost money in shares, and are not keen to repeat the experience. Regardless of whether they have owned shares or not, there are several reasons behind investors’ choice to invest in property over other forms of investment.
... an explicit analytical framework: examples of Empiricists are those who gather data using var... more ... an explicit analytical framework: examples of Empiricists are those who gather data using various quantitative and qualitative methods; an example of a Theorist is Michael Ball's structures of ... 14 For an outline of this material see McNelis and Burke (2003) and McNelis (2006) 6 ...
• Coordinated strategic action by peak aged care organisations and the Federal and State Governme... more • Coordinated strategic action by peak aged care organisations and the Federal and State Governments would ensure the continued relevance of this form of social housing. The report suggests a range of options that could be considered. Based on research by Sean McNelis, of the AHURI Swinburne-Monash Research Centre, this project is one of the few pieces of research about Independent Living Units (ILUs), which are a significant part of the Australian social housing scene and an important housing option for older people with few assets.
Public and community housing as housing options for older people with relatively low income and l... more Public and community housing as housing options for older people with relatively low income and low assets are well documented. However, other not-for-profit organisations also provide housing for this group. Commonly known as independent living units (ILUs), they are mainly owned and managed by organisations within the aged care sector. As a significant housing option, ILUs add diversity and constitute one of the major policy responses to current and future changing socio-demographics. Most ILU organisations and the stock they manage developed as the result of subsidies from the Commonwealth government between 1954 and 1986 under the Aged Persons’ Homes Act. ILUs constitute the first phase of the retirement village industry. This paper draws on a national survey of ILU organisations undertaken as part of an Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) research project. It highlights the importance of ILUs. It presents a national profile of ILU organisations. It discusses...
Hall and Berry (2004) in Operating Deficits and Public Housing: Policy Options for Reversing the ... more Hall and Berry (2004) in Operating Deficits and Public Housing: Policy Options for Reversing the Trend highlight the financial crisis facing public housing in Australia. One way in which policy makers can respond to this crisis is by increasing rents. But are such increases justified? This paper locates the current dual rental system within the Australian social housing finance system, comparing it with finance systems operating in other countries. It will show that financial viability is the objective of the social housing finance system. As such it is not an objective of social housing but it is a necessary prerequisite for the functioning of social housing and the ongoing achievement of the objective of social housing. The paper will also explore the relationship between affordability and the objective of social housing. It will argue that this objective is ‘to ensure that all households have access to housing which is adequate and appropriate as a key component of an equitable s...
ABSTRACT This article is a comment on Mark Stephen’s article, “How housing systems are changing a... more ABSTRACT This article is a comment on Mark Stephen’s article, “How housing systems are changing and why: a critique of Kemeny’s theory of housing regimes”, in this issue of Housing, Theory and Society. It distinguishes between three types of linked explanations – an explanatory definition of a housing system; an historical explanation of how a housing system develops; and, a critical explanation which critiques the use and abuse of power. These distinctions are necessary if we are develop an adequate understanding of how housing systems work. The article then expands on first type of explanation as one which seeks to develop an integrated comprehensive heuristic and notes that the theory of housing-welfare regimes focuses on one particular technological aspect (tenure) of the housing system. Finally, in response to Mark Stephen’s note that “one of the most enduring challenges in housing studies” is to understand “how housing systems function and change”, the article concludes by summarily expanding this single challenge into eight enduring challenges in housing studies by distinguishing different stages in both research and implementation.
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