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Community housing leasing program
The Community Housing Leasing Program (CHLP) gives Community Housing Providers increased flexibility in accommodating eligible people in housing that suits their needs, particularly in locations where there are limited options for purchasing affordable properties.
Over the last year, Evolve Housing has been using the program funds to acquire additional suitable accommodation for our residents.
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Under the program, which began in 2000, CHPs lease properties to house their residents in, as opposed to purchasing a property outright. Properties are generally leased through real estate agents and sometimes directly through private landlords.
The CHLP also provides an option for CHPs to use CHLP funds to subsidise the purchase of properties, as long as the property is used to house a certain agreed number of social housing residents.
Evolve Housing welcomes the NSW Department of Communities and Justice’s (DCJ) ongoing commitment to an innovative partnership through the CHLP.
The program provides a flexible, cost effective way of increasing the supply of social housing in NSW for those in the greatest need.
In 2018, DCJ introduced a 10-year funding guarantee for CHPs for 50% of the CHLP portfolio. In addition, CHPs were allowed to use unspent CHLP funding to lease additional properties in the private rental market on longer term leases and/or subsidise the purchase of a social housing capital property. Both policy changes were strongly supported by the sector.
To take advantage of these policy changes, in 2019, Evolve Housing purchased an additional four dwellings for social housing from the surplus CHLP funding we received. Moving forward, Evolve Housing has also commenced an acquisition program to acquire more established dwellings from the private market for residents.
In December 2020, we purchased our very first property under this acquisition program. The property, located in Parramatta, is a well-located 9-unit block close to amenities. The experience so far has demonstrated to us that positive outcomes can be achieved in securing properties in high cost, low affordability areas by leveraging CHLP subsidies.
We are in the process of finalising the acquisition of another block of units and continue to identify properties for potential acquisition over the next 12 months.
The program is delivering positive outcomes for the NSW Government, community housing providers, and most importantly, our residents. Using the CHLP funding to purchase capital properties enables CHPs like Evolve Housing to provide long-term stable, high-quality accommodation for some of the most vulnerable people in our community.
