State Environmental Planning Policy (Affordable Rental Housing) 2009 and Affordable Housing in Central and Southern Sydney

This report evaluates the dwellings delivered under the State Environmental Planning Policy (Affordable Rental Housing) 2009 (AHSEPP) in Southern and Central Sydney. It was commissioned by the Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (SSROC). One central aim of the AHSEPP is to facilitate the private development of diverse housing options, and housing with lower rents than the existing market context. Since its introduction, there has been little analysis to understand if the policy has realised this aim, either in the SSROC region or across the New South Wales. Assessing the outcomes of the AHSEPP is contingent on the local context, with considerable variation in housing type, cost and tenure across the SSROC region. Ultimately performance of the AHSEPP needs to be judged relative to the housing context, rather than in aggregate across a metropolitan region. This report’s findings are drawn from analysis of development application data collected by NSW Department of Planning and Environment and provided directly by SSROC councils, rental bond data collected by NSW Fair Trading and Australian Census data available through the ABS