Council confident in Housing Accord

Basscoast Council Website
26 February 2010

Bass Coast Shire Council is confident the Victorian Desalination Project Housing Accord will provide enough housing from vacant holiday houses to meet the needs of the project.

Council CEO, Allan Bawden, said Council had been monitoring housing affordability since 2004.

“We believed housing affordability was a key issue which is why we raised it in our EES submission,” explained Mr Bawden. "We highlighted that a housing strategy was needed to try and stop the housing situation worsening."

“The Minister for Planning recognised our concerns, but it became clear that no one else was going to develop a housing strategy, so that’s when Council stepped in."

“AquaSure estimate that 500 houses are needed to house the workforce and we have 600 potential landlords who are interested in making their properties available. To date the desalination accommodation website has over 300 properties listed,” continued Mr Bawden.

The Accord requires the participating local real estate agents to understand and commit to the housing strategy, which is to offer desalination workers accommodation from the new pool of rental properties – not existing rentals.

“If you believe an Accord partner is in breach of the Housing Accord, contact us immediately so we can investigate the matter and deal with it quickly,” continued Mr Bawden.

“Recent media allegations that agents and landlords have been attempting to convert private rental properties to desalination accommodation have prompted Council and State Government to work with AquaSure and tighten up the scrutiny of properties listed on the website."

“Details of this are being finalised but greater checking will occur to ensure that every property listed on the Desalination website meets the objects of the Housing Strategy.”

The $50 listing fee charged to landlords is still attracting the attention of Housing Accord critics.

“In setting up the Accord, local estate agents insisted that an independent authority set up the accommodation website. We agreed to do this on the understanding that ratepayers would not be expected to subsidise the desalination accommodation costs."

“Agents recommended the $50 one off listing fee, which was set to cover the costs of maintaining the website, listing participating properties and updating information as required."

“The Accord has also generated many hundreds of enquiries from agents, prospective landlords and the general public which this fee assists in meeting the expense for."

“Suggestions that Council is profiting from this service are outrageous."

“We would never ask or expect ratepayers to subside the commercial arrangement between landlords, estate agents and tenants working for the desalination project – which is why a fee is charged,” said Mr Bawden.