Housing is an essential for all communities. Shelter is a first principle to human survival. Beyond this housing has a role that is critical to the life and vibrancy of our cities and towns. BlueCHP understands that no one feels secure without a place to call home. Having a place to call our own is central to our sense of well being. BlueCHP works to ensure those who are experiencing economical disadvantage still have opportunity to create a place to call home where they can be socially connected, productively live and contribute to society.

Affordable housing in this context gives people the opportunity to be respected for the positive contributions they can and will make to our communities as part of going about their daily lives.

In New South Wales housing for people on low to moderate incomes is managed through a single applications housing register called Housing Pathways.

Definitions
Affordable housing is the term used to describe housing provided to very low, low to moderate income households, usually by the not for profit sector or local government.

Community housing is housing that is provided by not for profit organisations and or local government to people on low to moderate incomes who are experiencing some form of housing stress.

Public housing is housing that is provided by the State to people on low incomes who are assessed as being ’most in need’.

Social housing in NSW is used to describe households where the people are on very low to low incomes, often requiring some form of support to gain and or maintain stable housing.

Key worker housing is the term used to describe households where people are in employment but are earning low to moderate incomes that make finding suitable affordable housing difficult.

Who lives in our houses?
Affordable housing tenants are people in our community who contribute to making where we live a place that is able to meet our needs. They are our local community’s key workers, providing essential services in social support, education, crime prevention and health industries. Affordable housing provides opportunity for them to have high quality stable housing from where they can achieve their aspirations. For many people, access to affordable housing provides a respite from insecure housing tenures and high private rents enabling them save the deposit needed to purchase their own home.  For others it enables them to live in high housing cost areas near their work.

Affordable housing may be for rent or purchase. Rents are based on household income, for lower income people they are determined on a set proportion of household income, usually 30% or less of their gross income. For those on higher incomes within the income limits rent is based on a discounted market rent, which is up to 75% of the market price.

For further information on Affordable Housing click here

Social housing tenants are usually people on very low or low to moderate incomes. They often experience disadvantage due to family breakdown, health, disability or unemployment and require a high quality safe and secure home from which they can rebuild their lives. Many of the people within this group are at risk or have experienced homelessness.