National Rental Affordability Scheme – technical paper released

Tanya Plibersek, today welcomed the release by the Prime Minister of a Technical Discussion Paper on the planned operation of the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS).

Ms Plibersek said the Scheme is an important part of the Australian Government’s housing affordability agenda.

This paper sets out the proposed design features of the Scheme which aims to create up to 100,000 new affordable rental properties across Australia in the next 10 years.

The Scheme will provide incentives to institutional investors to build 50,000 affordable rental properties by 2012. If market demand remains strong the Government will deliver a further 50,000 incentives from 2012 onwards.

The Technical Paper outlines the key features of the Scheme including tenant eligibility, roles for all levels of Government and potential participants in the Scheme and the assessment criteria for tenders.

It also sets out critical timelines for expressions of interest in the Scheme. Minister Plibersek said that the Government was committed to working with the entire housing sector to get the details of the Scheme right.

We want to strike a balance between increasing the supply of affordable rental housing for low and moderate income earners, and ensuring financial returns for investors.

I urge interested parties to submit their feedback on the Technical Discussion Paper to ensure the Government gets the design of the Scheme right.

A copy of the report can be found at Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.

Submissions are due by 31 May 2008.