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Question and Answer Tracking Details

1382 - REGISTERED BOARDING HOUSES PLANNING

Greenwich, Alex to the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces
REGISTERED BOARDING HOUSES PLANNING

(1) What data does the Government have about the number of registered boarding houses in Sydney and in inner Sydney over the past 10 years?

(2) What assessment has the Government made of the rapidly decreasing number of boarding houses providing low cost accommodation?

(3) Has the Government considered blanket measures to prevent change of use approvals to convert boarding houses to other use:

(a) temporarily during times of high housing stress?

(b) permanently?

(4) What measures will the Government use to prevent change of use of existing boarding houses and consequent loss of low cost accommodation?

(5) What changes have been made to the Housing State Environmental Planning Policy to facilitate low cost housing like boarding houses?

(6) What plans does the Government have to ensure this low cost type of accommodation remains an option, including in the inner city?
Answer -
REGISTERED BOARDING HOUSES PLANNING

I am advised:

(1) The Boarding Houses Act 2012 (BH Act) established a public register of boarding houses and provides for compliance and enforcement of certain standards for registered boarding houses.

A list of registered boarding houses can be found on the NSW Fair Trading website at

https://applications.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/accomregister/AccommodationSearch.aspx .

(2) The State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021 (Housing SEPP) incentivises the development of new boarding houses and establishes appropriate standards for such development.

(3) The planning system incentivises the development of boarding houses through the Housing SEPP, so that this important form of affordable rental housing is better able to compete with other permitted land uses.

(4) The Housing SEPP requires a consent authority to consider whether a proposed development (change of use, alterations and additions or demolition) would result in the loss of existing low-rental dwelling, including low-rental boarding houses. Where a proposed development would result in the loss of existing low-rental dwellings, the consent authority can levy a contribution when issuing development consent. These requirements are set out in Chapter 2, Part 3 of the Housing SEPP. The contributions are either used by the council for affordable housing projects, or forwarded to Department of Communities and Justice. More information about this process is available on the Department's website at https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/policy-and-legislation/housing/housing-sepp/retention-of-existing-affordable-housing

(5) When the Housing SEPP was made it introduced new requirements to require boarding houses to be managed by registered community housing providers for the purpose of affordable housing in perpetuity.

In December 2022, the Department exhibited amendments to expand boarding house permissibility in regional areas and extend the application of the floor space bonuses. Proposed amendments include the following.

  • In areas outside Greater Sydney, boarding houses are only permitted on R2 Low Density Residential land within 400 metres walking distance of zones B2 Local Centre or B4 Mixed Use. It is proposed to expand the list of nearby zones to include B1 Neighbourhood Centre and increase the distance to 800 metres.
  • Currently, boarding houses delivered on land where residential flat buildings are permitted attract a 25 per cent floor space ratio (FSR) bonus. It is proposed to extend FSR bonus to boarding houses delivered on land where shop-top housing is permitted.

(6) In June 2023 the Government announced a range of planning system changes to encourage private sector investment in more social, affordable and market housing across NSW.

Question asked on 14 September 2023 (session 58-1) and printed in Questions & Answers Paper No. 25
Answer received on 19 October 2023 and printed in Questions & Answers Paper No. 34

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