Success with NRAS

1 April 2009

HUNDREDS of residents will save over $4,000 a year in rent under a new program delivered by the Gold Coast Housing Company.

The company was awarded funding for 215 properties by the Commonwealth and Queensland Governments in the first round of the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS), which is 32 percent of all the incentives offered in Queensland.

The Not-for-Profit company, in partnership with developers, will inject $17.2 million in federal and state funding into the local economy, with further jobs provided by the construction of the dwellings.

Gold Coast Housing Company CEO Jason Cubit said that the scheme offers much needed rental relief for those in housing stress and the Company was proud to have housed the first tenants before Christmas.

“We will be renting properties with a 25 percent discount to eligible tenants. Based on the median rental for a two bedroom unit on the Gold Coast, that’s an annual saving of $4,420, which will be welcome assistance to many Queenslanders” Mr Cubit said.

The properties are located in Southport, Coomera, Holmview, Redbank Plains, Ningi, Bellmere, and Kelso, near Townsville.

The National Rental Affordability Scheme offers annual incentives of $8000 for a period of ten years, with $6000 provided by the Federal Government, and $2000 provided by the Queensland State Government.

Tenants could include families on low and moderate incomes, individuals who are looking to rent a property for the first time, those living at home with parents, and singles in private or public rental accommodation, including people working or undertaking study or training.

As well as offering tenants rental savings, the scheme also offers developers and investors increased returns.

“Under our NRAS program, we will be providing higher returns, with more security, than a typical rental property,” Mr Cubit said.

The remainder of the properties will be coming on line within the next 12 months, and the Company also expanded its bid for the Scheme in Round 2, lodging for a larger portfolio of properties on the Gold Coast and across Queensland.

Mr Cubit said the Company planned to use the scheme to deliver much needed affordable housing and to provide developers with a marketing edge and a way of providing income on stock which would otherwise be sitting vacant.

“This offers a great opportunity for developers to market their unsold new stock to investors, and perhaps coax them back into the market.” Mr Cubit said.

The Gold Coast Housing Company is a not-for-profit housing provider which currently manages over 220 rental properties, as well as a developer of affordable housing with four major projects underway.