Page 3767 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 24 August 2011
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tenants withdrawing or their properties not being separately titled. Fourteen sales have been completed under the shared equity scheme, with the remaining five being expected to settle before the end of the year.
The success of this scheme can be measured by the number of tenants who would not otherwise have contemplated purchasing a property who are now enjoying the benefits of home ownership. This success is also further evidenced by the fact that two of the participants have already moved to re-finance and pay out the commissioner’s share of equity.
Most of the sales to date have been in the price range of $332,000 to $385,000, with the areas of Belconnen and Tuggeranong proving the most popular. The total value of properties purchased to date is a little over $5.75 million, with just over $4 million being taken by the commissioner as the 70 per cent equity purchase.
I am pleased to confirm that these capital receipts are being used to re-invest in the construction of replacement public housing properties. The shared equity scheme has been successful in encouraging public housing tenants to transition out of public housing into home ownership.
MR SPEAKER: Mr Hargreaves, a supplementary?
MR HARGREAVES: Thanks very much, Mr Speaker. Minister, could you provide further details, please, on your recently announced scheme to help older Canberrans purchase housing which is affordable?
MS BURCH: I thank Mr Hargreaves. Yes, I would be pleased to provide members here with further details about the scheme, which is designed to improve the availability of affordable housing to older people who are on low incomes. The scheme the government has introduced is based on a loan-licence agreement, which is an arrangement that has been developed through retirement villages and is gaining popularity in the private market, where people effectively own the unit they live in until they leave. Eligible people will only have to pay 75 per cent of the value of the unit and they will be responsible for all running costs, insurance and their share of maintaining the common area and grounds. The fee will be based on a cost recovery basis. When people leave the unit they will receive what they paid for the unit plus 50 per cent of any increase in capital value.
This scheme is complemented by an affordable rental program which is also available for older people on low incomes. These properties will be rented at 75 per cent of the market value of the property. The eligibility criteria of affordable rental and loan-licence schemes will be similar so that these concessions focus on those who cannot afford rental prices in an open market. The units that will be available under this scheme will be offered across sites in areas such as Kambah and Bonython. The units have been developed by CSD for older people. The units will improve the social mix of people living in these developments by creating a richer and more diverse community.
Marketing of the two schemes has commenced and I am pleased to say that the interest is encouraging. So far there have been 35 expressions of interest with most
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