The ongoing trend of increasing housing cost pressures on lower-income Australians over the past decade provides the context for the high incidence of financial stress, particularly among tenants in low-rent areas of Sydney and Melbourne.

Build-to-rent (BtR) is a form of residential development involving apartment blocks or complexes purpose-built for rental occupation and held in single ownership as long-term revenue-generating assets. A key aim of this research has been to assess the possible scope for a market-rate BtR product to act as a vehicle for affordable housing provision.

This research modelled ways to best finance and fund social housing, revealing that a capital investment strategy, supplemented by efficient financing, is substantially more cost-effective than a commercially-financed model reliant on an operating subsidy.

This research reviewed social housing tenancies law and policies in five jurisdictions, and national policy principles and frameworks relating to four types of vulnerable people: women affected by domestic violence; children; Indigenous persons; and people affected by alcohol and other drugs.

This research modelled five alternative pathways to funding social housing and found the ‘capital grant’ model, supplemented by efficient financing, provides the most cost effective model for Australia. The research also established the current and future unmet need for social housing in different parts of Australia.