VCOSS

Housing

Housing is a fundamental human right. It is central to the wellbeing and stability of individuals and families. Without housing, our health suffers, we cannot easily work or study, and our relationships and connections in the community become fractured.

Yet Victoria is gripped by a housing affordability crisis. Research indicates more than 250,000 Victorian households are paying over 30 per cent of their income in housing costs. Meanwhile more and more individuals and families are forced to live in inappropriate housing, such as rooming houses and caravan parks, or fall into homelessness, because of a lack of adequate rental properties.

VCOSS campaigns for:

• a dramatic increase in the supply of affordable housing
• homes that are easy to access by people with disabilities, the elderly and frail
• minimum standards for rental housing

Contact:

VCOSS at vcoss@vcoss.org.au

For more information:

• read the Victorian Homelessness strategy
• visit the Australian Urban Housing Research Institute

• Media Releases

  8 November 2011 VCOSS welcomes mental health housing initiative The Victorian Council of Social Service has welcomed the State Government’s support for an initiative aimed at assisting people with a severe mental illness into private sector housing. 5 October 2011 VCOSS welcomes action plan to tackle homelessness VCOSS welcomes the State Government’s action plan to tackle homelessness released today. 19 September 2011 Australia’s broken housing system costs us all Australia’s broken housing system puts too many people one step away from homelessness and needs to be fixed says the Victorian Council of Social Service as part of its support for Australians for Affordable Housing – launched today. more...

• Reports

  Decent not Dodgy: secret shopper survey on the quality of Victoria’s rental housing This report compiles the findings of VCOSS’ survey of the standard of properties for rent in Metropolitan Melbourne and Geelong. The survey found that more than one in ten properties was uninhabitable and calls for the introduction of minimum rental standards. Author: VCOSS Date: 2010 A future focused housing standard This report examines the impact that poor rental housing conditions will have on low income households in the context of a changing climate. It examines international best practice on housing standards and provides a practical framework to implement improved rental housing standards in Victoria to meet the challenges of climate change. Author: VCOSS Date: 2009 Universal Housing Universal Benefits A VCOSS discussion paper on universal housing regulation in Victoria Author: VCOSS Date: 2008 more...

• Submissions

  Rooming House Standards Regulations - Regulatory Impact Statement Rooming houses are tenanted by an extremely vulnerable cohort in the population who generally have little or no bargaining power or financial leverage to ensure the standard of their accommodation. Author: VCOSS Date: October 2011 Submission to: Proposed Residential Tenancies (Rooming House Standards) Regulations Regulatory Impact Statement Our Cities Discussion Paper Submission A national strategy for the future of Australian cities Author: Llewellyn Reynders, Sarah Toohey, Jess Fritze (VCOSS) Date: March 2011 Submission to: Department of Infrastructure and Transport, Australian Government Visitable and Adaptable Housing Features Regulatory Impact Statement Author: Date: March 2010 more...

• Blog posts

  Beware policies driven by developer profits (22/11/2010 01:53 PM) “Stamp duty cuts promised by Labor and the Coalition appear to be family friendly, but do little to address the fundamental problems driving lack of housing affordability,” says Cath Smith. “At current rates of house price inflation the savings to … Homelessness and Human Rights forum sets its sights on the next term of Government (16/11/2010 04:02 PM) Today VCOSS and the Council to Homeless Persons hosted a forum on Homelessness and Human Rights. The forum focused on the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities  and how this was being used, both as a tool for individual … Accessible housing – Phew (04/11/2010 06:14 PM) Tomorrow’s papers may lambast the State Government for pushing up the cost of building new homes by regulating for new accessibility features – but in fact Henny Penny is wrong: the sky won’t fall down. The new accessibility regulations announced today … more...