In the largest Sydney transfer, a community housing provider has taken over the care and management of public housing as part of a NSW government initiative.

Over 3,000 people living in public housing in Ryde, Hornsby and Ku-ring-gai have had their homes transferred to Link Housing. It is the first transfer under the government’s Social Housing Management Transfer (SHMT) program.

Link Housing CEO, Andrew McAnulty, said: “The SHMT program delivers on the NSW government’s Future Directions for Social Housing in NSW strategy that sets out the government’s vision for social housing over the next 10 years.”

McAnulty added that it is a step in the right direction to deliver better outcomes and to address those in housing need and those already living in social housing.

Social housing is a critical issue for an increasing number of Australians due to a rise in housing stress and a surge in the costs of living pressures. In Northern Sydney, the waiting times for social housing can be as high as 10 years.

Link Housing addresses this housing strategy by reinvesting its surpluses into social and affordable housing as a solution to housing stress for families and individuals.

Research from Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) found that 727,300 social housing properties in Australia and 212,700 in NSW will be needed by 2036 to ensure there is adequate housing for low-income earners.

NSW Minister for Family and Community Services, Pru Goward, said by transferring management to Link Housing, “we are harnessing over $1 billion of additional funding over 20 years that will improve the experience of people living in social housing”.

“I am delighted that as part of the transfer, tenants will have the support and services they need to improve their lives,” Goward said. “I am very pleased that the NSW government has partnered with Link Housing to deliver these services to tenants.

The NSW government has committed to increasing the number of managed properties by community housing providers from 19 to 32 per cent and awarded Link Housing the tender to manage the Ryde, Hornsby and Ku-ring-gai tenancies in October 2017.

McAnulty commended the government for the forward-thinking approach in enabling the expansion and impact of the community housing sector through the program and added that Link Housing is in a unique position to implement social housing change.

“Link Housing supports the government’s mission to create a stronger, more diverse social housing sector in Australia,” McAnulty said.