Low-income women in the ACT facing rental stress and risk of homelessness will be given a chance to have a roof above their heads with the first Build-to-Rent-to-Buy pilot program.
The initiative is a joint venture among the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC), the ACT Government, and the Community Housing Canberra (CHC).
The Build-to-Rent-to-Buy pilot program aims to deliver up to 22 affordable rental dwellings for vulnerable women in Strathnairn, Canberra.
The homes will be a mix of up to three-bedroom dwellings for long-term rentals. Women who are selected for the initiative will have the option to buy the home at the end of the 10-year lease.
Under the initiative, an affordable rental of 74.9% of the market rate would be set and a savings plan would be created for the potential buyer, funded by the lower cost of NHFIC’s finance and CHC’s operational efficiencies.
The savings plan and the share of capital growth would allow the tenant to accumulate 20% deposit by the end of the 10-year lease.
This is the first program in the ACT under the federal government’s expansion of the National Housing Infrastructure Facility (NHIF).
The NHFIC will provide up to $7.14m in concessional loans from the NHIF to the project, boosting the $4.5m grant coming from the ACT Government.
CHC plans to acquire the site to develop the homes and maintain the program on a long-term basis.
The construction of the homes is set to commence in December 2023.
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Photo by lostinbids from Canva.
