Proposed Housing SEPP: Delivering more diverse and affordable housing types in NSW?
The New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (Department) is developing a new Housing State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing SEPP), which is expected to come into force in October 2021. The Housing SEPP is intended to allow for the delivery of more affordable and diverse forms of housing.
Phase three roll-out
The Housing SEPP is part of a wider package of proposed amendments aimed at reforming policies for housing. The four proposed phases of delivering this reform are as follows:
Consolidation of existing SEPPs into the Housing SEPPThe Housing SEPP will consolidate the following existing State Environmental Planning Policies into one SEPP:
The proposed Housing SEPP is divided into three chapters:
Affordable housingThe affordable housing provisions are targeted at addressing housing inequality among the following sub-categories:
Some notable provisions for affordable housing include:
Diverse housingMeanwhile, the diverse housing provisions are targeted at encouraging the development of a greater diversity of housing types, categorised as follows:
Some notable provisions in respect of diverse housing include:
Future outlookThe proposed Housing SEPP is open for feedback on the NSW Planning Portal until 29 August 2021. The Housing SEPP is intended to be finalised by October 2021, and we expect a high volume of submissions which would reasonably alter the final form of the Housing SEPP. It is expected that provisions on short-term rentals will be included in the Housing SEPP, and are due to take effect on 1 November 2021. The Department will also be reviewing the framework for caravan parks, camping grounds and manufactured home estates. It is expected that this review will be undertaken 24 months after the Housing SEPP is introduced. |
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