Housing Plus has been awarded a further contract with the NSW Government to build an additional 60 energy efficient social and affordable homes across the state, backed by the CEFC.
The new housing will have onsite renewable generation and will be financed by a $21.6 million debt facility from the CEFC, on behalf of the Australian Government.
These 60 new dwellings will be in addition to the 220 social and affordable homes, financed by a CEFC commitment of $91.4 million, that Housing Plus is currently delivering across the Central West NSW since February 2019. Over the past 18 months Housing Plus has built and tenanted 93 homes in Dubbo, Bathurst and Orange, providing much needed high-quality well located, energy efficient homes for families, while creating jobs in regional NSW. It is on track to complete the remaining 127 homes by 2021.
The 280 new homes have been designed to achieve ambitious NatHERS energy efficiency ratings, ranging from 7 stars to 7.5 stars to help tenants keep their energy bills low, as well as being good for the environment. In addition, these homes will have solar photovoltaic panels, and split system air conditioners installed, which will further reduce the running costs for these homes making them more affordable in the long term for the tenants.
CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth said: “The CEFC is delighted to strengthen our support for Housing Plus to enable it to continue its work in delivering social and affordable housing across Central West NSW.
“Our work together will deliver significant benefits across the Housing Plus portfolio and demonstrate to the broader community housing sector how its tenants can benefit from energy efficient housing. By showing the advantages of clean energy technologies, we can also help spearhead more clean, green homes across the residential construction sector,” Mr Learmonth said.
Housing Plus and the CEFC will also work together to improve the energy profile of its existing portfolio by investigating the installation of the latest in clean energy technologies in its established homes in Bathurst, Orange and Dubbo.
The new properties will be a mix of 4, 3, 2 and 1-bedroom homes and designed to meet the silver Liveable Housing Design Guidelines that meet the needs of older people and people with a disability.
As well as providing families with affordable housing, Housing Plus will link tenants and household members with local services to help them work towards greater independence. There is also a focus on supporting vulnerable older women.
The CEFC has committed more than $280 million to the community housing sector, helping build some 800 new energy efficient social and affordable dwellings, as well as retrofitting a further 1,230 dwellings with energy efficient technologies.
