TACKLING HOUSING INEQUALITY

As chair of council’s first affordable housing group and former Deputy Mayor, Greens Councillor Sylvie Ellsmore has helped deliver an increase in developer contributions for affordable housing, the first new housing co-op in inner Sydney in 30 years, and changes to protect affordable homes from being demolished to make way for ultra-expensive luxury apartments.

But these wins are against a background of Sydney becoming one of the most expensive cities in the world, with only 1% affordable housing, and less public housing than ten years ago.

We need much stronger reforms to require developers to deliver more affordable housing, and we need Council to use its large and growing surpluses to buy and build public and affordable housing, like it used to.

Under the current Council, the stronger action we need on housing have been voted down.

Solutions to the housing crisis must build on and work with communities. Residents in the inner city have a strong history of working together to protect and expand public and worker housing, because people understand that planning driven by developer profits will not build the kind of city we want or need.Now, more than ever before, we need Council to step up and take leadership.

GREENS ON CITY OF SYDNEY HAVE:

• Secured funding for the first new housing co-op in the inner-city in 30 years
• Adopted new rules to protect affordable homes from being demolished  to make way for luxury apartments and mansions
• Together with residents stopped the sell-off of public housing
• Increased developer contributions to fund the construction of new affordable housing
• Founded Council’s first affordable housing group

Read more about our achievements on council here

Housing Research and Analysis

How Councils can drive affordable, social and public housing gains

A new report by City of Sydney Greens Councillor Sylvie Ellsmore shows how councils can tackle the affordable housing crisis. Read more here