Solar City maintenance directors Tracey Bruton and Derryn Smith.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
A regional housing co-operative meeting held on Thursday, April 23 saw members discuss redevelopments, expansion and the growing pressures on affordable housing in Shepparton.
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Twenty-five co-op board members across the Goulburn Valley, Solar City and Fruit City regions came together to consider plans for new two-bedroom units, upgrades to ageing properties and long-term strategies to strengthen the co-op model across Greater Shepparton.
Common Equity Housing Limited managing director and Australian Co-operative Housing Alliance chair Liz Thomas said the model continued to prove its value for low-income residents.
“We target people on low-income … less than $65,000 as a single person or around $110,000 as a family,” Ms Thomas said.
“It’s permanent housing, the rent is affordable because it’s set as a percentage of household income.”
Co-op members pay 25 per cent of their combined household income, which is significantly lower than the 30 per cent typically charged for community housing.
CEHL currently supports five co-ops managing just under 100 properties across Greater Shepparton, but demand continues to creep up.
Some co-ops have been unable to accept new tenants for more than five years with the average tenant stay of around 15 years.
A major focus of Thursday’s meeting was the need for more downsizing options for long-term residents, with many remaining in units too big.
“They’re looking to downsize into smaller two-bedroom units so they can free up the space for younger families,” Ms Thomas said.
CEHL is now looking to strengthen its existing co-ops by creating more properties, with the potential to create more units if they can develop more housing within a 20km radius of Shepparton.
“Shepparton’s got a really healthy co-op community and they want more properties,” Ms Thomas said.
Solar City maintenance director and co-op resident Tracey Bruton has lived in co-op housing for more than 20 years.
She said the meeting also provided updates on safety checks, housing plans and new development submissions.
“It was just an overview on how the co-ops are doing … how they are performing,” Ms Bruton said.
Maintenance directors Derryn Smith and Tracey Bruton working on their business.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Current co-op members believe expanding co-ops would significantly benefit regional Victoria, as the set-up takes away the power imbalance between resident and landlord.
Many residents come from public housing and find co-ops offer better quality homes, are community minded and have greater transparency.
“It’s more than just housing. It’s community building. It’s a business,” Ms Bruton said.
“It gives you a sense of pride because the house feels like your own.”
With more than 1700 people on Shepparton’s priority housing waitlist, the co-op model looks likely to fill a critical gap.
“I think our program catches the shortfall of people that don’t stand a chance on the public list,” Ms Bruton said.
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