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The Real Estate Institute of New South Wales (REINSW) has called on the NSW government to follow its Victorian counterpart and to take a firm stance on councils that don’t meet housing targets.
REINSW has urged the NSW government to follow Victoria's recent housing target strategy to take away councils’ planning powers if they don’t show good faith in meeting housing targets.
REINSW CEO Tim McKibbin said the government needs to clarify its expectations to councils and hold them accountable for meeting housing targets.
He stated that councils that fail to meet housing targets should forfeit their planning powers, similar to the recent approach taken by the Victorian government.
“The housing crisis demands strong action on numerous fronts.
“One of the major barriers to new supply, and one of the most significant contributors to high development costs, is the inefficient and cumbersome planning process,” McKibbin said
“The inability or unwillingness of many councils to process development applications in a reasonable time frame is a major reason we’re in this mess.”
McKibbin said a more efficient, time-effective planning process could help address the housing shortfall.
He also highlighted the opportunity for councils to improve by clearly communicating their expectations to developers.
“Councils can also take the initiative of making it clear to developers as to what a compliant development looks like,” he said.
McKibbin said having clear communication would help streamline the planning and approval process, enabling quicker approvals for projects that meet council requirements.
“An opportunity exists for councils to clearly define the types of developments they want to encourage so developers can design their projects accordingly.”
“Then, any DA which satisfies the criteria outlined by the council can and must be approved fast,” he said.
McKibbin said that clear performance expectations from the government would provide much-needed transparency and streamline the approval process.
He stated that the process has been long held down by unnecessary delays, red tape and some councils’ resistance to local housing shortages.
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