Tenders to construct 133 new public housing homes across South Australia which closed last week took another step towards bringing much-needed affordable dwellings closer to the reality around the State, according to the Government.
The Government announced the step, saying 103 homes were part of its election commitment to build 437 new public homes under its Public Housing Improvement Program.
Additionally, it said the program would upgrade 350 vacant properties to be homes for people in need.
“The sale of 580 SA Housing Authority properties has been stopped so they can keep providing safe and affordable homes for hundreds of low-income South Australians,” the Government said in a statement.
“Homes will be built in Kilburn, Broadview, Felixstow, Woodville, Edwardstown, Paradise, Hectorville, Port Augusta, Whyalla, Renmark and Port Pirie,” it said.
Minister for Human Services, Nat Cook said she had received strong interest from builders to begin re-building public housing in the State and deliver more affordable housing to South Australians who needed it most.
“The homes will be a mix of two, three and four-bedroom properties, with two-bedroom being the most common to help the large number of single-person households who need help to find a home,” Ms Cook said.
“The homes are being built with both sustainability and accessibility in mind by meeting the Silver standard of the Liveable Housing Design Guidelines,” she said.
Presiding Member of the South Australian Housing Trust Board, Mary Patetsos said the new homes were close to being built and she anticipated she would announce the successful builds by May 2023, with the ground to be broken by mid-2023 and completed by 2024.
“They are some of the first to be built under our plan to revitalise public housing by building new homes to replace older ones that are no longer fit for purpose,” Ms Patetsos said.
“The new properties are better suited to the needs of our customers,” she said.
