The first social homes have been completed under the McGowan Government's $221 million Housing and Homelessness Investment Package (HHIP), with the first tenants due to move in later this month.
Housing Minister John Carey marked the milestone today with a visit to a five-bedroom family home in Camballin Loop, Bertram - the first of four social housing properties completed by Western Australian builder Shelford Constructions.
In 2020 Shelford was appointed as one of the contractors of the Design and Construct and/or Housing Refurbishment Builders Panel 2020 to build a number of HHIP properties throughout the Perth metropolitan area over the next two years.
HHIP will supply up to 300 new social homes, as well as provide funding for the refurbishment and maintenance of existing properties. To date, 210 new social homes have been allocated for construction in the Perth metropolitan area, with another 90 allocated in regional WA.
Homes built and refurbished under the program enable the Department of Communities to provide more social housing for some of the most vulnerable Western Australians, while also providing more affordable housing for people on low-to-moderate incomes.
The McGowan Government is also rolling out its $319 million Social Housing and Economic Recovery Package, with thousands of social housing properties scheduled to receive maintenance and refurbishment works, and hundreds of new homes to be built.
The Government has also seen significant uptake of its $20,000 Building Bonus grant, with thousands of Western Australians being financially supported to enter the property market for the first time.
As stated by Housing Minister John Carey:
"It was great to visit this new social housing property, the first to be built under the Housing and Homelessness Investment Package.
"This is a critical milestone in this project, but later this month we will reach a more important milestone when a family makes this property their home.
"I am fully aware of the challenges we face because of the current rental market, and I am looking at all available options to boost our social housing stock.
"These homes were built by Shelford Constructions, a wholly WA-owned and operated company based in Rockingham, so it's great to see local workers and the economy directly benefit from this program.
"The McGowan Government has invested more than $1 billion into additional measures that will significantly improve the quality and accessibility of social housing for Western Australians.
"We have committed funding for the refurbishment and maintenance of thousands social housing properties to provide accommodation for vulnerable families. We have also ceased the disposal of public housing properties and will build hundreds of new public houses.
"To date, construction and maintenance work awarded through HHIP has supported an estimated 74 jobs and generated a boost in economic activity."
