Property Council NSW Executive Director Katie Stevenson said any back step of long-anticipated stage 2 reforms to increase housing supply in previously restricted areas near transport hubs and town centres would call into question the Government's commitment to housing delivery.
"The draft reforms promised the potential for tens of thousands of new homes across Greater Sydney, the Hunter, Central Coast, and Illawarra Shoalhaven regions, the 'missing middle' of housing that would make up the bulk of our progress towards the National Housing Accord target.
"Any move to water down the proposals would be a derogation of duty, a signal to industry, communities and prospective homebuyers and renters that the NSW Government isn't serious about tackling the housing crisis with the urgency it requires," Ms Stevenson said.
Ms Stevenson said the latest Council Development Assessment (DA) league tables covering the period from 1 July to 30 November, released on Monday, point to the scale of the problem.
"The latest league tables show only around half (52%) of Greater Sydney councils are meeting expectations for processing residential DAs. At the end of July, it was 59% – so even with five months of scrutiny, council performance is getting worse, not better.
"While many councils are pulling their weight, last week the NSW Planning Minister was reported to have given some councils a deadline of around four months to speed up approvals or face sanctions - the question is: "Can we wait that long to see action to get more housing moving?"
Ms Stevenson said industry confidence would take a hit should the Government back step on plans to allow more dual occupancies, terraces, townhouses, and small apartment blocks in R2 low-density zones and mid-rise apartments of 3-6 storeys in R3 medium-density zones.
"There's huge untapped potential for density done well in areas already zoned for low and medium density, and more diverse housing means people have more housing options at different stages of life so they can stay in their communities, close to family and friends.
"Development feasibility is already impacting housing delivery - couple this with a lack of industry confidence in the Government's commitment and we'll see investment go elsewhere," she said.
