Queensland home owners who have granny flats will be allowed to rent them out over the next three years under emergency planning changes designed to alleviate the state's housing crisis.
The move will enable secondary dwellings to be made available to people other than immediate family members and expand accommodation options for smaller households, such as students, single persons, older people and couples.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the change would mean "cheaper properties will enter the rental market, helping thousands of people".
Currently, secondary dwellings are only able to be used by family, Deputy Premier Steven Miles said.
"At the same time some Queenslanders are sleeping in their cars or in tents," he said.
Mr Miles said using under-utilised granny flats was quicker than building new accommodation.
"It also allows home owners to earn rent, helping them meet the increased cost of living," he said.
"They'll still need to comply with all council regulations, building codes, as well as fire safety regulations, so they may need to get them safety inspected."
Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) president Shannon Batch said the changes could meet some of Queensland's diverse housing needs.
"This change highlights how good planning can help address our housing challenge and reduce the barriers to more diverse housing forms," she said.
Mr Miles said the changes would be reviewed after three years to ensure there were no unintended consequences and consider future housing supply.
Deputy opposition leader Jarrod Bleijie said he supported the granny flat changes.
"We support anything that gets a roof over a Queenslander's head," he said.
New housing data revealed
Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch said the latest data for the social housing register showed "some stabilisation", with almost 500 fewer households on the register than last year.
"It also indicates single people, including over the age of 55, now make up the majority of those on the social housing register," she said.
"In fact, the most common cohort of households on the social housing register is single people."
Ms Enoch said the data informs the allocation of social housing and identifies areas for new social housing.
She said the data also provides insight into households.
"According to the latest data, the register has many households which include a person with disability," Ms Enoch said.
"This, along with the number of people aged over 55 years, reinforces our commitment to building social housing that is accessible and built to Liveable Design Standards that allow tenants to age in place."
Ms Enoch said in 2021-22, the government provided 200,000 forms of housing assistance to Queensland households, including emergency housing, social housing, private market assistance and homelessness services.
"Many households on the housing register have already been assisted with other solutions such as bond loans and rental grants," she said.
"This means the person or family may have been assisted to secure a home in the private rental market but remain on the housing register."
