NSW is spending more than $55 million a year on hotel rooms for people who would otherwise be on the street, as a shortfall in affordable housing widens.
The number of people in temporary accommodation, a circuit breaker for homeless people to get a shower and shelter while they attempt to re-enter the housing market, has ballooned in recent years, Housing Minister Rose Jackson says.
"Because of the depth of the housing crisis, we are seeing thousands and thousands more people require that motel room, require that hotel room because the only other option is to sleep on the street," she told a Property Council of Australia summit on Wednesday.
"People have the genuine sort of sense that it's bad, but I don't think people quite realise just how stretched and dysfunctional and overwhelmed the system that is actually trying to respond to it is."
NSW spent $55.5 million on temporary accommodation in the last financial year, a 22 per cent increase on the previous period.
The state recorded a 34 per cent jump in people sleeping rough in its latest homelessness street count released last week.
Homelessness cannot be reduced without increasing the supply of affordable housing, says Michele Adair of community housing provider Housing Trust.
"The data is unequivocal," she said, referring to metadata analysis from the US.
"The only reason for homelessness is a lack of affordable housing."
Homelessness NSW chief executive Trina Jones agreed, saying it's within the powers of government to fix.
"In a place like Australia, everybody should have a safe home and the support to keep it, so I would argue that no level is acceptable and no level needs to be acceptable," she said.
"The solutions are evidence-based and they're within reach. All we need is political will and action and we can end homelessness."
Bridge Housing chief executive Rebecca Pinkstone says planning processes are skewed towards property owners and people without a home are often unable to argue the case for well-located, affordable housing development.
"There's such a growing population now who will always be renting and their voices are completely ignored in this debate," she said.
Ms Pinkstone cited community opposition to affordable housing in Sydney's affluent northern beaches and inner west.
"It's always property owners who are in their standalone homes that are complaining about this but really we need more housing that meets the needs of our community," she said.
Ms Jackson said a designated architect role will be embedded within Homes NSW, the social and affordable housing agency replacing three agencies, to develop design capability within government.
