An innovative program aiming to address the housing shortage by using a slice of the price from every property sold to fund new social and affordable homes is being rolled out in the Hunter.
The program is called Homes for Homes. It was created by not-for-profit organisation and charity The Big Issue.
The idea is that homeowners and developers sign up and agree to donate 0.1 per cent of the sale price of a home or land, and that money goes towards grants for social and affordable housing.
The condition would then remain on the property title, but can be removed at any time.
For example, on a $1 million home, the donation would be $1000, which is tax deductible. The money is then granted to community housing providers and developers to use for social and affordable housing projects.
While it is open to any seller, Homes for Homes Newcastle/Hunter partnerships manager Nick Eakin said it was particularly targeted towards developers.
"That's really where the scale comes in," he said. "Through the Hunter, there's 120-odd potential estates being built. That's where the opportunity lies in terms of alternative funding for social and affordable housing.
The donation is transferred as part of the settlement process, and the program pitches that "it's money you wouldn't normally see and therefore most likely won't even miss".
"Seven to 11 years is the average time span people stay in a house," Mr Eakin said.
"If you've been in your house for that long, you've already made good capital gain. You sell the place and it goes as part of all the other fees - your conveyancer fees, agent commission et cetera.
"You'll get a receipt back and then you can actually put that in your tax return."
The Hunter rollout comes amid a growing waitlist for social housing and as housing prices continue to rise.
"Governments can't do this alone and the constant reliance on governments we know just doesn't work," Mr Eakin said.
"We know that community-led solutions are the most effective in any sort of social change.
"This really is a social change project because housing affordability is becoming harder and harder.
"When you look at the long term prospect of this, you could probably solve a lot of housing issues in this country if everyone's house was on this and we all just chipped in."
The concept originated in the United States. Homes for Homes has distributed more than $2 million to 22 projects which have provided housing for more than 300 people since it started about 10 years ago.
"It has been quite successful around Canberra," Mr Eakin said. "There's an estate there Denman Prospect where it has been successful.
"About 66-67 per cent of homes stay registered after they sell, meaning the incoming purchaser promises to also donate when they sell in the future, creating generational change."
The aim is to redistribute the funding to housing projects within the same area it was raised.
Mr Eakin said he was also hoping to spread the word to councils to get involved and promote the program.
