Our homes

Social and affordable housing

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Every life deserves a solid foundation.

CHL exists to create more than houses – the housing we deliver enables our customers to create a home and find a sense of place, safety and belonging that allows them to thrive.

Our housing solutions
Learn more about community housing

CHL currently manages over 12,000 properties providing homes for more than 20,000 customers across Australia. Our homes vary by size, location and design catering to varying customer needs.

With an urgent need for housing across the country, we deliver housing solutions that are informed and meet the needs of individuals, families and communities. Our portfolio includes social and affordable homes, specialist disability accommodation and market housing.

Social housing is developed for people on very low incomes, which can make it difficult to access private market housing. Social housing can be managed and owned by both government and community housing providers like us. With a significant shortage of social housing in Australia, places are allocated to people who are on a government waiting list, based on need and a range of other eligibility criteria with rents based on income affordability.

Affordable housing solutions are designed to support eligible households to alleviate housing stress by offering a discounted market rate for their rent. Affordable housing provides opportunities for households to live in well located areas close to jobs, transport and services where they would otherwise be excluded by high private market rents. This can include housing for key workers, such as nurses, police and teachers.

Market housing are homes available for anyone to rent at market rates. In several of our larger developments, we celebrate housing diversity and may include market housing options, sometimes called ‘build to rent’ (BTR), which are managed through our social enterprise real estate agency, Horizon Housing Realty (HHR).

Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA)

We work with partners to provide specialist disability accommodation in locations across Australia. These homes are designed and built to meet the needs of people with disability and are allocated to eligible National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants. We are a registered SDA provider under the NDIS.

Our homes

Our homes are diverse, just like our customers. They range from apartment buildings which can help meet greater demand in a higher-density area, to stand-alone homes including in a regional or rural location.

Our homes address a range of customer needs and are a mixture of social and affordable housing and SDA. In several of our larger projects, we also may include some market housing options, sometimes called ‘build to rent’.

Discover examples of our developments from across the country below.

Seachange Miami, Gold Coast, QLD

The Seachange Miami property provides homes for Queenslanders 55 and older, including those with higher mobility needs, with customers being either on the social housing register, public housing tenants seeking to downsize or those eligible for Specialist Disability Accommodation through the NDIS.

Our Seachange Miami development was led by CHL in partnership with the Queensland Government, NAB (financial partner), Alder Constructions (builder), MCD Australia (superintendent), Ripple Group (quantity surveyor) and Ryal Smyth (architect).

ROSAS, Adelaide, SA

The Renewing our Suburbs and Streets program resulted in CHL re-developing more than 780 homes across Adelaide for South Australians of all ages and life circumstances who are eligible for social housing.

The Renewing Our Suburbs and Streets (ROSAS) program with the South Australian Government resulted in the management transfer to CHL of 807 homes across Central Northern Adelaide.

Ground Lease Model 1 precinct, Prahran, Brighton and Flemington, VIC

CHL has worked with partners to deliver 1084 new social, affordable and market rent homes across three sites in metropolitan Melbourne, with modern, accessible and energy efficient features and facilities.

CHL is part of the Building Communities consortium working on Homes Victoria’s Ground Lease Model (GLM) projects.

OUR CUSTOMERS, OUR STORIES

We proudly work with our customers to turn houses into homes. Each customer and community are different, so we tailor community development programs and initiatives to meet their needs and create a sense of place, safety and belonging that allows people to thrive.

Frequently asked questions

What is social and affordable housing?

What is SDA?

People with disability who have very high support needs may be eligible to live in Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) funded by the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). SDA is allocated to eligible NDIS participants. These homes are designed and built with accessibility features to meet the needs of people with disability and help them live more independently and safely. We are a registered SDA provider under the NDIS and we work with specialist partners to provide these homes in locations across Australia. Refer to our SDA page for more information.

How does CHL manage its market housing?

In several of our larger developments, we may include some market housing options, sometimes called ‘build to rent’ (BTR). This market housing component is managed through Horizon Housing Realty (HHR), our social enterprise real estate agency, which reinvests any surplus to support social and affordable housing. Our market housing properties as managed by HHR are advertised on RealEstate.com.au, where people can apply directly.

Why does CHL provide market housing?

CHL is a purpose-driven organisation and a not-for-profit registered charity, reinvesting surplus across our group of companies to achieve our purpose, where every life deserves a solid foundation.

We know how important diversity is to communities. This is why we are advocates for combining market housing options alongside social and affordable homes because it supports integrated, diverse communities, with choice for our customers.

Our BTR market homes provide high-quality, long-term rental options with expert property management and other services focused on amenity, wellbeing and community development. Not only do residents living in these homes get to enjoy our beautifully designed and expertly managed properties, they are also contributing to reducing housing poverty in Australia.

Where are CHL properties? How do I live in one?

While CHL properties are in each state across Australia, different pathways and eligibility criteria exist to be able to access social and affordable housing or specialist disability accommodation. To find out more information as a potential applicant, visit our page about applying for housing here or visit the dedicated SDA page here.

Who do your homes support?

We provide safe, secure and affordable homes to those in need, including people experiencing homelessness or domestic and family violence, people with disability and older people who need more suitable options to age-in-place within their communities. We also continue work alongside Aboriginal Community Housing Limited (ACHL) to provide culturally appropriate housing services and support, which puts the needs of communities and families first. Every home we deliver is one more household with stability, dignity and a place to belong.