CHIA NSW welcomes new laws to make affordable housing fairer in NSW

Media release

3rd June 2025

The Community Housing Industry Association NSW (CHIA NSW) has welcomed legislation introduced into Parliament today, by the Minns Government, that will improve oversight of affordable housing delivered through the planning system.

“Affordable housing is critical to fixing the housing crisis in NSW. But until now, there hasn’t been a clear picture of how much affordable housing there is, who it’s owned by, or where in the state it is,” said Mark Degotardi, CEO of CHIA NSW.

“The introduction of these laws gives us a clear view of the current state of affordable housing in NSW and will ultimately mean that all affordable housing is managed to the high standards that registered community housing providers are already delivering to,” said Mr Degotardi.

The new laws will:

  • Create a public register of affordable housing to track how much affordable housing is being delivered.
  • Establish a new category of Affordable Housing Managers (AHM) who will be responsible to the NSW Government Registrar for ensuring the eligibility of tenants and that affordable rents are charged.
  • Ban developers from getting occupation certificates unless a registered manager (CHP or AHM) is appointed, and an affordable housing restriction is legally recorded on the property title.
  • Introduce fines and enforcement powers for managers failing to rent to eligible tenants or breaching conditions
  • Strengthen information sharing and oversight between the Registrar and Homes NSW

CHIA NSW said that affordable housing is one of the key solutions to addressing a growing housing crisis.

“Fixing this growing crisis is not possible without increasing supply of high quality social and affordable housing, and these new laws are a welcome step towards this,” Mr Degotardi said.

“As managers of more than 54,000 homes across NSW, not-for-profit community housing providers stand ready to work with government and private developers to deliver the affordable housing that we desperately need. Our industry is backed by a robust regulatory framework and over 40 years of experience supporting people in need.”

Media contact: Bron Matherson, 0438 844 765 or Tamara Kotoyan, 0430 291 890