Housing crisis fix may be in Finland

THE solution to Hobart’s housing crisis could be found in Finland – or in rent-to-buy schemes with low or no-interest rate loans.

Mission Australia CEO James Toomey recently slammed the government for failing to provide a country-wide homelessness strategy, describing the situation as a “national embarrassment”.

With Hobart the least affordable capital city in Australia when rents were compared to income levels, Mr Toomey said investing in 18,000 social and affordable homes by 2036 could end the housing crisis not just in the city but across Tasmania.

He also pointed to Finland’s Housing First strategy, which has been running since 2007, for answers.

In recent years, Finland has been the only country in Europe where homelessness has decreased after the country focused on increasing the supply of affordable rental housing and converting hostels into supported housing units with independent flats for tenants.

In 1987, there were 19,000 homeless people in Finland, but by 2016 that had decreased to 6684 single people and 325 families.

The other solution in Hobart is rent-to-buy schemes with low or no-interest loans, according to the CEO of Tasmania’s No Interest Loan Scheme.

John Hooper said getting people out of the welfare class was essential, and the way to do that was build communities and foster independence through home ownership.

He said while Tasmania already had some limited rent-to-buy public housing schemes in place, financing those was more challenging.

“If we had an aggressive, separate low or no-interest loan bank for people on low incomes, people could use the rent they’re paying to actually own their own homes,” he said.

“Home and asset ownership, for all of us, drives our security and safety, for people to pass on to their own kids and the next generation to do better.”