Brisbane City Council has announced a new housing initiative aimed at making new homes in well-connected areas of inner-city suburbs more affordable by removing mandatory minimum car parking requirements.
The Council says the new Inner-City Affordability Initiative will improve housing affordability and supply in fast-growing areas.
Industry experts estimate the cost of supplying an underground or podium level car park within a new Brisbane high-rise development is often more than $100,000 per parking space, Council said in a statement.
At the same time, the latest Census data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed one in three Brisbane households are single adult households.
“Brisbane is one of Australia’s fastest growing cities and we need more homes that are sustainable, affordable and accessible to employment centres,” said Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner.
“With single adult homes now making up one in three Brisbane households, we urgently need more homes, but not as many expensive car parking spaces.
“By removing mandatory minimum car parking requirements under our Inner-City Affordability Initiative we can put downward pressure on the price of building and buying a new apartment in those areas of Brisbane with great access to high-frequency public transport.
“It will mean more people will be able to afford to live in areas close to transport and key employment centres, like the CBD.
Under the current minimum car park standards required outside the CBD, high-density developments need one space per one bedroom dwelling, two spaces per two bedroom and three bedroom dwellings, 2.5 spaces for four bedrooms and above dwellings and 0.25 visitor parks per dwelling.
Under the current maximum car parking rates in place in Brisbane’s ‘City Core’ and Kurilpa, high-density developments require:
- Maximum 0.5 space per one bedroom dwelling
- Maximum one space per two-bedroom dwelling
- Maximum 1.5 spaces per three-bedroom dwelling
- Maximum two spaces for four bedrooms and above dwellings
- One visitor space for every 20 dwellings
Property Council of Australia Executive Director Queensland, Jess Caire has welcomed the Council initiative.
“This initiative for well-located sites that are easily accessible by public transport and close to amenities will attract the investment needed to deliver new homes,” she said.
“It is great to see Brisbane City Council listening to industry on ways to overcome some of the barriers to the delivery of new homes in our city.
“As seen in our ‘On the edge’ report into Brisbane’s apartment supply pipeline, skyrocketing construction costs are pushing Brisbane’s apartment supply to the edge – this much needed cost relief will go a long way to boosting supply in Brisbane.”
The Inner-City Affordability Initiative will not be citywide, but in designated inner-city areas close to high-frequency public transport, active travel options and amenities, Council said.
Areas to be considered under the Inner-City Affordability Initiative include parts of Fortitude Valley, Kangaroo Point, Milton and Newstead.
ABC Census 2021 figures recorded vehicle ownership in these suburbs as:
- Fortitude Valley – 28.7% own no car, 55.6% own one car;
- Kangaroo Point – 12% own no car, 52.8% own one car;
- Milton – 16.1% own no car, 53.7% own one car;
- Newstead – 11.9% own no car, 63.3% own one car.
“We want to help create more well-connected communities where multiple cars per household are not necessary to get around,” the Lord Mayor said.
Urban Development Institute of Australia Chief Executive Officer (UDIA QLD) Kirsty Chessher-Brown said the Institute had long advocated for such an initiative.
“Changes like these are a critical part in what is urgently needed to tackle housing affordability,” she said.
“It is solutions like these that can be the make or break factor in determining whether a new development goes ahead or not. And in our current housing crisis we desperately need more housing supply.”
The initiative will require changes to Brisbane’s City Plan, community consultation and State Government approval.
