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The Cost of Selling Public Rental Housing: Victoria and South Australia Compared
Author(s) -
Kemeny Jim
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
australian journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.417
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1839-4655
pISSN - 0157-6321
DOI - 10.1002/j.1839-4655.1981.tb00716.x
Subject(s) - renting , subsidy , stock (firearms) , project commissioning , business , public housing , finance , rental housing , publishing , economics , economic growth , market economy , engineering , law , mechanical engineering , civil engineering , political science
A comparison of the cost of selling public rental housing is made between two state housing authorities which have similar sized rental stocks but which have sold different percentages of total constructions. Using data from annual reports, it is found that Victoria's policy of selling to sitting tenants has resulted in higher per unit costs on the unsold rental stock than in South Australia where very few houses have been sold to sitting tenants. It is argued that tenants who do not buy necessarily subsidize those who do buy, and that if governments wish to encourage sales then they, and not the bulk of public tenants, should pay for the cost of sales.