Community housing emerges from the shadowlands: Property rights and the implications of a national regulatory framework under the Community Housing National Law

Abstract

This article discusses community housing and the legal and funding arrangements that have evolved for this sector. The author examines the nature of community housing and explains how it has emerged out of public housing policy. In particular, there is a focus on property rights especially from the perspective of community housing providers both in relation to head leasing and tenancy agreements. The article reviews the Community Housing Providers’ National Law especially in relation to the innovations in ‘statutory’ contracts and the vesting of land title in registered providers in New South Wales. The author argues that evolving trust in community organisations underscores these reforms, but that the project is far from finished. Housing providers must evolve to face the challenges that lie ahead.