More than 330 people waiting for community housing in Tasmania are homeless, while the number of people on the housing waitlist has jumped to more than 4000 applicants, according to latest government data.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Communities Tasmania data shows that up until March 2021 almost three quarters of the 4006 people on waiting lists have been granted priority status for housing.
Of these, up to 212 people were provided with housing in the last three months, which is 29 applicants more than the previous quarter in December last year.
The data shows that eight per cent of people on the waiting lists, or 338 applicants, are without accommodation.
The remaining 92 per cent, or 3668 applicants, were in housing, and of this figure 18 per cent were classified as being in secure, stable housing.
Shelter Tas chief executive Pattie Chugg said there was a chronic shortfall of housing in Tasmania.
She said the organisation supports the state government's housing action plans and the recent boosts to housing construction but a more ambitious target and adequate funding was needed.
"Current targets are not keeping pace with demand and need, and the private rental market is increasingly expensive, with rents outstripping incomes," she said.
"Shelter Tas recommends a medium-long term target for Tasmania of 10 per cent of dwellings to be affordable social rental housing, requiring approximately 10,000 additional dwellings, aiming for 1 000 per year for ten years. This would nearly double existing stock."
The government has a plan to build 1,800 new community houses by mid 2023.
