At a lunch presentation from Impact Group, One Fell Swoop and Village Guru in Sydney, there was a lot of conversation at the tables about the desperate need for more rental accommodation and for the Federal Government’s $10 billion fund to invest in new housing projects to come to fruition.

Simon Owen, Managing Director and CEO of Ingenia Communities, told the inaugural LEADERS SUMMIT MASTERCLASS NEW COMMUNITIES last year of the unmet demand for rental accommodation. The situation now is a lot worse.

Simon has nine fully occupied all-age rental communities and 25 senior rental villages. In an ASX update, Ingenia said It expects to add around 70 new rental homes in FY23 and up to 100 more in FY24 and, significantly, stated it has the potential to add additional rental homes to existing communities to meet the need.

95% of Eureka Group’s residents in its rental accommodation are on the aged pension and accessing Commonwealth Rent Assistance. The Brisbane-based operator reported a HY23 profit after tax of $7.75 million in February.

Today’s The Weekly Source reveals Not for Profit Uniting is, over time, turning 40 retirement villages into senior rental villages. This is an ambitious move but with a recession likely, this action is much needed.

Will other Not for Profits follow the example of Uniting? Tracey Burton, CEO of Uniting, and Simon Furness, Head of Property and Housing, deserve warm applause for their foresight, especially as Tracey told the LEADERS SUMMIT in March that Uniting was operating under a capital freeze.