Australians deserve better than low quality, inefficient housing
04 Sep 2024
New AHURI Research has investigated what is needed to lift the quality of Australian housing to align with international standards.
Australia’s existing housing stock is of poor quality with over 70 per cent of houses having an energy rating of three stars or lower and around 70 per cent of households reporting building quality problems. Until standards are lifted, Australian householders will continue to suffer from high energy costs, poorer health from homes that are too hot or cold, and greater financial stress into the future.
The research, ‘A national roadmap for improving the building quality of Australian housing stock’, undertaken for AHURI by researchers from University of South Australia, Monash University, the University of Adelaide, the University of Sydney and University College London examines how Australian governments can implement best-practice housing standards regulation to address problems associated with old and ill-performing housing stock in both the owned and rented sectors.
The researchers found a national strategy is required to improve residential building quality.
Current housing standards are behind international practice
‘As Australia looks to build 1.2 million new homes over the five years from 2023, the low quality of our housing is currently set to perpetuate,’ says lead researcher Associate Professor Lyrian Daniel of the University of South Australia.
While energy efficiency standards for newly built and substantially renovated homes started in 2003, 82 per cent of new Australian homes are still designed to meet only the minimum requirements, which are low by international standards.
‘The current requirement of a seven-star rating for new homes is below international best practice; a nine-star standard is required to eliminate mechanical heating and cooling in line with the requirements for low-energy homes. We need to bring all houses up to a meaningful minimum standard to reduce heating and cooling costs and carbon emissions, while providing occupants with healthy and climate-resilient homes.’
The Australian Housing Conditions Dataset survey reveals that 70 per cent of homes had some building quality problem. Cracks in the walls were the most common issue (44%), followed by mould (35%) and plumbing issues (27%).
For old homes standards are even worse; 70 per cent of existing Australian houses have an energy rating of three stars or lower. By 2050 there will still be seven million pre-existing homes that don’t meet housing energy standards.
Voluntary standards are not enough – mandatory policies are required
‘While voluntary policies and standards are important for encouraging leadership and innovation, they only improve a small proportion of the housing stock,’ says says Associate Professor Daniel. ‘In contrast, mandatory approaches are needed to lift the environmental standard of most homes. One example is the compulsory disclosure of the home’s energy efficiency of a home at point of sale or lease. The ACT Government’s mandatory disclosure requirement means the Territory has the highest level of energy efficiency improvements to existing owner-occupied dwellings.
Policies that mandate the disclosure of dwelling energy performance could improve housing markets with better consumer information about the performance of houses offered for sale or lease and also enable monitoring of performance standards across the entire housing stock.'
Developing a national housing strategy is required
‘Ultimately, a multi-pronged strategy will be needed to develop fit-for-purpose housing standards policy in Australia,’ says Daniel.
This strategy should include improved performance standards for new houses; mandatory energy performance disclosure of all dwellings; minimum housing standards for the rental sector; transparent governance of regulatory mechanisms (including organisations such as the Australian Building Codes Board); and a rigorous independent building compliance and enforcement process.