Housing assistance: exploring benefits beyond shelter

Abstract

<jats:p> In Australia, an increasing number of households face problems of access to suitable housing in the private market. In response, the Federal and State Governments share responsibility for providing housing assistance to these, mainly low-income, households. A broad range of policy instruments are used to provide and maintain housing assistance across all housing tenures, for example, assisting entry into homeownership, providing affordability assistance in the private rental market, and the provision of socially owned and managed housing options. Underlying each of these interventions is the premise that secure, affordable, and appropriate housing provides not only shelter but also a number of nonshelter benefits to individuals and their households. Although the nonshelter outcomes of housing are well acknowledged in Australia, the understanding of the nonshelter outcomes of housing assistance is less clear. This paper explores nonshelter outcomes of three of the major forms of housing assistance provided by Australian governments—low-income mortgage assistance, social housing, and private rent assistance. It is based upon analysis of a survey of 1,353 low-income recipients of housing assistance, and specifically measures the formulation of health and well-being, financial stress, and housing satisfaction outcomes across these three assistance types. We find clear evidence that health, finance, and housing satisfaction outcomes are associated with quite different factors for individuals in these three major housing assistance types. </jats:p>