Housing Action Plan 2026
Project Vision
To build a future where all members of our community have access to affordable housing options in the City of Hobart.
Scope
The City’s focus for our Housing Action Plan 2026 is to provide a concise short to medium term plan that identifies Actions to increase the affordability and supply of housing in the City of Hobart.
A Background Paper has been prepared to support this Action Plan. This paper provides information relevant to the current housing situation in the Hobart LGA, including: Demographics, the Strategic context, Drivers of change, and the Cost of inaction.
Why do we need more housing in Hobart?
The lack of affordable and appropriate housing in the City of Hobart means that our residents face a higher risk of lifestyle changes if their income or household changes, through events such as a family breakdown or separation, temporary unemployment, accident, or injury.
Limited affordable housing prevents key workers from living in the area they work, and young people from starting out on their own, in the area they grew up.
Without intervention, the shortage of affordable housing will only increase, creating a divide within the community between those that can afford to live in the City of Hobart and those that are forced to leave the area to find more affordable accommodation.
Housing Action Plan 2026
Why do we need a Housing Action Plan for Hobart?
Home ownership and long-term rental properties in the City of Hobart are now unaffordable for many members of our community. The cost of constructing new homes in Tasmania has increased dramatically over the past few years and there is a limited greenfield land supply near education, employment, health services and frequent and reliable public transport.
The Housing Action Plan is being prepared by the City of Hobart to provide a clear plan to respond to our diverse community’s need for housing.
Council’s focus for the Housing Action Plan is primarily on the affordability, diversity and supply of housing which is suitable for all members of our community.
The Background Paper provides information on the current situation regarding housing in the City of Hobart and identifies ideas that have been developed into Actions in the Housing Action Plan, to facilitate an increase in housing supply within the City of Hobart.
Housing Action Plan themes
• Incentives and deterrents such as changes to fees, and charges.
• Efficient regulatory processes and systems that support clear and predictable pathways for assessment.
• Strategic land use planning to investigate rezoning and other mechanisms to deliver permitted pathways for appropriate higher density housing in areas close to services, education, employment and public transport.
• Development of underutilised land through mechanisms to unlock existing sites for infill development.
• Exemplar, high-quality, mixed-tenure, medium-density housing projects to demonstrate to the market that this model can succeed in Hobart.
• Working with the community to better understand their concerns regarding housing to enable more constructive conversations in the future.
What role does the City of Hobart play?
The City will take on several roles in the delivery of the Actions including:
• Delivering actions which are within their control.
• Partnering with organisations to deliver actions which they cannot achieve alone.
• Advocating for actions to be undertaken by other levels of government or non-government organisations.
Have your say
The community can provide feedback on the draft Housing Action Plan from the 23 February until the 23 of March 2026. yoursay.hobartcity.com.au
Please take a look at the Background Paper and draft Housing Action Plan to learn more, then fill out the survey.
