The Housing Provider Framework (HPF) introduces a single lease and property management agreement for housing agencies that manage properties under long term community housing programs.
These include:
- Rooming houses
- Rental housing cooperatives
- Disability housing initiatives, such as the Group Housing program.
The properties, owned by the us, are leased to community housing agencies to provide affordable housing for social housing for low income Victorians.
All agencies managing such properties must sign onto the HPF in order to formalise their relationship with us. From January 2009, we will only lease properties to registered housing providers or associations.
Framework principles
Through the payment of rent by tenants, agencies will raise revenue to finance the 4 major tenancy and property management functions:
- Tenancy management
- Community capacity building
- Maintenance (either ours or agency responsibility)
- Asset management (our responsibility).
Tenancy management and community capacity building are the core functions for agencies leasing properties in the HPF. Agencies will have an option to undertake maintenance for the properties they lease, if they can demonstrate a capacity to do so. We retain the asset management function in all cases.
The HPF includes specified benchmarks that broadly allocate funds to meet the costs of the major tenancy and property management functions. The tenancy management benchmarks are based on the accommodation provided and the level of tenant contact required.
Community capacity building funds
Community capacity building funds are for agency based projects that:
- Develop community building activities for tenants
- Quality improvement initiatives
- Preparation for registration or capital development projects.