More affordable inner-city homes under new initiative

The Schrinner Council will introduce a new Inner-City Affordability Initiative to improve housing affordability and supply in fast-growing areas.

The new initiative will make new homes in well-connected areas of inner-city suburbs more affordable by removing mandatory minimum car parking requirements.

Industry experts estimate the cost of supplying an underground or podium level car park within a new Brisbane high-rise development is often more than $100,000 per parking space.

At the same time, the latest Census data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed one in three Brisbane households are single adult households.

Removing mandatory car parking requirements in designated inner-city zones will put downward pressure on the price of new inner-city apartments, helping more people live closer to high employment areas like the CBD.

Areas to be considered under the Inner-City Affordability Initiative include parts of Fortitude Valley, Kangaroo Point, Milton and Newstead.

This new initiative is in addition to the Housing Supply Action Plan introduced in August 2023 which focused on fast-tracking the delivery of new homes by reducing infrastructure charges.

These two initiatives work hand in hand to make much-needed homes in existing inner-city, high-density areas more affordable to build while preserving Brisbane’s character and low-density areas.

The Inner-City Affordability Initiative’s maximum car parking requirement mirrors what’s already in place in Brisbane’s CBD and recently expanded to South Brisbane under the Kurilpa Sustainable Growth Precinct plan, which was supported by the State Government.

Under the current minimum car park standards required outside the CBD, high-density developments need one space per one bedroom dwelling, two spaces per two bedroom and three bedroom dwellings, 2.5 spaces for four bedrooms and above dwellings and 0.25 visitor parks per dwelling.

Under the current maximum car parking rates in place in Brisbane’s “City Core” and Kurilpa, high-density developments require:

Maximum 0.5 space per one bedroom dwelling
Maximum one space per two-bedroom dwelling
Maximum 1.5 spaces per three-bedroom dwelling
Maximum two spaces for four bedrooms and above dwellings
One visitor space for every 20 dwellings

The Inner-City Affordability Initiative will not be citywide, but in designated inner-city areas close to high-frequency public transport, active travel options and amenities.

Brisbane’s investment in mass transport solutions including Brisbane Metro and Cross River Rail have enabled this expansion.

The initiative will require changes to Brisbane’s City Plan, community consultation and State Government approval.

Quotes attributable to Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner:

“Brisbane is one of Australia’s fastest growing cities and we need more homes that are sustainable, affordable and accessible to employment centres.

“We’ve already taken substantial action to help address the housing shortage, like introducing infrastructure charges incentives so homes get built sooner.

“With single adult homes now making up one in three Brisbane households, we urgently need more homes, but not as many expensive car parking spaces.

“By removing mandatory minimum car parking requirements under our Inner-City Affordability Initiative we can put downward pressure on the price of building and buying a new apartment in those areas of Brisbane with great access to high-frequency public transport.

“It will mean more people will be able to afford to live in areas close to transport and key employment centres, like the CBD.

“Our approach preserves Brisbane’s low-density suburbs and helps prevent urban sprawl, which contributes to congestion and causes significant transport and environmental costs.

“We want to help create more well-connected communities where multiple cars per household are not necessary to get around.”

Number of registered vehicles per property including motorbikes, scooters and heavy vehicles