News

Details: Published: Wednesday, 19 February 2020 09:01

A Sydney couple have long been concerned about the impact Sydney’s housing affordability crisis was having on people at risk of homelessness.

So, when they inherited money from a relative’s estate, they knew exactly what to do with it. They bought a studio apartment in the unaffordable eastern suburbs, close to shops and transport, and asked HomeGround Real Estate Sydney to find a suitable tenant and to manage the tenancy.

HomeGround Real Estate Sydney is Bridge's Housing's not-for-profit real estate agency, started in 2018.

“We are quite comfortable, so we decided to do something useful with the money and something our relative would he happy with. She had a very strong concept of social justice and she gave a lot of money to causes she believed in but she never made a fuss about it,” they said.

“We never wanted to be landlords in the classic sense and HomeGround understands this. They've got the right attitude, knowswhat we want and how we want the property to be used.”

The couple have fully donated up to $400 in weekly rental income that would be generated by a private rental property like this and will take advantage of HomeGround’s generous tax ruling. HomeGround has also forgone its management fee.

“Success for us is HomeGround finding a person in need who couldn’t afford this kind of accommodation and who is at risk of homelessness. It might be a woman escaping domestic violence, someone needing short term refuge or a long-term roof over their heads.”

They hope their action will show others they can do social good at very little cost to themselves. “By doing this, we preserve and grow the capital in line with inflation and we only forgo the income, which we don’t need. You can do something to make a difference to homelessness at very little cost to yourself.”

Learn more about our ATO tax ruling.

* Names withheld at landlords' request.