Question & Answer – Social Housing – Definitions under Residential Tenancy Act

March 26, 2026

Ms WEBB question to MINISTER for HOUSING and PLANNING, Mr VINCENT

[2.37 p.m.]
My question relates to definitions of social housing under the Residential Tenancy Act 1997. Specifically:

(1) Is the Cohousing Co-operative Hobart declared to be social housing under section 3 of the act? And,

(2) If Cohousing Co-operative Hobart does not currently have social housing status under the act, why is that? Will you undertake to investigate having it declared as social housing?

ANSWER

Thank you, Mr President. I have the answers here.

(1) Cohousing Co-operative Hobart is not declared social housing under the act.

(2) Under the Residential Tenancy Act 1997, social housing is defined in section 3, as: Residential premises owned and managed by a declared social housing provider, including Homes Tasmania, or another provider, formally declared by the minister under the act.

This definition ties social housing to a specific legal status, rather than affordability or community purpose. A provider must be formally declared for its dwellings to fall within the act’s meaning of social housing. Without such a declaration, housing supplied by other entities such as cooperatives and private organisations does not meet the statutory definition.

Social housing providers operate within a formal framework overseen by Homes Tasmania. This includes asset management, compliance audits, and tenancy regulation. Because the Cohousing Co-operative Hobart functions as an independent incorporated
association, without this registry relationship, it falls outside the categories recognised in the
act.

Under the act, social housing must be allocated to people assessed as being in housing need, with rents calculated according to regulated income-based formulas. Homes are allocated to those who are assessed as eligible and have an active application on the Housing Register. The Cohousing Co-operative Hobart instead allocates housing through membership-based criteria and manages its dwellings collectively as a resident-run cooperative. It owns these properties and, while it offers affordable rents, currently capped at 30 per cent of income, this affordability alone does not meet the statutory definition of social housing, which is tied to government regulated eligibility, rent setting and provider registration. There are no plans for the Cohousing Co-operative Hobart to be deemed as social housing under the act.

View Meg’s Question and the response provided by the Minister on 26 March 2026 here or below: