The 2002 Community Housing National Social Housing Survey asked tenants to rate their overall satisfaction with the service provided by their community housing organisation. A total of 1,916 community housing tenants were surveyed, representing 31% of the tenants sample. Not only was this survey able to give an indication of the level of satisfaction with the service provided, but has also given insight into the profile of the sectors tenants.

Age and Gender

In 2002, 20% of community housing tenants were aged between 35–44 years and 18% were aged between 45–54 years. Six percent of tenants were aged 24 years and less and nearly 12% were aged 75 years or over. The majority (60%) of community housing tenants were female.

Household Type

The majority of households (50%) were single people living alone and 11% were couple only households. Twenty eight per cent of households contained one or more dependent children. Group homes comprised less than 8% of all households.

Assistance Required

 
Community housing organisations provide homes for a range of people. For some it is simply an affordable way of getting a home, whilst others have particular needs such as tenants with a disability. Of those respondents who reported a disability, health condition or other condition that limits participation in activities, 61% said they required some form of assistance. The main types of assistance required were in the areas of domestic assistance (49%), home maintenance (47%) and social/community participation (36%).

Income Source

Approximately 77% of tenants received a government pension or benefit of some sort. One quarter of tenants received a disability pension, approximately 20% received an aged pension and a further 20% received other government support/benefit. Fifteen per cent of tenants received a wage/salary.

Where did Tenants Previously Live?

Half of the tenants surveyed had been living in rental accommodation before moving into their current home, with the majority of those in private rental housing. Almost one in five (18%) had been living with friends and relatives.

Reason for Moving into Community Housing

• The most frequently given reasons were financial followed by the security of tenure offered by community housing. It appears that about a third also applied for public housing, but community housing was more readily available.
  

• A number of tenants also gave reasons related to the lifestyle community housing offers. Tenants over 65 years of age particularly mentioned the semi-independent living (27%) and being with people with similar interests (21%).  
  

• One in five (20%) community housing tenants were previously homeless. Younger tenants (15-34 years) were significantly more likely to have moved into community housing because they were homeless (29%), and also because they were in a dangerous situation (17%).
  

For further comments or queries contact chfa@chfa.com.au                                            Last revised 17th May, 2005