Satisfaction was high among social housing tenants in 2023
Today’s release, the National social housing survey (NSHS) 2023, is the largest social housing study conducted in Australia. Social housing is low cost or subsidised rental housing provided to eligible Australians by government or non-government (including not-for-profit) organisations.
The key objective of the NSHS is to gain insights into the lived experiences of social housing tenants and their satisfaction with housing service providers, amenities, and maintenance services, as well as other perceived benefits of living in social housing.
For 2023, the NSHS found that:
- More than 2 in 3 tenants (69%) reported that they were satisfied with the overall services provided by their social housing organisation.
- Nearly 4 in 5 tenants (79%) reported economic, health and social benefits from living in social housing.
- Satisfaction was closely related to the condition of tenants’ homes: as structural problems increased, satisfaction fell.
- Almost 3 in 5 social housing tenants (59%) in 2023 would feel comfortable or very comfortable asking a neighbour to assist with a problem.
The report also includes data on satisfaction across housing programs and states and territories.
Research has consistently found that housing is a key determining factor in living a healthy life. The provision of housing services, and tenant experiences with the condition of their property and aspects of their neighbourhood, have been shown to closely relate to measures of health and wellbeing. Studies have highlighted the important role that social housing plays in protecting against homelessness, which is widely known to have a significant impact on mental and physical health.
The NSHS offers tenants’ perspectives on social housing to allow for a more person-centred approach to the Australian social housing experience. The findings on the lived experiences of social housing tenants assist in understanding tenant needs and whether housing policy objectives are being fulfilled.
The NSHS also complements other data on social housing in Australia, that is, administrative data collected by social housing providers and reported in Housing assistance in Australia.