The Greens want Newcastle council to fast-track a housing affordability scheme, proposing to adopt a 15 per cent levy on new infill developments in the city.
In a pre-election pitch, the party has highlighted how the number of affordable homes, those that can be rented at a reduced price, could fall across the city in coming years.
Newcastle will lose 226 rental properties, which are made cheaper under the National Rental Affordability Scheme, over the next six years as their 10-year contracts come to an end, according to the most recent NRAS quarterly report.
The federal program was discontinued by the Abbott government in 2014.
About 150 properties are due to expire in 2024 alone.
"We are extremely concerned about the lack of planning from all levels of government to address this housing crisis," the Greens Ward 2 candidate Charlotte McCabe said.
"Councillors and council staff must be aware of this NRAS sunset clause but there's no commitment to replacing these affordable rental homes, let alone seriously tackling increasing the supply of affordable and social housing.
"The NRAS expiries are adding yet another layer of pressure to an already dire situation in Newcastle."
Newcastle council endorsed a motion in early 2019, moved by Greens councillor and lord mayoral candidate John Mackenzie, to establish an affordable housing contributions scheme.
A local housing strategy was released last year, but an affordable housing scheme is to be implemented.
Cr Mackenzie said given the current housing crisis, the affordability scheme needed to be fast tracked.
"The Greens are committing to the creation of a 15 per cent affordable housing levy on infill developments in the high density and catalyst areas of the city," he said.
"The council has had the ability to implement this levy since February 2019 but have failed to put anything in place while we watch huge towers spring up across our city. It's a wasted opportunity that we'll never get back from the developments approved over the last two and a half years.
"The Greens will ensure there is no further delay."
A City of Newcastle spokesperson said the council was "currently developing" an affordable housing contributions scheme in line with the State Environmental Planning Policy No.70 and NSW government guidelines.
"City of Newcastle has completed the first steps by developing an adopted Local Strategic Planning Statement and Local Housing Strategy, supported by evidence-based research, incorporating existing affordable housing data, demographic analysis and needs analysis, which will be used to inform the development of the [scheme]," the spokesperson said.
"[Council] intends to finalise an affordable housing contributions scheme for consultation and submission to the NSW Department of Planning in 2022."
A lord mayoral minute in April proposed a 15 per cent affordable housing levy on privately developed land be considered in the scheme.
