Housing is key to inclusive growth. It is the biggest spending item of household budgets, the main driver of wealth accumulation and biggest source of debt for most households. Housing and the neighbourhood in which people live also have important implications for individual health, employment and educational outcomes – effects that can begin in childhood and can last a lifetime. Nevertheless, the housing market may also present a barrier to inclusive growth for some groups, such as low-income households, children, youth, seniors and the homeless.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted even more abruptly just how important housing issues are to people, and prompted governments to introduce a range of emergency housing supports. However, the pandemic has also underscored the need for governments to develop more structural responses to address persistent housing challenges.

This report assesses the key underlying pre-COVID-19 housing policy issues and proposes a series of recommendations to support more inclusive housing outcomes. These include measures to address some of the structural barriers to inclusive growth in the housing market, as well as measures to address the specific housing challenges facing vulnerable groups.