Advocates are hopeful the government's "innovation fund" - which will pilot housing affordability programs already in place across the country - will help ease Canberra's housing crisis, but say an increase in public housing is still key.
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ACT housing minister Yvette Berry announced $1 million to fund projects to address housing affordability at a long awaited housing summit this week.
It would see elderly people wanting to still live at home matched with socially conscious renters, implementation of Melbourne's Nightingale Model, and property owners given the opportunity to offer their properties at below market rates to support people seeking affordable housing.
The fund could also allow for other projects discussed at the housing summit this week to be funded.
The three chosen pilots are all based on models implemented in other parts of Australia and were included in the ACT Parliamentary Agreement between the Greens and Labor.
Migrant and Refugee Settlement Services board member and agent at Luton Properties Christine Shaw has implemented a model which allows property owners to choose to choose to rent their properties to refugees.
She said while the federal government allocated refugees to different regions, it didn't factor in where they are going to live in the community.
She said with a lack of public housing it was often impossible for refugees to find rentals in the private rental market, where they were competing with people on high incomes and rental references.
"So we're relying on the good grace of home owners who will allow us to rent to a refugee family," she said.
"The essence of it is that investors can be altruistic and they can be a capitalist at the same time."
Ms Shaw said the summit made it clear there had to be an increase in social housing and funding for service providers.
Canberra disability support group Community Connections runs a homeshare program that links disabled clients with able bodied people looking for a housemate.
Program manager Lee Harrison said the model would work well across the broader community, especially the aged care sector.
"We only operate on a small scale but have potential to be bigger if the funding issues can be worked out," he said.
Greens crossbencher Caroline Le Couteur said public housing needed to be increased as a starting point.
"Because without adequate public housing, those on low incomes in our community will never get out of the cycle of poverty," she said.
"Housing stress will continue – either by having to pay unaffordable rents, or in worse cases by being homeless."
