On the outside, it may just look like a typical home in suburban Canberra.
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But for at-risk and disadvantaged older women, on the inside it represents safety and security.
A home in Nicholls is the first property in the national capital funded by the organisation Homes for Homes, and will be used to provide safe and affordable housing for women over 55.
The keys for the property were handed over on Friday.
Two tenants will live at the property on a long-term basis, with rent determined as a percentage of income.
Homes for Homes spokeswoman Louise Gray said older women were the fastest growing cohort of Australians at risk of homelessness, and the home was a way to provide stability.
"Often [women over 55] have been caregivers at home or raising children or caring for elderly relatives and have very little superannuation," Ms Gray said.
"If a relationship breaks down and their income has decreased and they can no longer afford to rent in the market, they get very little support and are in a position where they're forced into the margins."
One tenant has already moved into the Nicholls home, with several more homes in the Canberra region in the pipeline.
With the gap between the number of people needing homes and the number of affordable houses available estimated to grow to 1 million by 2036, Ms Gray said homes such as the Nicholls address would prove to be more vital in years to come.
"At the moment in Canberra, it's one home, but it will soon be home to two people who have safe and secure housing that didn't a few weeks ago," she said.
The organisation provided $200,000 in funds towards the purchase, coming largely from donations of 0.1 per cent of the sale price of other homes around the country.
The home will be managed through the Havelock Housing Association.
The association's chairman Craig Shannon said the handing over of the first property in Canberra specifically to be used by older women was a significant step forward.
"Rather than putting people anywhere in accommodation, this is basically a house that is fit for purpose," Mr Shannon said.
"There was a gap in the affordable housing market in Canberra and we're hoping to address that."