Housing News Digest
Housing News Digest
The Tenants' Union Housing News Digest compiles our pick of items from all the latest tenancy and housing media, sent once per week, on Thursdays.
Below is the Digest archive from November 2020 onwards. From time to time you will find additional items in the archive that did not make it into the weekly Digest email. Earlier archives are here, where you can also find additional digests by other organisations.
Our main email newsletter, Tenant News is sent once every two months. You can subscribe or update your subscription preferences for any of our email newsletters here.
See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
We love sharing the news and hope you find it informative! We're very happy to deliver it for free, but if you find it valuable, can you help cover the extra costs incurred by making a donation?
Archive
Poll suggests migrants, refugees feel unfairly blamed for Australia's rental crisis
SBS (No paywall)An Essential poll conducted for Settlement Services International (SSI) found 43 per cent of those with a migrant or refugee background were more likely to have experienced difficulty securing affordable housing in the past 12 months. More than 1,160 people were surveyed, including people of a migrant or refugee background, as well as those born in Australia speaking English only. The survey for the agency, tasked with resettling thousands of newly arrived refugees each year, also found more than a quarter (26 per cent) had been forced to leave a property due to rising housing costs in the past year.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/poll-suggests-migrants-refug…
# Must read, Hot topic Australia, .Renee’s three adult children live with her – and Australia’s cost-of-living crisis means they’ll probably be there for years
Cait Kelly The Guardian (No paywall)The farmhouse that Renee Gatt and her family own is crowded. There are six adults and three bedrooms, and one of her adult children sleeps in the lounge room. But Gatt says she’s lucky – at least they own the land outside Hobart they live on. “It works OK for us,” Gatt says. “Although it’s a matter of survival. “For the one who is in the living room, that is wearing on him. Psychologically … it’s already difficult living at home.” She worries for her three children, all of whom have autism. One is 25, the twins are 22. Two of them are on the disability support pension (DSP) and the other is on Austudy, making it almost impossible to afford a rental . In the past five years, the average rent in Hobart has jumped from $311 to $445 a week – the biggest increase in the country.
https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/article/2024/may/05/austr…
# Hot topic Australia, .Australian renters would be nearly $4b better off under a rent freeze
Jim Malo The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)Renters in Australia’s capital cities would have saved $3.8 billion over the 12 months to March if rents had been frozen, new analysis reveals. The amount saved per rental household differs by capital city. Sydney households would have saved $2741, while Melbourne households would have saved $2537. The Better Renting analysis of Domain Rent Report data showed the savings ranged from $2998 in Perth to $0 in Hobart, while Brisbane households would benefit by $2158. Better Renting is a renters’ advocacy group; the figures were reached by comparing Census data on the number of each property type and size in the capitals with the change in asking rents for each in Domain data.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/australian-renters-would-be…
# Must read, TUNSW in the media Australia, Rent.The Australian public service is letting Indigenous people down. How do we fix it?
Jenny Stewart The Conversation (No paywall)For years, First Nations people have been telling governments they want to be listened to. In particular, they want more ownership of the programs and services that are supposed to help them. The Voice referendum may have failed, but the need remains. The recent Productivity Commission review of the Closing The Gap agenda reiterated these problems, adding that despite some signs of change, very little had been done in designing and implementing programs to move away from the “business as usual” top-down approach.
https://theconversation.com/the-australian-public-service-is-let…
# Must read Australia, Aboriginal renters.Alan Kohler: The banal evil of unaffordable housing
Alan Kohler The New Daily (No paywall)The other day a young couple bought a nice three-bedroom house in Brady Road, Bentleigh East, 23 kilometres from Melbourne’s CBD, for $1,263,000. I don’t know what their deposit was, but if it was 20 per cent, they borrowed a million dollars. Repayments: $6576 per month. But here’s the reality of what has happened to housing affordability in Australia: If the overall house price to income ratio in Australia had stayed what it was in 2000, and what it had been for decades before that – that is, four instead of the current eight – that family would have paid half the price they did, and their repayments would be $3293 per month.
https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2024/05/06/alan-kohler-un…
# Must read Australia, .Nine out of every 10 landlords submit a false tax return. The ATO is about to do something about it
Daniel Jeffrey 9 News (No paywall)Landlords have been warned to lift their game during tax time, with the ATO revealing nine out of every 10 people who own a rental property get their returns wrong. The tax office today announced its three "focus areas" for this year, pointing the finger squarely at landlords claiming expenses they aren't entitled to. Data shows 90 per cent of landlords are submitting incorrect tax returns, the ATO said. "We often see landlords making mistakes when it comes to repairs and maintenance deductions on rental properties, so we're keeping a close eye on this," ATO assistant commissioner Rob Thomson said.
https://www.9news.com.au/finance/australia-tax-office-crackdown-…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent.Australia's median rent surges to record heights with regions and outer suburbs feeling the heat
Nelli Saarinen ABC (No paywall)Rents have reached a record high with the national average now at $627, pushing renters further to the outskirts of capital cities. Annual rent growth began accelerating in 2024, with rents now 8.5 per cent higher than this time last year, according to the latest data from CoreLogic. "Not only are rents rising quickly, but they're rising at a bit of a faster pace than what we saw towards the end of last year," CoreLogic's head of research Eliza Owen said. The growth is most pronounced in regional Australia and the outer suburban areas of cities, Ms Owen said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-06/median-rent-record-high-c…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent.Accusations Housing ACT inappropriately using emergency line to request property repairs
Claire Fenwicke Riotact (No paywall)Housing ACT has been accused of using the State Emergency Services’ hotline to request volunteers carry out property repairs. A senior member of ACTSES told Region it was common for Canberrans to call the 132 500 line for issues with their homes that weren’t an emergency, no matter what kind of accommodation they lived in. This can include calling up for repairs outside of emergency weather periods, issues that don’t impose an immediate risk, and issues that would otherwise be carried out by professionals. They described Housing ACT as one of the “worst” culprits.
https://the-riotact.com/accusations-housing-act-inappropriately-…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Repairs, Security and safety.