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.
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Archive
‘Is someone breaking fingers in here?’: The food problem in aged care
Clay Lucas The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)When Nicholas Hall started as a chef at The Bays aged care home in Hastings in 2018, he recalls noticing something strange: almost all the elderly residents there seemed to be on a diet where their food was cut up. ... Later, he was told by another staff member the reason: “If you put that down on the paperwork, they get more government funding because the customer or the resident needs more service.” ... But there is a problem with a federal government once again handing operators more money without being prescriptive on how they spend it.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/victoria/is-someone-breaking-fin…
# Australia, Federal Government, Housing market, Older people.Neglected Camperdown house sells for $1.62 million at 'slightly absurd' auction
Maryanne Taouk ABC (No paywall)A derelict five-metre wide house with a hole in the ceiling has sold for a whopping $1.62 million, becoming one of the most expensive homes for its size ever sold in Sydney. The one-bedroom, one-bathroom property at 26 Eton St, Camperdown, was expected to sell for around $500,000. ... Ms Sweeney, who lives in the Inner West suburb of Russell Lea, said seeing houses like the Eton Street property sell for outrageous amounts was "depressing". ... "Right now, people my age can't even afford to rent in Sydney let alone buy," she said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-17/derelict-sydney-house-in-…
# NSW, Housing affordability, Housing market.Why are people so pissed off about the refurb of Sydney's Sirius building?
(No paywall)A glossy newspaper ad has revealed what Sydney's iconic Sirius building is going to look like, and a lot of people aren't happy. Scroll through this post which follows the story posted in the 'Housing News Digest' on 17 May 2021.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CO9aUiXNEHH/?igshid=11ds6acysqw1n
# TUNSW in the media NSW, Public and community housing, Estate renewal, Housing market, State Government.Australia is unlikely to ever go back to pre-GFC interest rates. We can’t afford to
Greg Jericho The Guardian (No paywall)With low wage growth and high mortgage values, we won’t be seeing interest rates climb back anytime soon ... The last time the Reserve Bank increased interest rates was November 2010, and the budget estimates it won’t happen again for at least four more years. But importantly, given the increased size of mortgages, we are unlikely to ever again see interest rates as high as they were before the GFC.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2021/may/18/aus…
# Australia, Housing market.Rough sleepers in England to get £203m funding to help them off the streets
BBC (No paywall)More rough sleepers in England will be helped off the streets and into housing this year as part of a £203m programme, the government has announced. Some 2,688 people were estimated to be sleeping rough on any single night in England last autumn. Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said the money will be given to councils to support shelters and specialist mental health or addiction services. But charity Crisis warned the funding "will only scratch the surface".
# International, Homelessness.Councils still failing to accommodate rough sleepers despite court ruling
Lucie Heath Inside Housing (Paywall)Some local authorities in England are still failing to provide emergency accommodation to rough sleepers despite a High Court ruling that found councils have the legal powers to help those who would not usually be eligible for support for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. Housing charity Shelter, which was involved in the “landmark” High Court case, has warned that councils are leaving themselves open to legal challenge if they fail to accommodate people facing street homelessness while there is still a COVID-19 epidemic in England. In March a High Court judge ruled that councils can lawfully provide accommodation to those who they would not normally provide with support, for example due to their immigration status, during the COVID-19 crisis. The case involved a former asylum seeker, Timon Ncube, who found himself sleeping on the streets after his claim for asylum was refused.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/councils-still-failing…
# International, Homelessness, Local Government.Converting offices post-COVID could lead to ‘surge in sub-standard home conversions’, LGA warns
Lucie Heath Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Office blocks left empty after the COVID-19 pandemic could be turned into ‘sub-standard’ homes, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned as an analysis reveals the impact of office-to-residential conversions over the past five years. ... Over the past few years the government has expanded the scope of permitted development rights to make it easier for developers to convert empty buildings, but these types of conversions have been heavily criticised for the poor housing that is often created as a result. ... [David Renard, the LGA’s housing spokesperson, said:] “We have long had concerns over the sub-standard housing created from permitted development conversions, and the lack of any requirement for developers to provide affordable homes or supporting infrastructure."
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/converting-offices-post-cov…
# International, Affordable housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market, Planning and development.Modular housing can help house homeless young people
Seyi Obakin Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Youth homelessness is a tough problem to solve, but modular housing may help provide the answer. [Read on]
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/comment/modular-housing-can-help…
# International, Homelessness, Housing market, Young people.