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
Community comes together to look for affordable rental accommodations
Neha Attre (No paywall)A lack of affordable accommodation options in Goulburn has brought members of the community together to work on a solution to the problem. Resident Ange Harding decided to create a community group Goulburn Help A Mate on Facebook after hearing about a local family who was evicted. "They were facing homelessness after trying to secure an accommodation for months. That was the straw that broke the camel's back," she said. [Read on] (Goulburn Post)
https://www.goulburnpost.com.au/story/7255713/community-group-th…
# NSW, Affordable housing, Homelessness.Housing SA tenant 'sticking up' for others as her Seaton home continues to fall apart from termite damage
Eugene Boisvert and Chris McLoughlin ABC (No paywall)An Adelaide public housing tenant says she has waited two years for termite damage in her home to be fixed and has grass growing through her bedroom floor.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-18/housing-sa-tenant-highlig…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Repairs.More houses in Sydney's west crack on sinking ground, owners launch class action
Claudia Jambor ABC (No paywall)New reports of sinking homes in Sydney's west have prompted calls for an overhaul of the state's building regulations. Homeowners Peter and Sharon Luhr are among residents on a street in Spring Farm near Camden who say they've experienced subsidence and cracking at "nearly every door and window" of their investment property. "We're all in the same boat, it's gut-wrenching," Mrs Luhr said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-18/class-action-over-sinking…
# NSW, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.Brad had debt collectors at the door but a mortgage wellbeing service helped turn them away
Nicole Asher ABC (No paywall)Mr Hart is among nearly half a million Victorians experiencing mortgage stress, according to Digital Finance Analytics (DFA). ... "I came home one night and there were debt collectors at the back door for my council rates, which were quite substantial, not fixable in one or two payments," he said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-19/mortgage-stress-brad-hart…
# Australia, Home ownership.Lismore City Council declares housing emergency, wants more units
Mia Armitage (No paywall)The Lismore City Council joined its Byron and Tweed Shire counterparts last week in declaring a housing emergency. Lismore Mayor Vanessa Ekins said the declaration at last Tuesday night’s ordinary council meeting happened alongside unanimous support for her idea to have staff investigate affordable housing and medium density opportunities in urban areas.
https://www.echo.net.au/2021/05/lismore-city-council-declares-ho…
# NSW, Affordable housing, Local Government, Planning and development.Byron Bay and Suffolk Park lead regional house price boom
Euan Black The New Daily (No paywall)House prices in the Richmond-Tweed region of New South Wales jumped a massive 21.9 per cent over the 12 months to April 2021, according to new research. ... But property values soared across the board. All 25 regional markets monitored by CoreLogic experienced rising prices over the 12 months to April 2021, as Australians took advantage of more flexible working and abandoned major cities in droves.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2021/05/19/byron-bay…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market, Regional NSW.Open home checklist — what potential buyers should look for when inspecting a property
Edwina Seselja and Katherine Feeney ABC (No paywall)Prospective property buyers rarely have more than 30 minutes to inspect a place they could potentially spend the next 30 years paying off. So what should you be looking for during an open home to make the most of that time?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-19/open-home-checklist-what-…
# Audio Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.Families rush to sign off on new homes before ‘savage’ stamp duty hikes
Elizabeth Redman and Roy Ward The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)From Victoria ... With two small children, Sean and Jenny Huang are hoping to move closer to family and will take their home at 15 Valentine Grove, Armadale to auction next Saturday with a price guide of $2 million to $2.2 million. The government’s decision to lift stamp duty will put pressure on them to buy their next place before the tax hike comes into force. ... Their agent, Kay & Burton’s Darren Lewenberg, said he understood the need for budget repair but it seemed real estate was seen as “low-hanging fruit”.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/victoria/families-rush-to-sign-o…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market, Landlords and agents, State Government, Tax.