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
Zahra should never have ended up living in her car after giving birth
Jamila Rizvi The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Zahra is a 44-year-old Victorian mother who works full time. Zahra isn’t her real name. She has chosen to remain anonymous for privacy reasons. She has a master’s degree and speaks eloquently, intelligently and passionately about social justice. Everything from gender equality to First Nations people’s campaign for a treaty. Zahra is highly educated, confident and accomplished. She’s anything but the stereotype of a person who has experienced homelessness. ... While there are more homeless men than women, among the fastest growing cohorts of homeless Australians are women aged over 55. ... [Check out] Launch Housing Roughin’ It Challenge. Between 16-23 April 2021, participants can show their solidarity for people experiencing homelessness. To get involved go; [https://www.launchhousing.org.au/].
https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/zahra-sh…
# Australia, Homelessness, Women.Housing crisis: Byron rents soar; now more expensive than most of Sydney
Tawar Razaghi Domain (No paywall)Regional NSW’s housing crisis requires rent regulation similar to other international cities, experts say, to curb the spiralling cost of towns like Byron Bay, where prices now outstrip most of Sydney. ... The rapid rental increases of the past year warranted the state government looking into rent regulation similar to international cities around the world, said Chris Martin, senior research fellow at UNSW’s City Futures Research Centre. ... Many countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany, Ireland and Scotland all have various forms of rent regulation, which caps rental increases, Dr Martin said. ... Joel Dignam, executive director of Better Renting, [said] “[Landlords] are playing by the rules of the game,” he said. “That’s why we have governments to change the rules of the game when things aren’t working.” He also backed calls for governments to step in to protect locals from unaffordable, insecure housing.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/calls-for-rent-control-as-regiona…
# NSW, Rent, Affordable housing, Housing market, Regional NSW, State Government.‘Very big package’: $10 billion aged care boost at heart of federal budget
James Massola The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The Morrison government will promise at least $10 billion over four years for aged care in the May federal budget, including allowing more people to stay in their own homes for longer.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/very-big-package-10-bill…
# Australia, Federal Government, Housing market, Older people.'The Tenants' Is a Great Game About Landlord Jobs That Shouldn't Exist
Gita Jackson (No paywall)The Tenants is a fun game, and one clearly made with a lot of passion for the genres it's straddling. ... The Tenants tries to portray the system of renters and landlords as fair and easily navigable make the game seem like a cruel joke. You have to change too much about the imbalance of power between renters and landlords to make it into a game that's satisfying to play. It's a fantasy where landlords have to work hard for their customers, and renters have lots of choices. It's nothing like the real world, where landlords have all the leverage, and renters have to live in decaying homes on the crumbs they leave behind.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/jg8emb/the-tenants-is-a-great-ga…
# International, Rent, Landlords and agents.Fuelling the property fire? The stir-crazy Australians seeking better homes and gardens
Polly Dunning The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)In March last year, when the apocalypse seemed upon us (fire, flood and plague, anyone?) and the most stable investment opportunity appeared to be 48 rolls of 4-ply, economists predicted a rapid collapse of housing prices. ... But, one year on, prices are in fact rising at the fastest rate in 32 years. ... This is why house prices are rising much faster than apartment prices ... apartments are great when you’re out of the house at work all day and strapped for time – they’re easy to maintain, and tend to be close to local amenities. But when you’re stuck in them for long periods, especially with little kids, well, frankly, they suck.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/fuelling-the-property-fire-the-s…
# Australia, Housing market.Mascot Towers owners urged to sell as developers express interest in demolishing beleaguered block
Ursula Malone ABC (No paywall)Owners of apartments in the troubled Mascot Towers building have been advised it is no longer financially viable to fix the building and that their best option is to sell up. ... Chair of the Mascot Towers Owners Corporation Gary Deigan told the ABC: "The only solution in our mind is to sell the building off. We have lost a lot of money. We have to decide whether we are going to continue to lose money or try to recover some."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-15/mascot-towers-owners-urge…
# NSW, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.700,000 renters hit with unfair eviction notices during pandemic
Dan Wilson Craw (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... One in 12 private renters has been given notice to move out without a reason since March 2020, a new poll by Survation reveals today. The survey, commissioned by us, indicates that as many as 694,000 private tenants have been served with a Section 21 notice during the pandemic, which allows landlords to evict tenants without needing a reason. (Generation Rent) Read the same story at: [https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/one-in-12-private-renters-served-no-fault-eviction-notice-during-pandemic-survey-finds-70397].
# International, Rent, No-grounds evictions.Bega Valley Shire Council asks home owners to rent vacant holiday properties as NSW faces housing shortage
Keira Proust ABC (No paywall)When family psychologist Terra Harrison decided to take the plunge and move from Newcastle to the sleepy seaside town of Eden on the NSW Far South Coast, she realised some "out of the box" thinking was needed to find a place to live. Ms Harrison had decided to move her family to the region for a "tree change," and to help deliver more mental health support services to regional NSW. But she said it was concerning to see only two viable rental options on the market when trying to move.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-17/bega-valley-council-says-…
# NSW, Rent, Affordable housing, Housing market, Regional NSW.