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
City slickers encouraged to go regional in new campaign, despite housing affordability concerns
Kate Burke Domain (Paywall)Finding an affordable home has become tough in parts of regional Australia and could become tougher still, with a new campaign launched to encourage city slickers to move to the regions.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/cityslickers-encouraged-to-go-reg…
# Hot topic Australia, Affordable housing, Housing market, Regional NSW.NSW government sells inner-Sydney social housing terrace for $2 million
Sarah McPhee The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The NSW government has been criticised for offloading a publicly owned Glebe terrace for more than $2 million and cashing in on the booming Sydney property market rather than keeping it for social housing, which has a waiting list of more than 50,000 people.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/nsw-government-sells-inner-s…
# Hot topic NSW, Public and community housing, Housing market.Hunter rental market 'crazy' in 2020, 'worse now', says Castle Property partner Adriano Rossi
Sage Swinton (Paywall)Mum-of-three Emily Perkins has had no luck so far from more than 100 rental properties she's applied for.
https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/7163593/hunter-rental-m…
# NSW, Rent, Homelessness, No-grounds evictions, Regional NSW.Residential park homeowners fighting rising site fees call for fairer laws
Sofie Wainwright ABC (No paywall)People who have bought homes in residential parks are warning that unjust site fees and unscrupulous operators are threatening their quality of life. More than 35,000 people live in NSW residential communities where people own a house but lease the land from the operator. ... The Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act is up for review. While the Act does not regulate the price of site fees, homeowners and their advocates argue that amendments would strengthen their protections and indirectly improve housing affordability.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-14/residential-land-lease-la…
# NSW, Land lease communities, Affordable housing.Bailiff eviction ban extended to May
Dominic Brady Inside Housing (Paywall)The ban on bailiff-led evictions in England has been extended by a further two months to 31 May, the government has announced. The requirement for landlords to provide six-month notice periods to evict tenants has also been extended to “at least” the same date. It comes after the government announced another extension to the ban in February, which was due to last until 31 March 2021. The move means renters have had some form of protection from eviction for more than a year during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike the eviction ban that ran between March and September 2020, under the current ban eviction court hearings and orders can still take place but landlords will be required to give six-months’ notice and courts will prioritise the most egregious cases, including domestic abuse and fraud.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/bailiff-eviction-ban-extend…
# Hot topic International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.How to talk about race
Jess McCabe Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... One of the main actions that social landlords took in response to Black Lives Matter was simply to talk to Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff about their experiences. ... Inside Housing wrote to 100 associations across the UK to find out what actions they have taken since those BLM statements were made, and 23 responded with details about what they have done so far. The vast majority have set up a process to have a conversation about race within the organisation. So what does that conversation look like? What can the sector learn from these conversations? And can this be facilitated in a way that helps staff and organisations embed anti-racism – while acknowledging that these conversations may well be traumatic for staff?
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/insight/how-to-talk-abou…
# Hot topic International, Public and community housing, Race and ethnicity.Margaret River's beauty hides homeless disaster as property prices boom
Sinead Mangan and Alex Hyman ABC (No paywall)On any given night, 290 people turn up for a feed at the Margaret River's "soupie" in Western Australia's south-west. For many people "Margs" is synonymous with good food, big surf, and fine wine. But since the pandemic hit, people in search of the good life have flooded the property market, pushing people and families out to the fringes.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-13/margaret-river-homeless-d…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Affordable housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness.‘Let the games begin’: All out war between pet owners and strata bosses
Michael Koziol The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Owners’ corporations are forcing residents to carry their pets across foyers, demanding their vets’ contact details and charging new owners application fees for animals in response to recent legal changes regarding pets in apartments. Meanwhile, emboldened pet owners are openly flouting by-laws banning animals in the wake of Horizon building resident Jo Cooper’s high-profile victory against a “blanket ban” on pets at the Darlinghurst tower, which was found to be unreasonable.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/let-the-games-begin-all-out-…
# Legal significance NSW, Strata.