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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See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
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Archive
The Bellingen Shire Housing Crisis: At the Coalface with Frankie Mayes
(No paywall)Frankie Mayes understands the current local housing crisis more than most. Having moved back to the Bellingen Shire nine years ago, Frankie is currently residing in her ninth rental home, while urgently searching for another. ... So how is it that so many in our own community are unable to secure this basic human right? This week we chatted to Frankie to get a clearer understanding of the actual issues and pressures facing so many in our community. (I Love Bello Shire)
https://ilovebelloshire.com/the-bellingen-shire-housing-crisis-a…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent, Affordable housing, Regional NSW.Landlords seek to evict tenants despite ban due to pandemic
Students of Crown Woods Academy (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... More than 80 private landlords have started legal proceedings to get their tenants out despite court action being suspended during the Coronavirus pandemic. (London News Online)
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/landlords-seek-to-evict-tenants-d…
# Hot topic International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.Women have lower rates of home ownership in Australia than men: research
Tawar Razaghi Domain (Paywall)Women have lower rates of home ownership in Australia than men, new research shows, highlighting the effects of the persistent gender pay gap.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/women-have-lower-rates-of-home-ow…
# Australia, Home ownership, Women.What happens when investment firms acquire trailer parks
Sheelah Kolhatkar (No paywall)From the United States ... The financial industry's pursuit of profits from mobile home communities is undermining one of the country's largest sources of affordable housing. (The New Yorker)
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/03/15/what-happens-when-…
# International, Land lease communities, Affordable housing.Mortgage interest rates may soon be on the way up as the Aussie dollar falls
David Taylor ABC (No paywall)For many Australians, the biggest financial decision they will likely ever make is buying a home. ... After passing the Senate, the US President is set to sign off on a $US1.9 trillion ($2.5 trillion) coronavirus relief package this week. If signed, the legislation will authorise the delivery of cheques worth $US1,400 to millions of low-and-middle-income Americans, as well as the unemployed. The success or otherwise of this policy, though, also affects Australian borrowers directly. Here's why.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-10/mortgage-interest-rates-m…
# Hot topic Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Home ownership, International.NSW’s vision for the future dependent on flood modelling
Angus Thompson and Peter Hannam The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Billions of dollars of development in Sydney’s west and north-west are dependent on flood-proofing the region, with growing opposition to raising the Warragamba Dam wall casting doubt on ambitions to double the population and generate thousands of new jobs in the area.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/nsw-s-vision-for…
# NSW, Housing market, Planning and development, State Government.Council on the Aging calls for government rent assistance payments to be reconsidered
Matt Maloney (No paywall)Rent assistance for pensioners is not keeping up with the private rental market and the federal government needs to reconsider its delivery, Council on the Ageing Tasmania says. (The Advocate)
https://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/7157907/call-for-government…
# Australia, Rent, Federal Government.WA tenants fear facing evictions and 'huge' rent increases once coronavirus moratorium ends
Evelyn Manfield ABC (No paywall)From Western Australia ... Affordable housing advocates and the Greens are calling for a ban on no-grounds evictions and the introduction of rent caps before the rental moratorium ends at the end of the month. But the state government has rejected claims there could be a rental crisis after the COVID-19 pandemic-induced rules stopping rent increases and some evictions end in March.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-10/call-for-action-to-help-t…
# Australia, Eviction, Public and community housing, Repairs, Coronavirus COVID-19.