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 Battle for Badgery's billions
Catherine Hanrahan The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Land values around Australia’s new international airport have taken off — but it’s corporations, not residents, cashing in.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-28/winners-and-losers-at-new…
# NSW, Federal Government, Planning and development.What happens to Byron Bay locals who can’t afford the soaring property prices?
Vivienne Pearson Domain (Paywall)“There are no options,” says Pip Hood about coming to terms with holding a losing hand in the game of Byron Bay’s rapidly escalating property boom. After receiving notice just before Christmas that her rented home of 10 years is to be sold, the 31-year-old has given up hope of finding anything in the wider region.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/what-happens-to-the-byron-bay-loc…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent, Regional NSW.How the Real Estate Lobby Exploits Small Landlords
Tyra Bosnic (No paywall)From the United States ... When the New York State Legislature introduced sweeping reforms under the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, the Real Estate Board of New York painted small-property landlords as the victims. The bill passed, but the image of the struggling small-time landlord persists. “The real estate lobby’s PR focus on small landlords is an attempt to hide the fact that it’s acting in the interest of large corporate landlords. (Teen Vogue)
# International, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Tenants fighting landlord demands
Rebecca Digirolamo (Paywall)From Adelaide, the growing cost of renting is contributing to record numbers of tenancy disputes, fueling concerns about a rise in unreasonable demands by landlords. Realtors, property managers and tenant advocates say unlawful demands include bans on gay or bisexual sex and not allowing any guests on properties. (The Advertiser)
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/fears-sa-ten…
# Australia, Discrimination, Rent, Housing market.Red Flag: Nationalise Deutsche Wohnen!
Nathaniel Flakin (No paywall)From Germany ... What happens with the rent you pay every month? Hopefully, some of it goes to maintenance. And the rest? If your apartment belongs to a public housing company like Gewobag, then about 27% of your rent goes to the construction of new apartments. In other words, your rent helps increase the number of apartments and thus lower rents. If your apartment belongs to a private realty company like Deutsche Wohnen, then just 1% of your rent goes to the construction of new apartments. A much larger chunk goes to buying existing buildings, which means higher realty prices and higher rents.
https://www.exberliner.com/features/opinion/red-flag-deutsche-wo…
# International, Rent, Affordable housing, Housing market.Aged care is one of the big feminist issues of our time
Meredith Burgmann The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)How often do you hear the refrain “I wouldn’t put my mum/dad/aunty in a home”. It’s part of our psyche. Anyone who puts their relative in an aged care facility is heartless. The aged care royal commission report will provide more inflammatory material to feed into this pervasive trope. The terrible spate of deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic has only heightened this perception. “I would not let my mum be in some of these places,” Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews remarked. Of course, there are terrible nursing homes, just like there are terrible pubs or terrible train stations. It is outrageous that these sub-standard facilities exist although government funding models seem to encourage them.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/aged-care-is-one-of-the-big-femi…
# Australia, Federal Government, Housing market, Older people, Women.Why Rishi Sunak should put an end to England's stamp duty holiday romance
David Mitchell The Guardian (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... The tax break on house purchases saw prices rise by 8.5% – but is it really the best way to address the housing shortage? ... I, like all loyal Britons, swell with pride that our property market has become the repository of choice for Russian oligarchs’ ill-gotten wealth.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/28/why-rishi-…
# International, Affordable housing, Tax.Are you Stoked by NSW planning vision? Don’t be - beneath its friendly cloak lurks Jack the Ripper
Elizabeth Farrelly The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Bold and beautiful? Sometimes it’s hard to tell if they’re stupid, or they just think we are. Planning Minister Rob Stokes says his new “Design and Place” State Environmental Planning Policy is bold. He says it will make our towns and cities “just get more beautiful” every year.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/are-you-stoked-by-nsw-planni…
# NSW, Planning and development, State Government.