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
The housing have-nots and is cash dead?
ABC (No paywall)Australia’s ongoing housing inequalities are explored in new research on the financial stresses facing renters over 50 with an annual household income of less than $31,000. Plus, is cash dead? And the ups and downs of a rising Aussie dollar. Listen to ABC Radio National
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/themoney/the-housi…
# Research alert Australia, Rent, Housing affordability.COVID-19 and the rental market
Hilary Harper ABC (No paywall)The COVID-19 pandemic has seen former short-stay apartments being added to the private rental market, while relocating city-dwellers have added pressure to tightly-held regional areas. Largely, what those changes look like and how they impact you depend on where you live. So, how have renters fared during the crisis? And what state could Australia's rental markets be in after JobKeeper and JobSeeker end next year? Listen to ABC Life Matters.
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/covid-…
# Audio Australia, Rent, Housing market, Regional NSW, Short-term holiday letting.“Impossible”: Mascot Towers stores given seven days to leave over safety fears
Angus Thompson and Pallavi Singhal The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Businesses at the base of Sydney's harrowed Mascot Towers have been caught between the directives of a government minister and the building's owners corporation, which has given them a week's notice to vacate over safety issues.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/impossible-mascot-towers-stores-…
# Legal significance NSW, Security and safety, Minimum habitability standards.New lease of life for the mansions of the inner west
Caitlin Fitzsimmons The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)While the natural habitat of the grand 19th century house is the eastern suburbs, there are many dotted throughout suburbs such as Stanmore, Petersham and Ashfield. In many cases, the houses have served as blocks of flats - housing two, four or even eight families rather than one - for decades. Now with the market for small apartments in the doldrums, these houses are hitting the market and many are being reclaimed as single-family homes.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/new-lease-of-life-for-the-ma…
# NSW, Home ownership, Housing market.Land-lease communities a viable homeowner option
George Cochrane The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The author writes: ‘ …look at “land-lease communities” to possibly obtain your own home. Under the land-lease model, you buy your home and lease the land for up to 90 years. If you are prepared to leave the city, they are relatively cheap, with no stamp duty. Land-lease homes may even be eligible for rent assistance.'
https://www.smh.com.au/money/super-and-retirement/land-lease-com…
# NSW, Land lease communities, Affordable housing.Social housing tenant's black mould nightmare
Jacinta Lee (No paywall)Imagine living in a small unit and breathing in the stench of black mould every day. That’s reality for Jesmond social housing tenant, Dale Foster, who’s been waiting for major structural damage to be fixed for several weeks…fearing for his health. (NBN News)
https://www.nbnnews.com.au/2020/12/10/social-housing-tenants-bla…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Repairs, Health, Mould.North Coast Housing Crisis
Dennis Driver (No paywall)The housing crisis on the Coffs Coast has reached tipping point, with some towns experiencing a shortage of rentals. In Bellingen, the community is speaking up and taking matters into their own hands. (NBN News)
https://www.nbnnews.com.au/2020/12/13/north-coast-on-flood-alert…
# NSW, Housing market, Regional NSW.Who is liable for a balcony collapse on a residential property? Which case won?
Rita Yousef (No paywall)The accident happened on 15 June 2012. Four people were injured when a balcony collapsed at a rented residential property in Collaroy, on Sydney’s northern beaches. The cause of the collapse was “weathered deterioration of the structural beams and metal fixings”. The property was managed by a real estate agent on behalf of the landlords. The property was leased to a tenant who had lived at the property for about seven years. (Stacklaw)
https://www.stacklaw.com.au/wcw/who-is-liable-for-a-balcony-coll…
# Legal significance NSW, Repairs, Minimum habitability standards.