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
Sydneysiders rent bidding in hot real estate market
Craig Reucassel ABC (No paywall)In December 2022, the NSW Liberal government introduced regulations that prohibited licensed agents from soliciting rent bidding. In August 2023, the NSW Labor government updated these powers to include landlords and third party platforms. ABC Radio Sydney Breakfast listeners told Craig Reucassel that this has not stopped illegal and legal examples of rent bidding.
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/sydney-breakfast/rent-bid…
# TUNSW in the media, Audio NSW, .How bad is the rental crisis? I’m staying in Melbourne with my dog as I search for an affordable place in Sydney
Caitlin Cassidy The Guardian (No paywall)By my 28th birthday, I expected, naively, to own a little terrace house in a cute, leafy suburb – a two-bedder with a courtyard and an impressive bookshelf. Instead I am marking the milestone in the spare bedroom of my parent’s house in Melbourne, while I search, remotely, with my three now ex-housemates for a rental in Sydney that costs less than $2,000 a week.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2024/fe…
# Must read NSW, Rent, Starting a tenancy.Tenants' Union of NSW lodges complaint about Gumtree as rent bidding remains rife
Rosemary Bolger ABC (No paywall)Online marketplace Gumtree says it will change its rental property ads after the Tenants' Union of NSW accused it of breaching the state's anti-rent bidding laws. Rent bidding is when prospective tenants offer more than the advertised price to secure a place to live. It has been illegal for real estate agents to solicit or encourage bids in NSW since December 2022. The NSW government extended the laws to cover landlords and third-party platforms such as Gumtree and Snug in August last year.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-08/rent-bidding-nsw-gumtree-…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media NSW, .Outrage over banned rental act on Gumtree
Michelle Bowes news.com.au (No paywall)Online marketplace Gumtree has backed down following a rental property fail on its website that was in breach of NSW tenancy laws.
Gumtree rental listings had previously allowed house hunters to bid for rental properties on its website, but the practice was called out by the Tenants’ Union of NSW, which said it was in breach of NSW anti-rent bidding laws.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/money/costs/outrage-over-banned-…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media NSW, .‘Ridiculous, low-rent nonsense’: Housing minister takes aim at NIMBY mayors
Michael McGowan and Alexandra Smith The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore has labelled the state government’s housing reforms “half-baked” with significant risks carrying a “series of unintended consequences”, but other local councils have swung in behind the government’s push for greater density. Amid the growing debate over the changes, NSW Housing Minister Rose Jackson has singled out local mayors for “playing NIMBY politics” ahead of the local government elections this year, adding that that some had engaged in “ridiculous, low-rent nonsense”.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/ridiculous-low-rent-nonsense…
# Hot topic NSW, .Airbnb says new data shows holiday rentals have ‘minimal’ impact on housing costs
Michael Koziol The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)New data has revealed more than 60,000 dwellings across NSW are dedicated as short-term Airbnb rentals, but the accommodation giant says their impact on housing affordability is “minimal” as it tries to fight off further government intervention. The analysis, performed by consultant Urbis for Airbnb, found that non-hosted, short-term rentals accounted for 1.8 per cent of the state’s housing stock in 2022, down from 2.2 per cent pre-COVID. Non-hosted rentals are where the owner or host does not reside on the premises during the stay.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/airbnb-says-new-data-shows-h…
# Hot topic, Research alert NSW, .'Affordable housing' definition depends on location
Luke Costin Blue Mountains Gazette (No paywall)Australia needs a clear definition for affordable housing that takes into consideration factors like income and market rent, the NSW community housing sector says. Despite a national rush to build thousands of social and affordable homes, state and territory definitions for the sector vary widely. Victoria includes homes bought and rented below market prices in its affordable housing stock, while South Australia caps sale prices based on location and NSW guidelines consider only rentals.
https://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/8514011/affordable…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent.'Not a gap, it's a chasm': govt warned on First Nations inequity
SBS (No paywall)First Nations children's, housing, health and other organisations are demanding governments live up to their promises. The Productivity Commission, on Wednesday, released the first of its three-yearly reviews of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, recommending that governments move out of a business-as-usual mindset and embrace power-sharing arrangements. The review found progress to implement the agreement's reforms was weak, and that "disparate actions and ad hoc changes" had not led to noticeable improvements for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/not-a-gap-its-a-chasm-govt-w…
# Must read Australia, Aboriginal renters, Rent.