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
Australia's worst 15 suburbs for rentals: Where tenants are hurting most
9News Staff 9 News (No paywall)A new report has identified the toughest rental pressure points across Australia.
Suburbtrends analysed a number of factors when putting together the "rental pain index" (RPI), to give an overall score out of 100.
Here are the worst 15 suburbs for rentals in Australia.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/rent-crisis-australia-worst-su…
# Hot topic, Research alert Australia, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market.Emma has paid $500,000 in rent. Now, she is homeless
Rhiannon Lewin 7 News (No paywall)Emma Lenz says renting in Australia has “broken” her after she was left homeless and forced to sleep in an old caravan along with her two children.
The single mother, 41, her 13-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son, from Darling Downs, a farming region in Queensland’s south, says they were recently booted from their rental home after the landlord sought to increase the rent.
“I had no idea where I was going to go,” she told 7NEWS.com.au.
https://7news.com.au/news/qld/emma-has-paid-500000-in-rent-now-s…
# Hot topic Australia, Families, Homelessness, Housing affordability.Victorian rental crisis: Single dad forced to move 200km to find an affordable home
Sarah Petty realestate.com.au (No paywall)A Victorian single dad has been forced to move almost 200kms from where he was living to find his next rental, splitting his family in half.
When Max Zaid caught wind his landlord was planning to significantly raise the rent for his Ferntree Gully home at the end of his lease, he thought he was getting on the front foot by looking for another option.
But after making hundreds of unsuccessful applications, some declined in “almost minutes”, the 37-year-old sought feedback from property managers.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/victorian-rental-crisis-singl…
# Hot topic Australia, Families, Housing affordability, Personal stories.NSW's first rental commissioner Trina Jones faces big task as Sydney's west feels the pain
Maryanne Taouk and Millie Roberts ABC (No paywall)The New South Wales government has appointed its first rental commissioner in an effort to "rebalance" the market, as a new study shows the crunch being felt by households.
Trina Jones, the former chief executive of Homelessness Australia, said she hoped to be an advocate for renters across the state.
"I look forward to working closely and productively with government, industry, renters, and owners across our state as we collaboratively search for solutions to our housing challenges," she said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-11/nsw-rental-commissioner-t…
# Must read, Hot topic NSW, Campaigns and law reform, Housing affordability, State Government.NSW residents to benefit from rental commissioner
Eddy Meyer 9 News (No paywall)Battling renters in NSW finally have new hope on the horizon after the state appointed its first-ever rental commissioner.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/nsw-residents-to-benefit-from…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media, Video NSW, Campaigns and law reform, Housing affordability, State Government.Tenants feel forced onto fee-charging rent payment apps
Mary Ward The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The state’s tenants union says it is receiving weekly complaints about third-party payment platforms, expressing concern that desperate tenants were signing up for monthly fees on top of rent.
While apps such as RentPay and Rental Rewards, which charge service fees, have been on the market for a few years, Ray White agents are increasingly asking their tenants and landlords to use Ailo, a payment platform founded by former Ray White director Ben White.
Ailo is not owned by or affiliated with Ray White, although more than 13,000 of its properties have now been moved onto the platform, which can also be used by landlords to pay bills and manage repairs.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/tenants-feel-forced-onto-fee…
# Must read, Hot topic, TUNSW in the media NSW, Privacy and access, Campaigns and law reform, Housing market.Interview: Rob Stokes on planning and housing and what you can’t undo
Tina Perinotto The Fifth Estate (No paywall)As a former New South Wales planning minister Rob Stokes makes an impression when he tackles his core subject matter. Possibly something that deeply disturbed those developers who prefer their government to remain under a dark dank blanket when it comes to the arcane intricacies of housing and planning.
The first thing Stokes tells The Fifth Estate when we caught up with him on Friday last week was to praise the current incumbent in his former job.
“Paul Scully is a good man,” he says. “He is well motivated and he has a big job and I know the complexity of the thing and the last thing you need is people chucking stones from the sidelines. I start from a position that if it [housing] was that simple we would have solved it.
https://thefifthestate.com.au/innovation/design/interview-rob-st…
# Hot topic NSW, Housing affordability, Planning and development, State Government.Skyrocketing rental costs drive Mudgee locals out of their home town
Kenji Sato ABC (No paywall)Karina Roberts says repeated rent hikes have left her family languishing in debt as the cost of living outstrips their income.
The 46-year-old cleaner lives in a government-subsidised house in the NSW country town of Mudgee but still cannot afford the mounting bills.
The mother-of-four was paying $186 per week when she moved in six years ago but is now paying $432 per week.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-10/locals-forced-to-leave-mu…
# Hot topic NSW, Personal stories, Planning and development, Regional NSW.