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
Court battle escalates as Coolah Caravan Park declares legal action over unpaid site fees
Kenji Sato ABC (No paywall)Richard Squire says a five-year legal battle with the operators of a caravan park has ruined his finances, his mental health, and any certainty for his retirement.
The 79-year-old is one of the residents locked in a costly legal battle with the directors of Coolah Tourist Park, owners of Coolah Caravan Park.
"There was friendship and that's where it all went pear shaped — thinking they were friends," Mr Squire said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-26/coolah-caravan-park-legal…
# Must read, Hot topic NSW, Land lease communities, Older people, Personal stories.Can big apartments solve Sydney’s housing crisis?
Andrew Taylor The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Owning a property will continue to get harder for families of four or more unless Sydney increases its supply of larger apartments.
The NSW government is pushing for higher, denser residential developments. Premier Chris Minns last month flagged an increase in apartment builds, saying the focus should be on building up, not out, to reduce urban sprawl.
Greater Cities Commission chief commissioner Geoff Roberts said on Saturday housing targets needed to be bolder and parts of Sydney will be asked to double or even triple the number of homes they deliver in coming years.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/can-big-apartments-solve-syd…
# Hot topic NSW, Housing affordability, Planning and development, State Government.Councils can’t handle more housing? Tell ’em they’re dreamin’
Andy Marks The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Fixing our nation’s housing affordability woes requires more than policy, planning, or market remedies. A change in mindset is necessary. The way we live – the “vibe”, one might say, of our relationship with housing – needs reimagining.
Wholesale imaginative change is possible. Australians unexpectedly made cultural icons of the fictional family featured in the 1997 film, The Castle. The Kerrigans revelled in “the serenity” of living adjacent to an airport and under high voltage powerlines. They were secure in their sense of self, of family, of place. And we loved them for it.
When NSW productivity commissioner Peter Achterstraat advocated an increase in housing density in Sydney’s CBD and inner suburbs, particularly in areas “close to transport hubs”, and near “jobs and amenities”, locals were anything but serene.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/mayors-say-they-can-t-handle…
# Must read, Hot topic NSW, Housing affordability, Planning and development, State Government.Housing Trust photographic exhibition celebrates social housing tenants
Natalie Croxon Illawarra Mercury (Paywall)Jo Fisher has held a stable job at the University of Wollongong as the manager of its bookshop for 30 years, yet still found herself staring down homelessness less than two years ago.
# Hot topic NSW, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Personal stories.NSW street count reveals increase in people sleeping rough in Wollongong, Illawarra
Natalie Croxon Illawarra Mercury (Paywall)The number of people sleeping on Wollongong's streets has jumped over 30 per cent in a year, the latest street count has revealed.
# Hot topic NSW, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Regional NSW.Could rent controls ease Australia's housing crisis?
Elias Visontay The Guardian (No paywall)Renters are bearing the brunt of Australia’s housing crisis, with stories of extortionate rent increases for poor quality homes making headlines all too often.
One solution being flagged by advocates is to control rents, either through freezes or caps on how much landlords can increase the amount.
The Greens have called for a countrywide rent freeze as a condition of support for the Albanese government’s housing Australia future fund.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/28/could-ren…
# Must read, Hot topic Australia, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, Housing affordability.The one place in Australia with rent control
Rachel Clun The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)After renting more than 20 places, Grace Freeman said her last experience was great thanks to her landlord’s acceptance of pets and speed at repairing minor or major problems with the place.
“I was able to live my life as anybody who’s lucky enough to own a house or live with their parents is,” she said. “I knew that my landlord would treat me as a whole human being, pets included, and that we would just be able to work to resolve any issues that may arise – which never did.”
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-one-place-in-austral…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, Housing affordability.The Greens’ class conflict strategy on housing is a risk to Labor – and renters have nothing to lose but their bonds
Paul Karp The Guardian (No paywall)Anthony Albanese claims the ‘new Noalition’ is to blame for delaying the $10bn housing fund but Labor still needs to urgently solve the supply problem.
When Labor politicians are particularly sick of the Greens, they like to sledge them about voting with the Coalition against Kevin Rudd’s emissions trading scheme.
I won’t get into the history wars about the carbon pollution reduction scheme, but let’s start by noting you can tell the Albanese government is furious about the delayed $10bn Housing Australia future fund because it’s compared the Greens’ stance on the bill to the CPRS many, many times.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jun/24/greens-cla…
# Hot topic Australia, Campaigns and law reform, Federal Government, Housing affordability.