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
Regional Australia can play a greater role in easing the nation's housing crisis
George Housakos Canberra Times (No paywall)Australia's housing crisis is not confined to capital cities. In regional areas, housing stress is just as urgent and damaging, hurting individuals and communities, and biting businesses by intensifying a critical shortage of labour and skills.
Resolving it will not be easy, but it is time to dial up the effort and pace. Australia has one of the most urbanised populations in the world, with more than 65 per cent of Australians living in capital cities.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8016647/to-solve-the-hous…
# Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market, Planning and development.Tom Elliott clashes with Tenants Victoria over rental bidding
3AW 3AW (No paywall)Tom Elliott has clashed with Tenants Victoria over rental bidding.
“It’s outlawed for a good reason,” Ben Cording, Lead Lawyer for Community Education, told Tom Elliott.
But Tom says it’s simply market forces at work. A fiery debate ensued.
https://www.3aw.com.au/tom-elliott-clashes-with-tenants-victoria…
# Hot topic, Audio Australia, Rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Renters still waiting for bond release after two years
Emily Hutchinson realestate.com.au (No paywall)Many bonds that went into dispute during Covid are still unresolved, leaving some tenants waiting on thousands of dollars.
Kelsie Gaffey is a Melbourne-based tenant and has been waiting for a resolution on her bond for nearly two years after her $1200 was withheld in February 2021.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/renters-still-waiting-for-bon…
# Australia, Bond.Aussie real estate agent's 'disgusting' Christmas message to tenants
Carly Bass Yahoo News (No paywall)An email to tenants from a Queensland real estate agent has been labelled "tone deaf" and "insensitive" with people lashing out at its "patronising" tone.
A Gold Coast renter posted a screenshot of the email on Reddit this week which outlined the agent's holiday hours and their expectations of tenants over the Christmas period.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/aussie-real-estate-agents-disgusting-c…
# Australia, Rent, Landlords and agents.Not ‘desirable’ tenants: mother of five told to lie about number of children when applying to rent accommodation
Joe Hinchcliffe The Guardian (No paywall)A mother of five says she was told to lie about how many children she had in order to secure rental accommodation, as the peak body for carers in Queensland says the state government has an “ethical and moral obligation” to intervene in the market.
In its submission to an inquiry examining a Greens proposal to freeze rents, Carers Queensland said the Logan family with five children – two of whom are registered with the NDIS – received no prior warning before they were issued with a rent increase of $170 a week.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/06/not-desir…
# Australia, Eviction, Families, Home, Homelessness, Housing affordability.Greens push tough new rules for landlords
Tom McIlroy Australian Financial Review (Paywall)Landlords would face a two-year freeze on rents and a ban on no-grounds evictions under tough new minimum standards for tenancies proposed by the Greens.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/greens-push-tough-new-rules…
# New policy announcement Australia, Eviction, Rent, Federal Government, Landlords and agents.Why Australia needs to do more to protect tenants' data
AHURI AHURI (No paywall)Large data breaches recently in Australia have been caused by cyber hacking of data, but the legal collection and use of data, particularly rental data, from people is of concern too. Not only can tenants' personal data be hacked and/or leaked, it can also be used to manipulate them, or even to discriminate against them.
https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/brief/why-australia-needs-do-m…
# Hot topic Australia, Privacy and access, Housing market, Tenant databases.Proposal that would have restricted Airbnb short-stay housing voted down by Albany council
Briana Fiore ABC (No paywall)Some councillors at a West Australian tourist destination have tried to restrict short-term rentals to affluent areas along the coast, reserving inner-city properties for permanent residents.
But the overall City of Albany council last night voted down a motion that would have deemed areas hugging the shoreline such as Middleton Beach and Emu Point as "suitable" locations for hosting short-term accommodation.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-14/airbnb-accommodation-prop…
# Australia, Housing affordability, Short-term holiday letting.