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
Flood-affected Northern Rivers residents say trauma compounded by lack of government plans
Leah White ABC (No paywall)Like thousands of Northern Rivers residents, Crystal Lenane and her family are living in limbo. It has been seven months since the family lost everything in the record-breaking February flood. Despite having their East Lismore house raised to a height of three metres a month earlier, floodwater still reached the height of the window sills. "We've been in limbo-land since that day in terms of what to do next and where to go from here," Ms Lenane said. In the wake of the disaster, the family purchased a caravan to live in at a cost of $80,000. Ms Lenane said it was more than they would have liked to spend, but a supply shortage left few options.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-27/flood-affected-nsw-reside…
# NSW, Housing market, Regional NSW.The Great Australian Pipedream: rising house prices make us feel wealthier
Ross Gittins The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)So, house prices aren’t high because we don’t have enough houses to accommodate every household. They’re high because some houses are better than others – bigger, newer, flashier, or better located, nearer the beach, nearer other well-off people, or nearer the centre of the city – and we compete with others to get the best we can (barely) afford. And because many home owners want to own more than one, as an investment.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/the-great-australian…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Aged care residents to be forced out of westside facility
Tony Moore The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The sale of 2.5 hectares of prime riverfront land in Brisbane will force about 50 aged care residents, some needing high care, to find new homes. Residents learnt on Monday that Bethany Christian Care will sell its river-frontage Beth Eden property next year because it says it is too old to renovate and too expensive to redevelop.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/queensland/aged-care-residents-t…
# Australia, Eviction, Older people.Is it time to buy the worst house in the best street yet?
Elizabeth Redman The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Conventional wisdom suggests buying the worst house in the best street and renovating it, but buyers are avoiding fixer-uppers in droves as construction costs rise.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/is-it-time-to-buy-the-worst…
# Australia, Housing market.Surge in ‘no-fault evictions’ prompts calls to renew UK-wide ban
Robert Booth The Guardian (No paywall)The number of renting households made homeless because of “no-fault” evictions has surged higher than pre-pandemic levels, sparking fresh calls for the government to ban the practice. Close to 20,000 households in England were made homeless by landlords using section 21 notices in 2021/22, up from almost 9,000 the previous financial year, “alarming” new government figures reveal. Housing activists complain no-fault notices are sometimes used to trigger “revenge evictions” if tenants complain about conditions or rent rises. This week the former head of the civil service, Sir Bob Kerslake, warned of a “catastrophic” homelessness crisis unless the government reintroduced the eviction ban that protected tenants during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Conservative government promised in 2019 to end the practice, but it has yet to pass legislation.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/sep/22/surge-in-no-faul…
# Must read International, Eviction, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness, Landlords and agents, No-grounds evictions.Why I’ll be fighting for a rent freeze across England and Wales this winter
Jazmyn Sadri The Guardian (No paywall)By implementing a rent freeze throughout Britain, the government could relieve the pressure on millions of people struggling to pay their bills and put food on the table this winter. It would also start to repair some of the damage done by decades of government decisions that have prioritised profits for landlords and investors above the safety and security of tenants. This is why I’ll be fighting for a rent freeze this winter alongside renters across England and Wales.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/23/rent-freez…
# International, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, Housing market.‘Not the ideal renter’: Push for pet-friendly properties
Caitlin Fitzsimmons The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The NSW government is weighing up changes to residential tenancy laws that would give renters greater rights to pet ownership, as animal welfare advocates say the housing crisis is forcing people to surrender animals. Fair Trading Minister Victor Dominello plans to open consultation in late October on “how laws can better cater for tenants with pets in rental properties”. “With pet ownership on the rise in NSW, we must ensure our residential tenancy laws remain relevant, modern and fit for purpose,” Dominello said. ... Animal Justice Party MP Emma Hurst said ... “With the lack of rental accommodation and rising rental prices, people are getting kicked out of their homes if they’ve got a companion animal, and it’s making it more and more difficult for them to be able to secure accommodation. Because of the rental crisis, a lot of shelters and pounds are filling up really quickly.” ... Tenants Union chief executive Leo Patterson Ross backed the call for reform, given that most Australians own pets and an increasing number of people are renting for longer. “It’s not feasible to continue to tell one section of the population that they’re not allowed to enjoy something that so many people do,” he said. Yet, Patterson Ross said there would be no real improvement until the state ended the right of landlords to evict tenants for no reason. He claimed that landlords in Victoria were circumventing pet ownership laws by using no-grounds evictions.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/not-the-ideal-renter-push-fo…
# TUNSW in the media NSW, Rent, No-grounds evictions.Price baiting: the ‘blatant’ and sometimes illegal tactic frustrating Australian house hunters
Caitlin Cassidy The Guardian (No paywall)When Jack Sukhen checked out a property for sale in western Sydney, he decided to put in an offer before auction. It was a nice place – renovated, four bedrooms, with solar panels and a pool. The real estate agent’s price guide ranged from $999,000 to $1,098,000, based on “prospective buyer sentiment” gathered from people who had visited the property. Sukhen advised he was willing to pay around $1.2m, but was told the property would go to auction. He later noticed the price guide stayed put, despite his higher price indication.
Sukhen believes he was subject to price baiting, an industry tactic whereby an agent deliberately lists a property’s price low to lure in potential buyers and encourage competition.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/sep/24/price-bai…
# NSW, Home ownership, Housing market, Landlords and agents.