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
COP26, climate change and why housing matters
Duncan Smith Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... The eyes of the world are focused on Glasgow because the Conference of the Parties (COP26) is taking place. ... So why does housing and our homes matter when it comes to climate change? ... Here in the UK, part of the issue is that our buildings are some of the least energy efficient in Europe. About 36% were built were before 1944 and only 17% of our homes were made from 1990 onward. ... Because of our homes’ age and poor energy efficiency as well as how we heat them, about 79,000,000 tonnes of CO2 is emitted every year, year on year, in the UK—directly contributing to climate change.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/comment/comment/cop26-climate-ch…
# International, Utilities water energy internet, Climate change, Minimum habitability standards.Byron real estate's new heights: $750K price tag for cabin in council caravan park
Bruce MacKenzie ABC (No paywall)The Byron Shire Mayor says the $750,000 asking price for a cabin in a beachside council-run caravan park is another sign of a property market gone mad. The two-bedroom cabin at Suffolk Park is being offered for sale on a local real estate website, but the purchase price does not include the land. Councillor Michael Lyon said current caravan park legislation was designed to allow for affordable housing. But he said the council could not interfere with the sale process. "It's perverse, it was certainly never intended that way," Cr Lyon said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-12/byron-real-estate-pervers…
# NSW, Land lease communities, Housing market, Regional NSW.‘Of course there are examples’: Criminals laundering billions through Australian housing market
Sarah Danckert The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Homebuyers could be competing at property auctions against organised criminal gangs using Australia to launder their ill-gotten gains, according to evidence from law enforcement agencies at a federal inquiry.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/of-course-there-are-…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market, International.Embodied carbon: why truly net zero buildings could still be decades away
Ljubomir Jankovic The Conversation (No paywall)Carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions come from two sources: using things (known as operational emissions) and making things (embodied emissions). For a familiar example of the first kind, your home probably burns natural gas for heating and uses electricity that fossil fuels may have generated. Governments plan to eliminate these emissions by making buildings better insulated and airtight so that they need less energy and ensuring renewable sources, such as wind and solar, generate enough power. But what about the second kind – those embodied emissions that arise from making the thermal insulation, solar panels, bricks and concrete blocks in energy-efficient buildings?
https://theconversation.com/embodied-carbon-why-truly-net-zero-b…
# International, Utilities water energy internet, Climate change, Minimum habitability standards.Government calls for racism to be ‘rooted out’ of social housing following ITV expose
Tim Clark Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... The government has called for racism to be “rooted out” of the social housing sector after an ITV News expose highlighted major issues at councils in the UK. ... In the latest instalment, the programme found alleged instances of racist attitudes within councils when dealing with tenants’ repair issues, as well as testimony from residents in which they feel racism has shaped their treatment. The ITV investigation included a mother of four from Kenya who felt racism shaped her treatment from staff at her landlord Hull Council. She claims that she was told she “could always go back” after complaining about serious disrepair problems at her council house.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/home/home/government-calls-for-r…
# International, Discrimination, Public and community housing, Local Government, Race and ethnicity.New Zealand rushes in on upzoning where Australia fears to tread
Jago Dodson and Iain White The Fifth Estate (No paywall)Australian planners and economists are currently debating the role of planning policies and regulations in dwelling production as part of the federal parliamentary inquiry into housing supply. Meanwhile the New Zealand government has announced it intends to dramatically roll back residential zoning across the country’s major cities in response to high house prices. This simplistic policy poses risks for strategic metropolitan planning and Australia should pay attention.
https://thefifthestate.com.au/columns/spinifex/new-zealand-rushe…
# International, Housing market, Planning and development.Why a huge surge in US inflation could cause Australian house prices to drop
David Taylor ABC (No paywall)The Australian property market has for many years defied the laws of gravity. But is that all about to change? Analysts are warning a huge surge in US inflation has potential to derail the Australian property market. The US central bank is expected to respond by raising interest rates sharply and analysts say that will flow through to higher Australian mortgage rates. The property market is influenced by more than just interest rates, but the fear is that the increase is fixed rates, combined with tighter macro prudential regulation, will knock the wind out of the market. Let's explore this further.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-13/us-inflation-interest-rat…
# Australia, Housing market, International.How our cities work: essential lessons from lockdown
Matt Wade The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)As Melbourne and Sydney roar back to life it might be tempting to forget all about the lockdowns of 2021. But the pandemic drew attention to vulnerabilities in our two biggest cities that often remain invisible. It would be foolish to ignore them. Cities are always marked by differences of wealth and income. But the lockdowns shone new light on stark geographical inequalities in Melbourne and Sydney. ... The pandemic has drawn attention to where our essential workers live. Holloway found that in Sydney it’s mostly in the city’s west and south-west, while in Melbourne, the highest proportion of essential workers reside in the north and west growth areas on the city’s outer edges. These locations also recorded a high share of infections during this year’s Delta outbreak. Sydney’s west and south-west also experienced the most stringent lockdown restrictions. A key reason for the high concentration of essential workers in those places is the cost of housing.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/how-our-cities-work-…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing affordability, Housing market, Planning and development, Work, employment.