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
Boasting about budget expenditure numbers does not make for a housing policy
Vivienne Milligan Pearls and Irritations (No paywall)The Federal Minister for Housing and Homelessness, Michael Sukkar, is fond of quoting large numbers when quizzed on what his government is doing to address Australia’s enduring housing crisis. So, we hear for instance that annual Federal spending on housing and homelessness programs has reached over $8b and that his government is exceeding Labor’s spend on social housing and homelessness support. Such numbers and claims deserve closer scrutiny. What comprises the $8b and how far does it go in addressing the need? What have been the differences between recent Coalition and Labor Government policies in this area? [Read on]
https://johnmenadue.com/boasting-about-budget-expenditure-number…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Affordable housing, Federal Government, Homelessness.A split city: communities across Sydney commit to rebuild trust
(No paywall)Organisations representing over two million people from the Catholic Church to United Workers Union and Arab Council Australia, said it is time to rule a line in the sand and rebuild trust and inclusion across Sydney as we confront growing numbers of infection and deaths. ... People from low-income households who are playing their part by staying at home, getting tested and getting vaccinated should not be forced into poverty for doing the right thing. Families living in Western and southwestern Sydney still need to pay for rent, groceries and bills, but the current support payments are confusing and inadequate. ... Public health is built on trust. Trust is destroyed when rules are enforced inconsistently across the city. Images of securitised streets in Western Sydney and sunbakers on Sydney beaches corrode trust. None of us can afford this kind of division ... (Sydney Alliance)
https://www.sydneyalliance.org.au/news-1/a-split-city-communitie…
# NSW, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Health, Race and ethnicity.Under pressure: First-home buyers vulnerable to higher rates
John Collett The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Rapidly rising property prices are forcing some first-home buyers seeking to get a foothold on the property ladder to unwisely stretch their finances to the limit, a move that experts say could be detrimental to their long-term financial health. ... The Sydney first-home buyer household would spend 54 per cent of their monthly after-tax income on their mortgage. Increasing the interest rate by 1.5 percentage points would hike the household’s spend on the mortgage to 66 per cent.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/borrowing/under-pressure-first-home…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.Poor housing has direct impact on mental health during COVID lockdowns, study finds
Norman Hermant ABC (No paywall)Your mental health in the pandemic "depends on where you live", new research suggests, with noisy, dark and problem-plagued homes increasing anxiety, depression, and even loneliness during lockdowns. But the Australian study, published in the International Journal of Housing Policy, says better-designed buildings and developing a greater sense of neighbourhood could make a big difference. ... Researchers from the University of Sydney surveyed more than 2,000 people as part of a study on the pandemic's impact on Australians. ... Housing flaws, such as mould, damp, or cracked walls, were also a major predictor of depression. ... Survey respondents ranged from home owners, to renters, to those in share houses and even included those who were couch surfing. The conclusion? Renters and low-income earners were much more likely to suffer housing-related mental health issues during lockdowns.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-13/covid-lockdown-mental-hea…
# Research alert Australia, Rent, Repairs, Coronavirus COVID-19, Health, Mould.Battery-supported microgrid in outer Melbourne development to cut bills by 50 per cent
Poppy Johnston The Fifth Estate (No paywall)Residents of a 32-home all-electric development in Wollert in Melbourne’s north can expect to cut their electricity bills in half thanks to rooftop solar and a precinct-wide microgrid. The Villawood Properties development, delivered by Metricon, will be serviced by a microgrid, which is a self-sufficient energy system that will allow renewable energy generated on the 36 homes and residents’ club to be shared.
https://thefifthestate.com.au/innovation/residential-2/battery-s…
# Australia, Utilities water energy internet, Housing market.'Overcrowding is a big problem in Fairfield'
Chris Boulous (No paywall)CORE Community Services chief executive Juana Reinoso said the quick spread of COVID-19 in Fairfield highlighted one key thing: "Overcrowding is a big problem in Fairfield." "There is a shortage of affordable accommodation; there may be two families living within the same house. So when we have heard that large families are contracting the virus, some of these cases are linked to overcrowding," she said. "Affordability is the huge issue in Fairfield and the high rental costs means it is common to see families of five people living in a two-bedroom home and grandparents, parents and children all living in the one house. ... [St Vincent de Paul Society chief executive Jack de Groot said] "Stay at home orders and lockdown assume people have a safe, secure home to reside in. For thousands of people in NSW, this is something they just don't have access to." (Fairfield City Champion)
https://www.fairfieldchampion.com.au/story/7382330/overcrowding-…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Rent, Affordable housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Families.Why LA Renters Can't Apply For California's Billions Of Rent Relief Dollars
David Wagner (No paywall)California has $5.2 billion in federal funding to spend on rent relief for tenants who’ve fallen in debt to their landlords — but renters in the city of Los Angeles currently can’t apply for it. The city stopped accepting rent relief applications in April, and it currently doesn’t have a clear timeline for reopening the program. Those barriers are raising fears of eviction among tenants and housing advocates, who say renters need to get in the system to claim eviction protections laid out in recent state legislation. “By not opening it up to all tenants, they're essentially telling the tenants that couldn't apply, ‘Tough luck, you're going to be facing eviction now,’” said Public Counsel Senior Staff Attorney Faizah Malik. (LAist)
https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/los-angeles-rent-rel…
# Hot topic International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Local Government.‘Aggressive increases’ in rent are making housing unaffordable for essential workers across most Australian regions
Bianca Healey (No paywall)Rent is now unaffordable for essential workers across most Australian regions, new figures show, with experts saying the pandemic has pushed rental stress to record highs. In some areas such as eastern Sydney, the Gold Coast and parts of the ACT, workers spent more than two thirds of their weekly income on rent ... Experts say the housing system is broken, with low-income earners in regional Australia facing the tightest rental vacancy rates on record. ... Kate Colvin, a spokesperson for Everybody’s Home, told the ABC that 87 of Australia’s 104 geographic regions have become unaffordable for those in care and services jobs, with the report showing rent in those areas cost at least a third of weekly income. “What this means is people have so little money, even after working … that they can’t afford the other essentials and it does put them at risk of homelessness." (Business Insider Australia)
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/aggressive-increases-rent-una…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Regional NSW.