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
'They got out of hand’: Auckland street wrestles with fate of 400 pet rabbits
Tess McClure The Guardian (No paywall)After years of complaints from neighbours and concerns about house prices, hundreds of rabbits in a suburban garden had to go ‘by any means necessary’. ... The story starts simply. In August 2014, residents Elaine Cowlin and Dylan Lewis bought four rabbits from a local pet shop. They didn’t de-sex them. The rabbits began to breed. “We just love rabbits,” Cowlin tells the Guardian. ... One of the villas across the road sold for $3.62m in February. In such a place, a multitude of fluffy animals let loose is not just an eccentricity – it represents a potential threat to the value of a street packed with multi-million-dollar assets.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/14/they-got-out-of-ha…
# International, Health, Housing market.The next housing crash will hit even harder than the last
Rory Hearne (No paywall)The latest house prices show the disastrous extent of the crisis in housing — there needs to be a sea change in policy. (Irish Examiner)
https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/commentanalysis/arid-40327…
# International, Rent, Home ownership, Housing market.Where in Australia it’s cheaper to pay off a mortgage than rent
Sue Williams Domain (No paywall)It’s now cheaper to buy rather than rent well over a third of the properties in Australia, the latest figures have found.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/where-in-australia-its-cheaper-to…
# Australia, Rent, Home ownership, Housing market.National Low income housing coalition update
(No paywall)From the United States ... Join NLIHC and other national leaders of the Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding (CHCDF) tomorrow (July 15) for a national call-in day to tell Congress that housing is vital infrastructure! (International Union of Tenants News)
https://www.iut.nu/news-events/national-low-income-housing-coali…
# International, Campaigns and law reform, Coronavirus COVID-19.Vulnerable renters put out despite reinstated ban on evictions during lockdown
Sasha Foot (No paywall)The NSW government reintroduced an eviction moratorium for renters this week. Tenants who can’t pay their rent in full due to Sydney’s lockdown cannot be evicted between now and September. However, the eviction moratorium only applies to households that can prove their income has reduced by 25% or more due to the lockdown. Madison Scott, a young renter in Newtown and frontwoman of local band Concrete Lawn, is not satisfied with the government’s support packages eligibility thresholds. The disaster payments can’t be acquired by people on youth allowance or other income support payments. (City Hub)
https://cityhubsydney.com.au/2021/07/vulnerable-renters-left-in-…
# TUNSW in the media NSW, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.Average UK rents hit £1,000 for first time ever
Saleha Riaz (No paywall)The average rent in the UK outside London hit £1,000 ($1,388) per month in June for the first time ever, Rightmove revealed, adding that tenants are struggling with a lack of properties. This comes as more renters move back to the city as lockdown restrictions ease. Earlier, as people were forced to remain indoors during the pandemic, many had opted to move out of cities in search of bigger properties. (yahoo!finance)
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/average-uk-rents-hit-1000-for-…
# International, Rent, Housing market.Renters Rights with Tenants Victoria
(No paywall)Rental laws have changed in Victoria. What does this mean for older renters? What can you do if you get an eviction notice? Is it illegal to have no heater in your house? What modifications can you make to your home? This and more in our wide ranging interview with lawyer Georga Wootton from Tenants Victoria (3CR)
https://www.3cr.org.au/haag/episode-202107141730/renters-rights-…
# Audio Australia, Rent, Campaigns and law reform.'Drop to certain death': Unbelievable defect in Sydney apartment tower
Josh Bavas ABC (No paywall)Sydney is no stranger to apartment defects, but the deadly drop found in this one could set a new benchmark for danger. The defects in Piety Group's One The Waterfront complex in the Western Sydney suburb of Wentworth Point have been detailed in a series of building management reports leaked to the ABC. Among the problems with the recently completed development are a malfunctioning sewer pump and a gaping hole in the fire stairs that could be fatal if someone fell through.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-17/potentially-fatal-defect-…
# NSW, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.