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
Retirees flock to reverse mortgages to tap equity in their homes
John Collett The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The number of participants in the federal government’s reverse mortgage scheme has grown more than five-fold in less than two years as more retirees tap the equity tied up in their homes to pay for living expenses.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/planning-and-budgeting/retirees-flo…
# Australia, Federal Government, Home ownership, Older people.'Read my words': mother's plea after Sunshine Coast rental crisis slams the door on her family
36-year-old mother of two children aged 15 and 10 (No paywall)This is an open letter to Sunshine Coast residents. The writer wishes to remain anonymous, but has supplied her name and contacts to Sunshine Coast News. We thought this story deserved to be shared and was best told in her heartfelt words … We had been renting this property for 10 months and our lease was soon to expire when, about eight weeks ago, we were advised that the landlord would be moving in, therefore we would not be able to renew our lease as intended. Common story for most renters at the moment. Am I right? ... I’ve heard stories of landlords using this excuse as a means to get the tenants out ‘without grounds,’ only afterwards the evicted tenants see the home listed at a much higher price. I can only hope that my landlord has a heart and is an honest human being and, if not, I’d rather not know about it. ... Today, for 30 per cent of my income, in this area I would be lucky to score a single room in a share house with a bunch of strangers and be forced to bunk up with my teenage son, my pre-teen daughter — sadly our beloved family pets would be so far out of the picture it’s devastating. ... [The alternative is that I'll be] living in a town where I don’t know anyone, have no family or social support, don’t feel remotely safe, won’t be getting any sleep for all of the above reasons, and have to drive 3 – 4 hours each day costing an additional $150-200 p/w that (I’m fully prepared to spend on rent rather than travel) costs more financially, regardless of the cost to the mental health and safety of me and my children but hey, it beats homelessness and living in tent city. Or does it? (Sunshine Coast News)
https://www.sunshinecoastnews.com.au/2021/07/07/sunshine-coast-r…
# Australia, Rent, Homelessness, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Personal stories, Women.‘Six chickens somehow turned into 60!’ Meet the families trying to live the Good Life in the pandemic
Emine Sanr The Guardian (No paywall)Many people yearn to grow their own food and live a simpler life – but, when coronavirus hit, some decided it was now or never. Have their dreams of burgeoning veg patches and frolicking livestock come true?
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jul/01/six-chicken…
# International, Coronavirus COVID-19, Home.Rugged-up Canadian expat complains about the 'freezing' winter in Australia after moving from the third coldest city in the WORLD
Cindy Tran (No paywall)A Canadian expat has complained about the freezing weather in Australia after moving Down Under from the 'third coldest city in the world'. Isabelle Mae has been living on the South Coast of New South Wales since the beginning of 2020 after relocating from Winnipeg, the capital city of the province of Manitoba. According to AccuWeather, Winnipeg is one of the world's coldest cities. The city has experienced some of the most 'bone-chilling' conditions imaginable, with temperatures dropping as low as minus 47°C (minus 54°F). ... I moved from the third coldest city in the world in the middle of Canada to Australia. Why is it so cold? We're so cold,' she said. 'Okay, it's 10°C but the houses are not well insulated here.' (Daily Mail)
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9738959/Canadian-Isab…
# NSW, International, Minimum habitability standards, Regional NSW.How protecting Wellington’s character homes is leaving tenants out in the cold
Ashok Jacob (No paywall)From New Zealand ... Despite being mostly damp and unstable, Wellington’s character homes have long been fiercely protected. But as tenants advocate Ashok Jacob argues, their loudest proponents aren’t the ones that need protecting the most. ... I’m glad that the council recently voted for radical change to our city’s housing-scape, rather than bending the knee to property owners and those with vested interests. Of course, there is still a fight ahead to ensure that new housing is accessible, affordable and of good quality, but we were always going to have to fight for that. For now, I’m glad that the misguided fears of the propertied are no longer stunting our city’s progress.
https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/05-07-2021/how-protecting-welli…
# International, Rent, Planning and development.Northern Tasmanian housing demand mapped: why it's so hard to find a decent place to live
Adam Holmes (No paywall)Mr Capodici - who applies for 15 jobs a fortnight, mostly gardening work, to keep getting Centrelink payments - said there was little left over when living in social housing. "I was homeless before when I first started looking for a house. [Social] Housing always used to be cheap for people who have been on Centrelink incomes, but it doesn't seem like that anymore," he said. ... Social housing tenants are automatically charged 25 per cent of payments like JobSeeker, Parenting Payment and child support for rent. Their entire Rent Assistance is also paid to the housing manager - Community Housing - to be placed in an overall pool of funding for maintenance, repairs and vacant property preparation. ... The Tenants' Union - along with other advocacy groups like Shelter Tas - have urged the government to increase its ambition in public and social housing construction. Mr Bartl said the current level of need meant tenants who were unhappy with their living arrangements had no choice but to just cope. "Ensuring that social housing is built in and around our inner cities is imperative if we are to provide everyone with the same opportunities to access basic services including public transport, health services and educational institutions," he said. "We also need to ensure that there is enough social housing for everyone who is financially or socially disadvantaged."
https://www.examiner.com.au/story/7325334/housing-demand-mapped-…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Repairs, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.Douglas Todd: Sky-high housing prices causing psychological harm
Doulas Todd (No paywall)Ten thousand more British Columbians a year are moving out of Metro Vancouver to other parts of the province than are coming here from elsewhere in B.C. Many feel the need to escape one of the most unaffordable cities in the world if they’re ever going to put down the roots of home ownership. ... What happens, psychologically, to hard-working people denied the opportunity to own decent housing in the place they yearn to call home? Anxiety is common. So is anger. And, for many, a feeling of inadequacy. These acidic feelings are especially strong among young adults. “They feel like they’re failing, because they can’t secure their financial foundation. That gives rise to stress,” says Paul Kershaw, UBC professor of population health. (Vancouver Sun)
https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/douglas-todd-the-sou…
# International, Health, Home ownership, Housing market.Fears more tenants will be stuck in tenancies due to new housing standards
Charlie Dreaver (No paywall)From New Zealand ... A group of Wellington flatmates have received a nasty shock after discovering they're trapped in a lease because their landlord is biding time before getting the property up to the Healthy Home Standards. The standards have now come into effect, meaning landlords need to get their property up to spec within 90 days of a new tenancy. But renting and student advocates fear more people could become stuck in tenancies they do not want, in poor quality housing. (RNZ)
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/446194/fears-more-tenants-wi…
# International, Rent, Minimum habitability standards.