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.
Our main email newsletter, Tenant News is sent once every two months. You can subscribe or update your subscription preferences for any of our email newsletters here.
See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
We love sharing the news and hope you find it informative! We're very happy to deliver it for free, but if you find it valuable, can you help cover the extra costs incurred by making a donation?
Archive
Forecast of 30 per cent housing price growth could be largely realised: economists
Tawar Razaghi Domain (No paywall)A once-stunning forecast that house prices could soar as much as 30 per cent if interest rates were slashed looks set to be largely realised, top economists warn. Affordability constraints or the prospect of an interest-rate rise in the medium term might cap the growth at about 25 per cent in three years’ time, they said – but it would still be a significant jump.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/forecast-of-30-per-cent-housing-p…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Bodies of two Australian victims found in Miami rubble after remaining condos demolished
The Guardian (No paywall)An Australian woman with a “contagious love for life” and her devoted husband are among the latest deaths confirmed after an apartment building collapsed in Florida.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/06/bodies-of-two-au…
# International, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.Hostel owner fails in bid to ban Perth residents, FIFOs and over-35s
Heather MvNeill The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The owner of two Perth backpackers’ hostels has failed in his legal bid to ban local guests and anyone older than 35 from staying at them over safety concerns for genuine travellers. Marco Tassi, who owns myOZexp Aberdeen Lodge and myOZexp Palmerston Lodge in Northbridge, said an increasing number of guests booking into his hostels were homeless, drug addicts or had recently been discharged from a mental health facility. ... Mr Tassi took his concerns to the State Administrative Tribunal in an attempt to ban Perth residents and those over 35 from being allowed to stay at his hostels so he could accept “genuine travellers only”. Under Australia’s Equal Opportunities Act, it is unlawful to discriminate against a person based on their age or race when offering a service. ... While accepting the concerns Mr Tassi had, Judge Kathleen Glancy ruled on Friday that excluding Australians and people over 35 from his hostel would be against the law.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/hostel-owner-f…
# Australia, Discrimination, Homelessness, Housing market.Advocates criticise rental reform laws, call for protections to address 'power imbalance' between tenants and landlords
Gracie Richter ABC (No paywall)Finding a property in Queensland's current rental market is near impossible with vacancy rates at record lows. "We're looking at $200 more than what we were paying to try and get a new lease," Ms Brimson said. Her eviction comes at a time when advocates have criticised the state's rental reform bill as leaving renters with no bargaining power. They say the draft bill, which is currently before Queensland Parliament, fails to protect tenants from unfair evictions "without cause" at the end of a fixed-term contract.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-07/qld-rental-tenancy-reform…
# Australia, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards, No-grounds evictions, State Government.Quick fixes for freezing houses: which heater should you buy when it’s already winter?
Natalie Parletta The Guardian (No paywall)The best home heating solutions require specialist installation, but as Australia’s winter has already come, here’s how to pick the right stop-gap
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jul/06/quick-fixes…
# Australia, Utilities water energy internet, Home.Supreme Court Issues Unsigned Victory for Landlord Over San Francisco’s Rental Protection Regime
Colin Kalmbacher (No paywall)Stylized as Pakdel v. San Francisco, the case is about rental protections that were originally agreed to — and then subsequently reneged upon — by a wealthy married couple who own a “multiunit residential building” in the City by the Bay. City officials warned that this volte-face was unacceptable and the couple sued. ... A district court and the appeals court rejected the couple’s claims. ... In Monday’s per curiam opinion, at least five [Supreme Court] justices sharply disagreed with how the appellate court reckoned with finality. (Msn)
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/supreme-court-issues-unsign…
# Legal significance International, Rent, Local Government.Housing affordability
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (No paywall)Access to good quality, affordable housing is fundamental to wellbeing. It can help reduce poverty and enhance equality of opportunity, social inclusion and mobility. Affordability is important for both Australians wanting to buy a home and for those renting. Many factors influence the supply, demand and cost of housing across the country, including Australia’s growing and ageing population and government policies. Housing affordability typically refers to the relationship between expenditure on housing (prices, mortgage payments or rents) and household incomes. Home ownership and housing tenure and Housing assistance are related to housing affordability. You can check the 'Housing data dashboard' at: [https://www.housingdata.gov.au/dashboard/x8j99pyn6wnq4ke]. (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare)
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/housing-affor…
# Research alert Australia, Rent, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.Older Australians being pushed to the brink of homelessness
Nikki Stefanoff Pro bono Australia (No paywall)New data reveals the number of older Australians experiencing rent stress has increased by 11 per cent over the last year – prompting advocates to call for the government to increase CRA. ... Older Australians are shown to be particularly vulnerable with the number of households experiencing rent stress increasing from 40,562 to 45,199 between 2019 and 2020 — an uptick of 11 per cent over the course of 12 months.
https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2021/07/older-australians-b…
# Must read Australia, Rent, Housing affordability.