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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See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
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Archive
Affordable rental initiative gives landlords tax deduction for discounted rents
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Melbourne renter Rebecca Shiels never expected the generosity of a landlord to help her get back on her feet. As a newly single mother, she feared for her ability to find a suitable home for herself and her young boy, in a market in desperate need of more affordable properties. ... That was until she came across a two-bedroom apartment in Ormond, in Melbourne’s south-east, advertised for $300 a week — $250 below the market rate — with HomeGround Real Estate, a not-for-profit real estate agency opened in 2014. ... Similar schemes are operated by HomeGround agencies in Sydney and Canberra, operating under Bridge Housing and Community Housing Canberra, respectively, and landlords offering rent reductions may also be eligible for land tax exemptions and capital gain tax discounts under other government measures.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/affordable-rental-initiative-give…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents.NSW Budget 2021 disappoints on housing affordability measures
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)House-hunters hoping to get into Sydney’s soaring property market could be left disappointed by this year’s state budget, with little to help more Australians onto the property ladder in the short term.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/nsw-budget-delivers-little-for-ho…
# NSW, Home ownership, Housing affordability, State Government.Six-month eviction notice period extended to September in Wales
Dominic Brady Inside Housing (Paywall)A six-month notice period for evictions in Wales has been extended to 30 September, the Welsh government has announced. The announcement represents a three-month extension to measures that were put in place to protect tenants from being evicted during the coronavirus pandemic. ... The Welsh government added that consideration is being given to further support that can be provided to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on the sector.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/six-month-eviction-not…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.Airbnb Will Temporarily Ban U.S. Listings Where Tenants Have Been Evicted for Not Paying Rent
Whitney Kimball (No paywall)Better late than never: Airbnb is preventing landlords from renting units where tenants have been evicted for not paying rent after the U.S. Centre for Disease Control’s pandemic eviction moratorium expires on June 30th. According to an analysis by think tank the Centre on Budget and Policy Priorities, 10.4 million Americans are currently behind on rent; an April census survey found that out of nearly seven million respondents behind on rent, over three million expect that they are “very” or “somewhat” likely to be evicted within the next two months. (Gizmodo)
https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2021/06/airbnb-will-temporarily-ban-l…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Short-term holiday letting.NSW budget 2021-22 Winners and Losers
Maryanne Taouk ABC (No paywall)Check out two Losers': 'Homebuyers' and 'Social housing'
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-22/nsw-budget-2021-winners-a…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Home ownership, State Government.I designed the Sirius building but I wish the government had knocked it down
Tao Gofers The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)I am the architect who designed the Sirius building, and I believe the NSW government should have demolished it. Just as they demolished the dreams and aspirations of the people who designed Sirius, built Sirius and lived in Sirius. ... But Millers Point and Sirius are only one minor example of the Coalition government’s policy of resumption of existing social housing developments and relocating the tenants to distant areas. ... I have a simple question. Is it Coalition policy to move all social housing tenants and other low income people from the central council areas to distant suburbs? If so, this starts a new social order of economic apartheid.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/i-designed-the-sirius-buildi…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Housing market, State Government.COVID-19 and renting: guidance for landlords, tenants and local authorities - Updated
(No paywall)From the United KIngdom ... Coronavirus (COVID19) | Rules, guidance and support : Guidance for landlords and tenants. Updated 21 June 2021 (Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government) ... And for 'Local Authorities', check out: [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-and-renting-guidance-for-landlords-tenants-and-local-authorities/guidance-for-local-authorities]
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-and-renting-…
# International, Eviction, Privacy and access, Rent, Repairs, Health.‘Buyer beware’: Sydney agents selling units despite defect notices
Nigel Gladstone The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Property developers are pushing ahead with sales of off-the-plan apartments even though the NSW Building Commissioner has slapped them with orders to fix or monitor defects that real estate agents are required to tell potential buyers about.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/buyer-beware-sydney-agents-s…
# NSW, Strata, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Minimum habitability standards.