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
Sydney, Melbourne landlords counting the cost of international student losses
Rachel Wells Domain (No paywall)Landlords in Sydney and Melbourne who rely heavily on international students are asking up to 10 per cent less for rent than they were a year ago just to keep their properties occupied.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/sydney-melbourne-landlords-counti…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market, Students.NT's urban public housing sector in 'crisis' as priority applicants face a two-year wait
Jesse Thompson ABC (No paywall)The letter telling Tracey Myles that government housing was on the horizon turned up in April, during a period of homelessness lasting months. The mental health worker had recently lost her job, was evicted from a private rental and says she frequently sought shelter in a caravan that leaked during the Top End wet season's heavy rain. She said it could happen to anyone. ... According to the Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities, the NT's 1,544 priority urban public housing applicants face an average wait time of 23 months.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-17/nt-urban-public-housing-p…
# Australia, Eviction, Public and community housing, Rent, Homelessness.Oversupply, pandemic hit Sydney, Melbourne apartment rents
Euan Black The New Daily (No paywall)Record-low interest rates are fuelling a housing boom across the country, but one part of the market is lagging behind. Weekly rents for inner-city apartments in Sydney and Melbourne are well below where they were this time last year, according to data from CoreLogic and SQM Research. Australia’s closed international border has left a hole in the inner-city rental market that is usually filled by international students.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2021/06/16/sydney-me…
# Australia, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.UK: up to 400,000 renters told to expect eviction notices
Marc Da Silva (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Around 400,000 renting households, or 5% of all renters, have either been served an eviction notice or have been told they may be evicted, it has been claimed. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) is waning that about a million renting households are worried about being evicted in the next three months – 11% of all renters – now that the eviction ban has come to an end. The temporary ban on bailiff-enforced evictions introduced in March last year and extended several times since, provided much-needed security to renters at a time of profound economic and social disruption. (International Union of Tenants News)
https://www.iut.nu/news-events/uk-up-to-400000-renters-told-to-e…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.Airbnb is eating the neighbourhood
Jane Hearn (No paywall)Last month the NSW “Airbnb Policy” was quietly gazetted by the Minister for Planning, Mr Robert Stokes MP. This is a major planning reform that permits all housing to be used for short stay tourism. It takes some chutzpah to give in to tourist Platforms in the middle of pandemic with housing prices soaring. (City Hub)
https://cityhubsydney.com.au/2021/06/residents-vote-no-to-airbnb/
# NSW, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market, Short-term holiday letting.Greater Sydney has 'housing supply crisis' as report warns prices will continue to surge
Tony Ibrahim ABC (No paywall)Greater Sydney's eye-watering house prices have surged this year with a new report warning there will be more rises on the way.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-17/leppington-glenfield-hous…
# NSW, Housing market, Planning and development.Buyers blocked from moving into Castle Hill apartment tower after 'extensive signs of cracking' found
Josh Bavas ABC (No paywall)he NSW Building Commissioner has intervened to stop an occupation certificate from being issued for a major Sydney residential apartment complex after confirming "extensive signs of cracking" were discovered in its basement. The Castle Hill Skyview apartment complex, by Sydney developer Toplace, is set to include more than 900 apartments across five high-rise residential buildings above a shared basement.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-17/toplace-development-resid…
# NSW, Strata, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.Watchdog writes to banks on risky loans
Colin The New Daily (No paywall)Australia’s banking watchdog has written to the nation’s banks, warning there are signs of some increased risk-taking as home buyers rush to secure loans in a heated housing market. However, the Council of Financial Regulators believes overall lending standards in Australia remain sound. ... RBA governor Philip Lowe reiterated to an audience in Toowoomba on Thursday it is important that lending standards remain sound in an environment of low interest rates and rising housing prices. “The RBA does not, and should not, target housing prices,” Dr Lowe said.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2021/06/17/apra-bank…
# Australia, Housing market.