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
Trying to stay warm? Here’s the most cost-effective way to heat a room
Sean Naden and Nick O'Malley The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)As Sydneysiders shiver through their coldest day in nearly four decades and Melburnians get buffeted by high winds, a thermal comfort expert has suggested people can better protect themselves by getting better homes. ... Houses better designed for winter – or even retro-fitted for it – with fewer cracks, better glazing and better insulation, would have left Australians more comfortable this week, Australia’s leading expert in the niche field of thermal comfort says. Either way when the cold hit his Sydney home this week, Professor de Dear, who works with the University of Sydney’s school of architecture, opted to curl up with the cat rather than try to heat the surrounding space. This sort of direct heating is always most efficient, he says.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/sustainability/trying-to-stay…
# NSW, Utilities water energy internet, Fixtures - lights, aircon etc.Regional rents surge as mining and domestic tourism booms put pressure on vacancies
Rachel Pupazzoni ABC (No paywall)Port Hedland real estate agent Scott Lowe and his team have been busy trying to find local residents somewhere to rent. The Pilbara region, like many outside the capital cities around Australia, has seen an influx of people moving to town, and agents like Mr Lowe have been struggling to find enough homes for tenants.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-21/regional-australia-rents-…
# Australia, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market, Regional NSW.How to make your rental feel like home without losing your bond
Yasmin Jeffery ABC (No paywall)So, you're in a rental. That doesn't necessarily mean you have to settle for living in a home that isn't your aesthetic. Here's how to negotiate apartment upgrades – big and small.
https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/how-to-get-permission-for-rental…
# Australia, Rent.Welsh government commits to building 20,000 low-carbon social rent homes
Dominic Brady Inside Housing (Paywall)The Welsh government has vowed to build 20,000 new low-carbon social homes for rent and improve building safety in its five-year ‘Programme for Government’. The Labour government, led by first minister Mark Drakeford, has proposed a number of policies which it says will create a “fairer, greener, stronger and ever more successful Wales”. It said for the first time transport, planning, housing and energy policies will be informed by the government’s legally binding target of reaching net zero by 2050. Part of the Programme for Government includes the commitment to build 20,000 new low-carbon social rent homes.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/welsh-government-commi…
# International, Public and community housing, Utilities water energy internet.State government windfall tax stalls plans for new suburb
Damien Ractliffe, Patrick Elligett and Michael Fowler The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A plan to turn Sandown Racecourse into a suburb the size of Wangaratta has stalled as a result of a new state government tax that would cost the site’s owners hundreds of millions of dollars.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/victoria/state-government-windfa…
# Australia, Housing market, Tax.Residential property developers shift to boutique, low-density projects in the wake of COVID
Allison Worrall (No paywall)Residential developers have shifted their focus to lower-risk projects such as smaller apartment blocks, townhouses and housing estates, while high-density developments continue to fall out of favour, according to a new Knight Frank report.
https://www.commercialrealestate.com.au/news/residential-propert…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Planning and development.Market frenzy slows as more properties and affordability constraints ease buyer demand
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Sydney’s runaway property price growth looks set to lose steam over the cooler winter months, as affordability constraints and an increase in the number of homes for sale take some of the heat out of the city’s property market.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/market-frenzy-slows-as-more-prope…
# NSW, Housing affordability, Housing market.‘We don’t want a Chatswood’: Critics attack plan for tall towers in Edgecliff
Andrew Taylor The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Towers up to 89 metres high could be built adjacent to heritage areas in Sydney’s eastern suburbs under plans that critics say will impact nearby residents and fails to take into account the COVID-19 pandemic. The draft strategy for Edgecliff Commercial Centre, which runs along New South Head Road from Rushcutters Bay Park to Edgecliff station, proposes up to 500 new apartments and 6750 square metres of additional commercial floor space.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/we-don-t-want-a-chatswood-critic…
# NSW, Local Government, Planning and development.