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
Thousands evicted without grounds as NSW rental reforms ‘drag’
Mary Ward The Sydney Morning Herald (Soft Paywall)A year into the Minns government, tenants can still be lawfully evicted for no reason or have an application refused because they have a pet, with no date in sight for NSW’s long-awaited rental reforms. The state government has been consulting on its package, which proposes requiring landlords to give a reason for evicting their tenants and protections for renting with pets, since last July. Rental Commissioner Trina Jones told an estimates hearing in November the volume of community feedback on the proposed changes had caused delays, and she expected an agreed reform package with a number of changes would exist by the first quarter of 2024.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/thousands-evicted-without-gr…
# TUNSW in the media, Legal significance NSW, .Households seek energy efficient homes amid cost of living crunch
Melissa Iaria realestate.com.au (No paywall)With winter fast approaching, households are seeking out ways to slash their energy costs and reduce the chance of a potential bill shock through features like solar power, energy efficient lighting, appliances and adequate draught proofing.According to the new PropTrack Origin Australian Home Energy Report, released Friday, most households view energy efficiency as important or extremely important.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/households-seek-energy-effici…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media NSW, Utilities electricity water gas.NSW lowest funding for social housing per capita in Australia
Grace Baldwin The Australian (No paywall)NSW invests the least in social housing per capita in the country, new data has revealed. Community Housing Industry Association analysis highlights NSW’s lack of investment in social housing, with more than 50,000 people waiting for housing in the state. CHIA chief executive Mark Degotardi said there was an opportunity to remedy the issue in the upcoming state budget. “We have the longest social housing waitlist in the country with almost 58,000 families and individuals waiting – and yet we are investing the least,” Mr Degotardi said. “Families in NSW put their trust in the Minns government one year ago – it’s now time for the government to repay that trust.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/nsw-lowest-fundin…
# NSW, Public and community housing.Rental reforms need to be expedited
The Herald's View The Sydney Morning Herald (Soft Paywall)In NSW, nearly one in three people rent their homes in what has been described as one of the toughest rental markets in decades. Rental properties are in short supply, and rents have reached record highs, which is why delays to the state’s rental reforms are a cause for concern for a considerable proportion of the population. Among the Minns government’s election platforms was a commitment to improve rental laws. These measures have included appointing a rental commissioner and introducing the Residential Tenancies Amendment (Rental Fairness) Bill 2023 to stamp out secret rent bidding and to allow rental bonds to be portable.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/rental-reforms-need-to-be-ex…
# TUNSW in the media NSW, Rent.Designer cats and dogs abandoned as rental crisis bites
Tim Barlass The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The Sydney housing rental crisis is forcing aspiring tenants to abandon designer pets to enhance their chances of securing a new home. Pet rescue organisations say they are increasingly left to rehome high-value cats such as Bengals, ragdolls and British blues, as well as canine crosses like Labradoodles and cavoodles. The RSPCA in NSW said it had seen a 66 per cent increase in people surrendering their animals because they could not find a pet-friendly rental. Jonine Penrose-Wall, retiring co-ordinator of the charity World League for the Protection of Animals, which has a no-kill policy, said shelters were “in crisis” with a massive influx of pets.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/designer-cats-and-dogs-aband…
# NSW, Rent.Community legal centres turn away 1,000 Australians each day despite growing need for help
Josh Butler The Guardian (No paywall)Community legal centres report having to turn away more than 1,000 people every day last year due to budget constraints and short staffing – twice the number they were able to help. The sector has asked for an urgent funding boost as cost-of-living pressures and poverty drive an increase in legal need, while its federal funding has slipped behind inflation amid staff burnout and huge workloads. The Community Legal Centre Australia chief executive, Tim Leach, warned that a lack of proper legal representation would lead to people facing unnecessary jail terms, homelessness or being forced to stay in unsafe relationships.
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2024/mar/25/community-legal-cent…
# Must read Australia, .Housing in Australia must become part of the circular economy – here’s how it can begin
Tom Alves The Fifth Estate (No paywall)Transitioning to a circular economy model for the Australian housing sector is more pressing than ever. Recent AHURI research finds government and financial institutions have important roles to play as catalysts for the housing sector to make the shift. Australian homes, through their entire life cycle, contribute significantly to our country’s carbon emissions. From the energy required to heat, cool, and maintain a building to the embodied carbon emissions within construction materials, the impact is substantial. The Australian construction industry, including housing, accounted for 18 per cent of the nation’s carbon footprint in 2013, with residential building construction contributing a quarter of total construction embodied emissions.
https://thefifthestate.com.au/housing-2/housing-in-australia-mus…
# Hot topic Australia, .Affordable housing beyond reach in all Australia’s eastern capitals, data shows
Sarah Basford Canales The Guardian (No paywall)Affordable housing is now beyond reach in all Australia’s eastern capitals, according to new analysis released by the Greens, with the average annual salary needed to buy a home without financial stress $164,400. There are just two capitals – greater Perth and Darwin – where the cost of a unit would not put the average earner under housing stress, according to the Parliamentary Library’s analysis of data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and CoreLogic.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/20/affordabl…
# Hot topic Australia, .