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
A week in the life of… a supported housing and tenancy support officer
Jess McCabe Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Kathleen Hughes works on the frontline at Welsh housing association Adra, supporting people across North Wales. Her neighbourhood services job is split into two roles, working three days a week as a supported housing officer, covering tenants and sheltered sites, and two days as a tenancy support officer, where she supports vulnerable people to stay in their homes
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/insight/a-week-in-the-li…
# International, Public and community housing, Families.Frydenberg promises housing breaks in ‘pandemic budget’
Michelle Grattan The Conversation (No paywall)In measures on housing, [the Federal Government] will increase from $30,000 to $50,000 the maximum amount of voluntary contributions aspiring home buyers can take from the First Home Super Saver Scheme. This scheme allows people to make voluntary contributions to superannuation to save for their first home. At present these contributions are capped at $15,000 a year and $30,000 in total. With the rise in house prices, the current cap on the amount that can be released is a diminishing proportion of the deposit needed. There will also be another 10,000 places added to the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, which can only be used for new housing. This means-tested measure allows first home buyers to build a new home or buy a newly-built one with a deposit of as little as 5%.
https://theconversation.com/frydenberg-promises-housing-breaks-i…
# Australia, Federal Government, Home ownership.Buyers seek slice of heaven in regional church sales
By Benjamin Preiss and Jackson Graham The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Churches are hot property in regional Victoria where housing prices have boomed. Many with declining or no congregations have been sold and converted into private residences.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/buyers-seek-slice-of-he…
# Australia, Housing market.How ‘FOMOA’ is driving up house prices – and driving us all crazy
Stephen Corby Domain (No paywall)s there any pursuit that causes you to become so completely unhinged, as insanely competitive and as financially irresponsible as buying a house?
https://www.domain.com.au/living/how-fomoa-is-driving-up-house-p…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.Booming property market stokes household debt concerns
Colin Kruger and Clancy Yeates The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A ferocious boom in housing that is overwhelming banks and mortgage brokers is stoking fresh concerns about consumer debt levels, amid signs some buyers are becoming more cautious about overpaying for properties.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/booming-property-marke…
# Australia, Housing market.Liberals face real test on aged care this budget
Ged Kearney The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)On Tuesday the Liberals will hand down their eighth federal budget. Already we are hearing the usual noises about how they will ‘fix’ aged care. They’ll throw some money at it, based on years of underspending to make it look ‘big’. Photo ops will follow. But I’m convinced the Liberals have no idea how to actually fix aged care.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/liberals-face-real-test-on-aged-…
# Australia, Federal Government, Housing market, Older people.New research project: regulation of residential tenancies and impacts on investment
Chris Martin City Futures (No paywall)Residential tenancies laws across Australia are on a broadly common ‘consumer protection’ model, but with many differences in the details, including coverage of marginal tenures, notice periods, termination grounds and processes. States’ and territories’ reform processes have mostly been unco-ordinated, and significant divergences and gaps have opened up in the law, particularly for interstate landlords. Reform processes have also had to contend with claims that reforms negatively impact rental investment. The available evidence suggests, on the contrary, that tenancy law reform does not strongly affect investment, but the evidence base needs to be updated to consider changes in the market (e.g. the rise of short-term letting) and expanded to consider how other policy factors (e.g. in financial regulation and taxation) affect the profile and scale of rental investors.
https://blogs.unsw.edu.au/cityfutures/blog/2021/05/new-research-…
# Research alert Australia, Rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents, No-grounds evictions, Tax.Rental crisis is putting older women at greatest risk of homelessness
John Kidman The New Daily (No paywall)Australia is facing a homelessness crisis and those at greatest risk are among the nearest and dearest: mums and grandmas. ... According to South Australian academics Debbie Faulkner and Laurence Lester, there are about 240,000 women across the nation aged 55 or older at risk of finding themselves without a place to call home. A further 165,000 between the ages of 45 and 64 fall into the same category.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/welfare/2021/05/02/older-wome…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market, Welfare, Women.