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
Housing Ombudsman to investigate damp and mould problems in sector
Lucie Heath Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... The Housing Ombudsman is launching its first “thematic investigation” into damp and mould in the sector as part of its newly enhanced powers. ... [Richard Blakeway, housing ombudsman, said:] “Using our new powers, we want to look in-depth at the response of social landlords to damp and mould issues. I want us to make far-reaching recommendations to promote greater understanding and learning, helping landlords develop their approach to the benefit of residents.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/housing-ombudsman-to-invest…
# International, Public and community housing, Mould.Understanding pet policies for Australian households: Reforms are happening across Australia, but how pet friendly is our housing market?
AHURI Brief AHURI (No paywall)Around 5.9 million Australian households (61% of all households) had a pet in 2019, a rate greater than for both the US (57%) and the UK (40%). The physical and psychological benefits of having a pet have been recorded by a number of studies and include decreased blood pressure and cholesterol levels; increased physical activity; improving self-esteem; and reducing rates of depression and loneliness; with one study estimating Australian cat and dog owners saved approximately $3.86 billion in health expenditure over one year.
https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/ahuri-briefs/understanding-pet…
# Australia, Rent, Strata, Health, Housing market.'Why are we being forgotten?': The tenants living in mould-infested flats
(No paywall)Julie Roberts is living with cancer that has spread throughout her body, and she's unable to sleep in her own bedroom due to the state of the mould infestation in her property. ... For Tiffany, the news of an investigation into social housing conditions should be reassuring. But after ten years of asking her housing association for something to be done about the mould in her home, she's beginning to lose hope.
https://www.itv.com/news/2021-04-13/why-are-we-being-forgotten-t…
# Video International, Public and community housing, Health, Mould.New rules for Airbnb-style letting in NSW delayed by three months
Matt O'Sullivan The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The NSW government has decided to delay the introduction of new rules for Airbnb-style letting across the state by three months after an outcry from councils and online rental company Stayz. The short-term letting rules were due to come into force on July 30, but the government has decided within the past 24 hours to delay their introduction to November 1. Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes said the government had received substantial feedback from key stakeholders about concerns regarding the timeline to implement changes.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/new-rules-for-airbnb-style-l…
# NSW, Local Government, Planning and development, Short-term holiday letting, State Government.New provisions for Short-term Rental Accommodation (STRA)
Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (No paywall)The NSW Government is pleased to announce that the new statewide Short-Term Rental Accommodation (STRA) planning policy has been made today, 9 April 2021 and will come into effect on 30 July 2021, to provide industry participants time to familiarise themselves with the new policy before it takes effect. The new statewide policy for STRA will benefit homeowners who want to take advantage of holiday rentals while providing more certainty and safety for locals and visitors.
http://planning-nsw-gov-au-2148779.hs-sites.com/new-provisions-f…
# New policy announcement NSW, Local Government, Planning and development, Short-term holiday letting, State Government.Developer contributions to affordable housing slow to be mandated across Sydney councils
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Affordable housing supply is lagging badly amid Sydney’s skyrocketing property market, and experts fear time is slipping away to fix the problem before the next building boom. Developer levies that could provide much-needed new affordable homes were announced more than three years ago but have yet to be rolled out across most council areas. ... “We’re not getting the momentum we’d certainly be hoping for,” said Mark Degotardi, chief executive of the Community Housing Industry Association NSW (CHIA NSW), a peak body for providers of community housing.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/developer-contributions-to-afford…
# NSW, Affordable housing, Housing market, Local Government, Planning and development, State Government.180-day cap on Airbnb properties expanded to areas outside Sydney
Matt O'Sullivan The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A 180-day cap on using empty properties for Airbnb-style letting will be expanded beyond greater Sydney to a number of coastal areas and regional centres in NSW, as part of state-wide planning rules which have drawn criticism from councils and holiday rental company Stayz.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/180-day-cap-on-airbnb-proper…
# NSW, Local Government, Planning and development, Short-term holiday letting, State Government.Waiting to borrow: buying a first home amid soaring real estate prices feels grimly Beckettian
Josephine Tovey The Guardian (No paywall)For Australians in their 30s, auction horror stories dominate the conversation, while others are left out entirely ... homeowners have seen their household wealth rise along with property prices. Renters, whose security and rights in Australia pale in comparison to many places overseas with comparably expensive housing markets, miss out on this benefit entirely. This inequality will only get worse ... we really need some political courage and action on housing affordability, on containing soaring prices, and on rental security for those locked out of the market. That would be “good news” indeed.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/apr/12/waiting-t…
# Australia, Rent, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.