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
Sidoti and Sydney developer referred to ICAC over land dealings
Adele Ferguson and Matt O'Sullivan The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Former NSW government minister John Sidoti and a large Sydney developer were referred to the anti-corruption watchdog amid allegations development plans for the city’s inner west were altered to benefit the builder of waterfront apartments.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sidoti-and-sydney-developer-…
# NSW, Planning and development, State Government.Why are developments still going up in western Sydney – and at what cost?
Tawar Razaghi Domain (Paywall)Driving over Granville’s railway bridge in peak hour traffic can take up to 20 mins for Tony Eltakchi. The stretch of road is less than 200 metres but the disproportionate scale of congestion, he says, comes from the nearby high-rise residential towers, all built in recent years.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/why-ugly-developments-are-still-b…
# NSW, Housing market, Planning and development.Brogden says long-term friendship with developer was a ‘manageable conflict’
Matt O'Sullivan The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Landcom boss John Brogden has revealed he has had a long-term friendship with the chief executive of a developer from which his agency bought a large parcel of land for $258 million. But the former NSW Liberal Party leader told a budget estimates hearing on Tuesday that he believed the potential conflict of interest from his friendship with Bradcorp boss Peter Brennan was manageable because he was not the decision maker in the purchase.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/brogden-says-long-term-frien…
# NSW, Housing market, Planning and development, State Government.Not worth the gamble: How to avoid buying a property lemon
Matt Johnson The New Daily (No paywall)Termites, defects and flammable cladding are being overlooked by buyers rushing into the FOMO-driven property market before it gets too hot. As house prices race ahead at a pace not seen in 17 years, intense competition has stoked a rise in the number of sales conducted without independent pest and building inspections.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2021/03/09/how-to-av…
# Australia, Home ownership, Minimum habitability standards.These types of Sydney properties are passing in at auction, even in a boom market
Tawar Razaghi Domain (Paywall)As Sydney continues its record run of sky-high clearance rates, there are not many homes being passed in at auction — but the leftovers are stock-standard units or homes with unrealistic seller expectations, agents report.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/the-properties-that-are-passing-i…
# NSW, Housing market.Covid relief bill won’t extend eviction ban set to expire this month. Millions of Americans could be at risk of losing their homes
Annie Nova (No paywall)In the latest Covid stimulus package making its way through Congress, there’s no extension of the national ban on evictions that is set to expire this month. That’s because Democrats have chosen to pass the relief bill through a process called budget reconciliation, which sets limits on what they can include. Advocates say it’s now up to President Joe Biden to extend the ban and avoid a spike in evictions. (CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/02/covid-relief-bill-doesnt-extend-…
# Must read, Hot topic International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.40 organisations publish open letter welcoming Minister's announcement, concerned stronger protections required
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)NSW community sector sign on today to Open Letter welcoming Minister Anderson's announcement of a transition plan to support renters over the next 6 months, but calling for stronger protections and additional financial support
https://www.tenants.org.au/tu/news/40-organisations-publish-open…
# Must read, Hot topic, TUNSW in the media NSW, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness.Sunak’s budget was great for estate agents, but it did nothing for generation rent
Polly Toynbee The Guardian (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... t the wicked heart of both household and national finances is housing. It is the great social divide, the chasm between the perilously insecure and the asset-rich. Housing burns away private renters’ ability to live on their pay, while every year the wealth of homeowners swells. Members of the lucky boomer generation who bought their houses in the 1970s have reaped huge unearned profits. Yet Conservative chancellors keep throwing petrol on the flames.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/04/sunak-budg…
# Hot topic International, Rent, Affordable housing, Home ownership, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Tax.