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
Renters ‘forgotten’ in Budget as campaigners warn of homelessness spike
Liam Geraghty (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Renters are facing homelessness in “a matter of weeks”, campaigners have warned, after Rishi Sunak’s Budget failed to answer calls for tenants to be given cash to clear their arrears and stave off eviction. (Big Issue)
https://www.bigissue.com/latest/budget-2021-renters-forgotten-in…
# Hot topic International, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness.Property buyers seek spacious homes as FOMO kicks in
Melissa Jenkins The New Daily (No paywall)Property hunters are prioritising extra space to help keep the peace, as families spend more time under the same roof with more flexible working arrangements. Extra space is high on buyers’ wish lists amid the global pandemic, as people look for second living areas, home offices and larger backyards.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2021/03/04/spacious-…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.Weren't house prices meant to fall?
ABC (No paywall)A year ago, as COVID-19 spread worldwide, the smart money was on property prices taking a hit. But 12 months on, prices are rising faster than ever, with no sign of a slowdown in sight. In February, the market recorded the biggest monthly price gain in 17 years. So if the biggest disruption in a generation doesn't cause house prices to drop, could anything? And what does all the heat mean for renters trying to buy their first home? (ABC's The Signal)
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/the-signal/house-price-ris…
# Audio Australia, Housing market.Does the government have what it takes to fix aged care?
Rachel Clun The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)From funding to legislation to regulation, the aged care system is broken, beset by neglect and fundamentally flawed. That’s the finding of commissioners Lynelle Briggs and Tony Pagone, QC, in the final report of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety made public this week. ... But how will a government shy about tax increases fund improvements to the system and how will it tackle a complete overhaul of the way the country approaches care for our elderly?
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/does-the-government-have…
# Hot topic Australia, Federal Government, Older people.House price ‘blast-off’ rings affordability alarm bells
Noel Towell and Matt Wade The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A year ago, as the coronavirus pandemic took hold, many experts predicted house prices across the nation would tank. But an unprecedented rollout of government stimulus, unleashed to nurse the economy through the pandemic, has turbocharged the residential real estate market.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/house-price-blast-off-r…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Federal Government, Housing market.‘No way’: Calls for shut-down over Meriton development’s size
Angus Thompson The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The size of a $3 billion development by Harry Triguboff’s Meriton in Sydney’s east has caused a neighbouring council to call for a halt to construction because of the impact of the population increase on nearby suburbs.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/no-way-calls-for-shut-down-o…
# NSW, Local Government, Planning and development, State Government.Ageing disgracefully: Japan puts our nursing homes to shame
Elizabeth Farrelly The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A gentle ramp spirals into the pool that lies curled in the floor of the light-filled, tepee-shaped pavilion. It’s wheelchair access, this ramp, but it feels symbolic and vaguely yin-yang, like some ultra-pale azure catseye catching the light. The tepee is one of five that, clad in blond ply, nestle within a mountain forest in Shizuoka, Japan. Designed by Tokyo architect Issei Suma, it’s the retirement project of two Japanese women – a social worker and a chef – who offer fresh local meals and nursing care for local seniors. Contrast Australia’s aged care. Here – as this week’s royal commission report confirmed – seniors can expect routine neglect, malnutrition and abuse, both physical and sexual. How much of this, if any, would change if the places themselves weren’t isolated, internalised, artificial, institutional and blindingly ugly?
https://www.smh.com.au/national/ageing-disgracefully-japan-puts-…
# Hot topic Australia, Federal Government, Older people.Where People Pretend to Be 'Landchads' and Make Fun of 'Rentoids'
Gita Jackson (No paywall)From the United States ... Are you sick of rentoids being late with your money, or tired of being made the bad guy for evicting tenants during the middle of the pandemic? Well then head on over to the subreddit Love for Landlords, to talk about how great it is to own property with your fellow landchads. Love for Landlords started last May, and despite looking sincere on the surface, it's all a big joke. (Vice)
https://www.vice.com/en/article/qjp9ab/where-landchads-let-loose…
# International, Landlords and agents.