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
In Unprecedented Times, Nothing Less Than Universal Rent Relief Will Do
Lisa Bates (No paywall)From the United States ... If we stick with yesterday’s policy and programs in an unprecedented year of crisis, we will leave an unconscionable number of people, families, and communities behind. (ShelterForce)
https://shelterforce.org/2021/01/26/in-unprecedented-times-nothi…
# Hot topic International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.Council refuses demolition of derelict house in statement against ‘demolition by neglect’
Rachel Eddie The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A bid to raze an uninhabitable Edwardian home in Melbourne’s north has been refused by the local council, to avoid encouraging what one councillor describes “demolition by neglect”. Moreland Council has refused a succession of applications to demolish the derelict house over 20 years, arguing the protected property in Coburg should be restored because it contributes to a local heritage precinct. Instead, the condition of the dwelling at 65 The Grove has worsened after the removal of structural internal walls and the displacement of verandah pillars.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/council-refuses-demolit…
# Australia, Heritage listings, Local Government.Sydneysiders voting with their feet and opting for sea or tree change
Caitlin Fitzsimmons The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)[Social researcher and demographer Mark] McCrindle says Sydneysiders were leaving because of unaffordable housing and congestion but hindered by the lack of job prospects outside the city. The pandemic changed the employment side of the equation for many people and McCrindle believes that shift is here to stay.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sydneysiders-voting-with-the…
# NSW, Affordable housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Regional NSW.You don’t need to be rich to enter residential aged care
Rachel Lane The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)It is a common misconception when it comes to residential aged care that If you don’t have a substantial amount of money tucked away in the bank, you won’t get in. The reality is the overwhelming majority of aged-care homes are required to keep a ratio of what is known as “low-means residents” and there is a financial incentive for them to keep this ratio above 40 per cent.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/super-and-retirement/you-don-t-need…
# Australia, Federal Government, Older people.'Clean air, an amazing house': pandemic tree-changers grab a slice of the Apple Isle
Martin Farrer The Guardian (No paywall)Property agents can’t list homes fast enough to keep up with demand as Tasmania finds itself in the middle of a boom
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/feb/07/clean-air…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.'Nobody Tells Daddy No’: A Housing Boss’s Many Abuse Cases
Amy Julia Harris The New York Times (No paywall)From the United States ... It first, the offer seemed generous. Erica Sklar was in a homeless shelter and needed a more stable place to live. Victor Rivera, who oversaw a network of shelters, including the one where she was staying, said he had a solution: a spare apartment for her at his home in the Bronx. But after Ms. Sklar moved in, she said, she realized that Mr. Rivera, whose nonprofit organization is one of the largest operators of homeless shelters in New York, had other intentions.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/07/nyregion/victor-rivera-bronx-…
# International, Privacy and access, Homelessness, Landlords and agents, Women.How Recycling Existing Buildings Could Solve the Urban Housing Crisis
Chaseedaw Giles (No paywall)Does the cure for housing insecurity lie in more aggressive reuse of overlooked structures? A growing number of architects and urban activists say 'Yes.' (Metropolis)
https://www.metropolismag.com/sustainability/reuse-urban-housing…
# International, Affordable housing, Heritage listings, Homelessness, Housing market.Who owns the land?
Antonia Malchik (No paywall)Private land ownership is a beautiful dream gone badly wrong. It’s time to reinstate the forgotten ideal of the commons. (Aeon)
https://aeon.co/essays/is-it-time-to-upend-the-idea-that-land-is…
# International, History, Home, International.