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
How to check your holiday rental for hidden surveillance cameras
ABC Science ABC (No paywall)There's something unsettling about the idea of being watched while you and your loved ones kick back on holidays. ... surveillance cameras have been found in rented homes and Airbnb accommodation, without notification or consent of guests.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2020-12-28/how-to-check-your…
# Australia, Short-term holiday letting.Landlord who 'controlled' tenant's domestic life must repay bond, tribunal orders
Jasper Lyndell Canberra Times (Paywall)A landlord who closely controlled her tenant's domestic life, preventing him from inviting guests over and ultimately locking him out of the house ... [read more]
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7064916/landlord-who-cont…
# Australia, Bond, Eviction.Are rent caps the solution for New Zealand tenants?
Miriam Bell (No paywall)From New Zealand ... Calls for rent controls, or government intervention, are growing as rents around the country continue to rise, and one tenant advocate is suggesting commercial-style leases could be a better option. (Stuff)
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/real-estate/123773294/a…
# Hot topic International, Rent.We Need Rental Registries Now More Than Ever
Shane Phillips (No paywall)From the United States ... Most communities lack a way of collecting real-time data on whether landlords are complying with rules. A rental registry could change that. (Shelterforce)
https://shelterforce.org/2020/12/18/we-need-a-rental-registry-no…
# International, Rent, Landlords and agents.Super release slows but almost 3 million Australians have sucked billions from retirement savings
Stephanie Borys and jack Snape ABC (No paywall)The controversial coronavirus measure allowing Australians affected by the pandemic to tap into their retirement savings will close from New Year's Day. But not before nearly 3 million people have taken a total of $36 billion out of their super accounts, according to figures provided by the ATO. ... Liberal MP Tim Wilson attracted criticism earlier this week for encouraging people to withdraw their super in order to fund a home purchase. Read more ...
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-30/super-early-release-withd…
# Australia, Home ownership.NSW population slowdown no excuse to stop building homes, says Stokes
Matt O'Sullivan The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)NSW needs to keep constructing homes to reduce a structural shortage of dwellings despite a slump in migration slowing growth in the state's population, Planning Minister Rob Stokes says. ... [But Bill Randolph, the City Futures Research Centre director at the University of NSW, said:] "There really is a question as to whether the state government will be committing to affordable homes, as opposed to the homes that the market wants to build". ... "A lot of people can't afford to buy or rent."
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/nsw-population-slowdown-no-e…
# NSW, Affordable housing, Housing market, Planning and development.The new laws that take effect in Victoria and across Australia in 2021
Michael Fowler and Tara Hayes The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The start of 2021 will bring some welcome news for many Victorians, with many set to benefit from the introduction of new laws and regulations across the state. Some renters will gain more security from laws that offer additional protections ...
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/victoria/the-new-laws-that-take-…
# Australia, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.Buyer's luck
Peter Mares (No paywall)Carolyn rented, Peter purchased, and then the market (and bad government policy) took over. Read the full story ... (Inside Story)
# Must read Australia, Rent, Home ownership, Housing market.