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
Government under pressure to fund and build more social housing amid 'extremely severe' shortage
Alexandra Blucher and Nadine Haynes ABC (No paywall)Rebecca is feeling the housing crisis more than most. For more than two years, the single mother has been staying in Cairns hotel rooms with her big family, including two sets of twins. "I've got seven kids, five of them [are] living here with me," she said. "Having a big family in a small space, it's a lot of noise. "I'm always worried about noise, I'm always worried about complaints, I'm always worried about rubbish and things like that, because we do have a big family." The single mother is priced out of the private rental market and has been approved for social housing. In the meantime, she's supported by a not-for-profit to pay for hotels.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-02/waiting-for-more-affordab…
# Hot topic Australia, Public and community housing, Rent.Share with parents or rent forever: ‘I have put life on hold while trying to buy a house’
Daisy Dumas The Guardian (No paywall)When Phil moved in with his grandfather and parents in 2018, he was a rarity in the neighbourhood. An adult with a full-time job, he was one of just two children on the Logan, Queensland block to have returned home. Six years on and now 30, he guesses he’s one of about 10 adult children back living with their parents. “It’s not a big house,” he says of four adults, plus a cat and a dog, sharing. “Because my grandpa has a schedule – and God help me if anyone interferes with that schedule – we just work around him.” They split bills and groceries and, if money is tight – as it was when he needed four new car tyres – his parents help.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/dec/05/share-wit…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Starting a tenancy.Victorian smoke alarm reforms require landlords to conduct yearly checks on all rentals
Alexander Darling ABC (No paywall)It's a bittersweet day for the Scarff family of Victoria. Simon Peter Scarff, 52, died while trying to escape a fire at his rental property in the western Ballarat suburb of Alfredton in February 2022. The property did not have a smoke alarm installed. "Without a smoke alarm, he made a triple-0 call, but was unable to answer the questions, so the ESTA (Emergency Services Telecommunication Authority) lady despite her best efforts didn't know who or where to send someone," his sister Jo McConville said. On Tuesday, Ms McConville and several of her family welcomed Consumer Affairs Minister Gabrielle Williams to their home.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-21/victorian-smoke-alarm-cha…
# Must read Australia, Disasters.Cheaper housing and better transport? What you need to know about Australia’s new National Urban Policy
Ehsan Noroozinejad & Nicky Morrison The Conversation (No paywall)Imagine a city where everyone can afford a safe home, reach work or school without long, stressful commutes, and enjoy green parks and clean air. This is Anthony Albanese’s decade-long vision for Australia’s cities after last week’s release of the new National Urban Policy (NUP). As Transport and Infrastructure Minister in 2011, he introduced Our Cities, Our Future. Then in 2021, as opposition leader, he pledged a new urban framework. The new NUP now sets the course for transforming Australia’s cities.
https://theconversation.com/cheaper-housing-and-better-transport…
# Hot topic Australia, .Affordable-housing project opens in Bellingen for local women over 55
Jasmine Kassis ABC (No paywall)Scottish-born Margaret Hamill, 81, moved to Australia in 1969 and worked in IT for multiple government departments in Canberra. But for the past decade, she has lived in a van. After retirement, she found herself unable to afford a permanent home. But that will change next week when she and 22 other women move into a new block of units in Bellingen, on the New South Wales Mid North Coast. "I can't wait to sit on the beautiful deck and look at the mountains," Ms Hamill said. "I'm really looking forward to just having a bit more of my own non-essential things around me — photographs and books and music."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-04/bellingen-affordable-hous…
# Must read NSW, .Stigma-breaking housing model NorthSea in Wollongong offers dignity for all
Kelly Fuller ABC (No paywall)Sandra Biggs and Sandra Wojcik are among the first residents in Australia's first building to integrate private, social and affordable housing without segregated lifts or common spaces. Built on the site of a former social housing complex in Wollongong's CBD, the 13-storey NorthSea building includes 38 private apartments, 18 tenancies within 10 dual-key social housing dwellings, and six affordable housing apartments. Ms Biggs, who has been a social housing client for 12 years, said NorthSea was a transformative development.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-05/stigma-breaking-housing-m…
# Must read NSW, Public and community housing.New plan for Sydney heatwaves calls for minimum rental standards to include cooling
Rosemary Bolger ABC (No paywall)New South Wales landlords could be required to modify properties to ensure tenants do not suffer extreme indoor temperatures, if a comprehensive suite of recommendations to reduce heatwave harm are implemented. The Greater Sydney Heat Taskforce, formed by a group of Western Sydney councils and Resilient Sydney, has made 40 recommendations to help businesses and residents "survive and thrive during extreme heat events". The Heat Smart Plan, launched today, calls for enforceable minimum thermal standards for rental properties and incentives for landlords to retrofit homes to make them cooler.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-05/sydney-heatwaves-plan-ren…
# Must read NSW, Rent.NSW Strata and Property Services Commissioner John Minns cleared of misconduct over his stake in property group
Amy Greenbank ABC (No paywall)The NSW government has cleared Strata and Property Services Commissioner John Minns of misconduct following a three-month external review. However, Mr Minns has quit the role ahead of his contract expiring in March. In August, an ABC Four Corners investigation revealed Mr Minns had failed to publicly disclose that his family trust held more than 550,000 shares in a major real estate and strata services company, worth about $780,000. The company was within the sector Mr Minns was responsible for overseeing.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-06/strata-property-commissio…
# Hot topic NSW, Strata.