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
We can build enough homes for everyone in England. So why don’t we?
John Boughton The Guardian (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... As a country, we have produced sufficient affordable housing at pace and scale in the past when the political will was there ... hichever new prime minister emerges, current Conservative politics makes it unlikely we’ll see a significant new expansion of social rented housing any time soon. But not so long ago another Conservative prime minister, Theresa May, talked of the need for “a new generation of council homes to help fix our broken housing market”. Opposition parties and the UK’s devolved governments remain committed to a large increase in public housing. Meanwhile, there are still an estimated 1.6m households in England with unmet housing needs best provided by social renting. As we plan for the future, now is a good time to ask what we can learn from past social housing schemes.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/oct/21/build-home…
# International, Public and community housing, Affordable housing, History, Housing market, Local Government.I lost my rental, then my job, now my kids: Perth mum’s life unravels
Hamish Hastie The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)After providing a home for her children for decades, Stacey Garlett suddenly can’t put a roof over their heads. She feels terrible shame – but there are bigger forces at play than the ones she can control. The 41-year-old Whadjuk Noongar woman was priced out of her private Perth rental in May and since then she has been couch-surfing with family members. She is currently living with her adult daughter but said that was not a long-term solution because her presence in the house put her daughter’s lease at risk. She sent her two teenage daughters to live in Mount Barker with their grandparents while she waits on a long list for public housing. “I can’t cart them around, I’ve got no stability up here for them; they go to school, they love their sports,” she said. “I’ve worked and I’ve provided for my kids, and now I feel like I’m a failure and I don’t want my daughters to see that.” Garlett was one of six Aboriginal witnesses who gave evidence on Monday to a parliamentary committee looking into the financial administration of WA homelessness services.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/i-lost-my-rent…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Rent, Families, Homelessness, Race and ethnicity.Cat poo everywhere and backyard lunarscape: Landlords wary of giving renters more rights to have pets
Rosemary Bolger ABC (No paywall)Andy Bigham is still cleaning up his NSW Central Coast property five weeks after his tenant moved out. "There was rubbish everywhere and in and amongst the rubbish all over the place was cat faeces," Andy says. "I had to have pest cleaners through twice before I could get rid of all the cockroaches and the insect eggs that have been left in." He acknowledges the problem was not all about the cat but he has ruled out renting to pet owners again. Many landlords are wary about potential changes to legislation to increase renters' rights to have pets in NSW. The state government plans to invite the public to have their say at the end of the month on whether any changes should be made. You will find another article by the same journalist entitled: 'Richard has been hiding his dogs from his landlord for more than 10 years, they think he's a perfect tenant' also on the ABC at: [https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/renting-with-pets-stealthing-and-hiding-dogs-from-landlord/101523694] (ABC Everyday)
https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/landlords-wary-giving-more-right…
# TUNSW in the media NSW, Rent, Pets.I love our noisy, chilly seaside towns – which is why I’d stop anyone owning a second home there
Nell Frizzell The Guardian (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Towns need year-round residents if they are to thrive. Tourism alone can’t sustain bus services, libraries, chip shops and playgroups. ... But the news that coastal areas now have three times the number of Airbnb listings per dwelling as non-coastal areas threatens the very future of these places, not to mention the lives of their residents. Housing campaigners point out that the huge number of “entire places” listed on the website show how landlords have been drawn towards short-term holiday rentals precisely at the time when people need affordable homes. They’d rather rent their spare house – you know, just that other house they have – to 50 well-off families for weekends than a local family for the year.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/oct/19/i-love-our…
# International, Housing market, Short-term holiday letting.‘Mean-spirited’: The callous letters to landlords encouraging blood-boiling rent hikes
Hayley Taylor (No paywall)More on this story ... One of Australia’s leading real estate agencies has sent a letter to landlords encouraging a significant hike to rental prices. A Brisbane branch of the company revealed it has been suggesting increases that would offer $10,000 per year in additional income. Watch the video. (7 News)
https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/real-estate/mean-spirited-the-sho…
# Video Australia, Rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Nowhere to live: Census data shows low incomes can't afford to rent a flat
Glen Humphries Illawarra Mercury (Paywall)Illawarra workers on low incomes can't afford to rent a one-bedroom unit anywhere in the Illawarra or South Coast. That stark news comes from a breakdown of new Census data from the Housing Trust.According to the data only those households on a moderate income - between $1188 and $1781 a week - can afford a one-bedroom flat in Wollongong, Shellharbour, Kiama and Shoalhaven LGAs.
https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/7946475/nowhere-to-liv…
# NSW, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market, Regional NSW.Challenging a rent increase — these are the rules in every state and territory in Australia
Bridget Judd ABC (No paywall)Since the onset of COVID-19, rents across Australia have skyrocketed. But how often and how much they can rise by — and when you can challenge an increase — depends on where you live.
Click below to find out the rules in your state or territory:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-21/rent-increase-rules-chall…
# Australia, Rent, Tribunal NCAT.Call for government intervention in rental "market failure"
Isobel Roe ABC (No paywall)Interest rates are expected to go up again tomorrow, and it's not just mortgage holders who will face increasing costs. Renting is continuing to get more expensive; rents have gone up 25 per cent in some regions since the onset of COVID. And while the monthly increase is starting to slow, housing experts and advocates say we're in a property market failure - and government needs to step in. (ABC The World Today)
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/worldtoday/call-for-govern…
# TUNSW in the media, Audio Australia, Rent, Federal Government, Housing market, State Government.