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
Concerns Victoria's raised minimum rental standards will further squeeze rental market
Emile Pavlich and Lexie Jeuniewic ABC (No paywall)Victorian landlords could soon have to make significant changes to their properties under the state's new minimum rental standards, raising concerns it will put further pressure on an already tight market. The proposal, which is open for consultation, is mainly focused on improving energy efficiency of rental properties. It includes prescribing standards on ceiling insulation, draught proofing, hot water systems, cooling and heating. If agreed upon, the changes would be regulated from October 30 this year. It would come three years after minimum rental standards were first introduced by the state government.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-20/victorian-minimum-rental-…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent.Yvonne doesn't own her home. This housing alternative means she never worries about rent
Aleisha Orr SBS (No paywall)Yvonne Jenkins does not own the house she has lived in for the past 24 years, but she has not worried about her rent drastically increasing or being forced to move out at short notice. At a time when a shortage of homes is pushing up rents and home ownership is becoming out of reach for many people, in certain ways, she is cocooned from Australia's housing crisis. This is because she is part of a co-operative housing arrangement.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/the-affordable-housing-initi…
# Must read, Hot topic Australia, Rent.Facing a rent increase? Here are your options if you want to dispute it
Dannielle Maguire ABC (No paywall)If you're renting, you'll know that rental increases are a fact of life. But what options do you have when you think your landlord is asking for too steep a hike? Here's what you need to know about disputing a rent increase. What should I do if my landlord wants to bump up my rent? We spoke to Joel Dignam, the executive director of Better Renting, an advocacy group for tenants. "The first step is to check that the rent increase meets the basic legal requirements," Mr Dignam says. "Is there the correct notice period, is notice given in the right way? "The specific requirements will depend on where you live, so it can be worthwhile checking with your local tenants advice service to be sure.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-22/rental-increase-rules-hou…
# Must read Australia, Rent.New legislation will make it harder for landlords to say no to pets in Tasmania, but there will be grounds for refusal
ABC (No paywall)The Liberals will table legislation this week to change the Residential Tenancy Act to allow pets in rentals in Tasmania. Former president of Real Estate Institute of Australia, Adrian Kelly, says there is no protection for property owners. But the Tenants Union of Tasmania's principal lawyer, Ben Bartl, argues there will be situations where landlords can refuse pets.
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/hobart-mornings/tasmanian…
# Hot topic, Audio Australia, Rent.Aussies reveal major downside to working-from-home amid cost-of-living crisis
Jessica Wang news.com.au (No paywall)Aussie employees working from home have been left shivering at their desks this winter thanks to high heating costs. Last week Australia’s east cost was hit with freezing temperatures, as the mercury dropped to a chilly 1.6C in Melbourne and 7C in Sydney. Workers were left wrapping up in their winter woolies as they prepared to work from home. Many Aussies complained about working-from-home in frigid indoor temperatures, with cost-of-living pressures causing people to think twice about turning on their heaters and air conditioners.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/at-work/employees-workingfr…
# Must read, TUNSW in the media Australia, Utilities water energy internet.Locked out of buying a home or even renting alone, these Canberra residents turned to options like share-housing, affordable rentals
Lottie Twyford , Monte Bovill, and Harry Frost ABC (No paywall)When the lease came to an end on the apartment Michi Moses shared with her husband two years ago, they decided to change up their approach to housing. Amid the rising cost of housing and the difficulty of securing a suitable apartment, the couple decided to pool resources with their friends, another married couple, and they all moved in together. It meant they could move into a quiet, well-established suburb and allow themselves more space. For their five-bedroom, four-bathroom house with a back garden in Canberra's Inner South, each couple is paying $500 a week in rent. Ms Moses said it's going "pretty well for the most part".
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-25/act-budget-cost-of-living…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Share houses.Your cold house is bad for your mental health
Professor Rebecca Bentley University of Melbourne (No paywall)Right now, most Australians are feeling the cold, whether you live in wet Melbourne, blustery Tasmania or central Queensland, with its desert-chilled overnights. But each and every winter, the issue of our country’s cold housing gets national attention. Not only is living in a cold home unpleasant and uncomfortable, it also has the potential to impact our health. At the outset it’s important to get the science of the health effects of cold housing right. To do that, we need to look at our emerging understanding of the effects of living in a cold house – particularly on our mental health.
https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/your-cold-house-is-bad-f…
# Must read Australia, Rent, Utilities water energy internet.The case for rent controls has never been greater
Dan Wilson Craw Left Foot Forward (No paywall)Renters have never faced such an enormous crisis. Since the end of the pandemic, more of us want to live in cities, and because of the lack of homes that have been built in recent decades, competition for those that are available is pushing up rents. Since March 2021, the average rent on a new tenancy in the UK has increased by 33%, while wages have increased by just 19%. Many of us who have tried finding a new place to live in the past couple of years have encountered horrendous exploitation at the hands of letting agents trying to wring every last drop of extra rent from the overheated market. Being asked to bid against other renters or offer multiple months’ rent up front is now commonplace. This wastes renters’ time and throws up barriers to those of us without savings.
https://leftfootforward.org/2024/06/the-case-for-rent-controls-h…
# Hot topic International, Rent.