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
Rental Diaries
Richard Saville Domain (No paywall)Welcome to our column for renters, The Rental Diaries. ... My sister had to move in with me as she is unwell and was released into my full-time care. My real estate agent sent me a letter saying they found out she was living with me (I didn't even think to tell them as I have been under a lot of stress, nor did I know that I had to). They have said that my sister must move out immediately or I will be issued a letter of eviction.
https://www.nine.com.au/property/news/rental-diaries-my-sister-m…
# NSW, Rent, Landlords and agents, Regional NSW.The unexpected hurdle for first home buyers after saving a deposit
Kat Burke Domain (No paywall)First home buyers can have a tough time raising a deposit, but once they do, securing a home is no easy feat. Entry-level buyers can spend months searching for a home because they face strong competition, and even in a cooling market their property searches can be delayed by financing issues, their own uncertainty about how far their budget can stretch, and guide prices that do not match sales results.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/the-unexpected-hurdle-for-f…
# Australia, Housing market.Detroit Ranked As Worst City For Renters In The United States, Study Says
Sara Powers (No paywall)Detroit ranked as 2022’s worst city in the United States to rent in, according to a WalletHub study. (62 CBS Detroit)
https://detroit.cbslocal.com/2022/07/13/detroit-ranked-as-worst-…
# International, Rent.Tenants say landlords are trying to get around St. Paul's new rent control law
Cathy Wurzer and Ellen Finn(No paywall)
St. Paul landlords are facing soaring inflation and energy costs but the city’s new rent control law is capping the amount they can charge for rent. Now, some tenants are saying their landlords are trying to get around the city’s new rent control law and charging more than is allowed. (Minnesota Now)
https://www.mprnews.org/episode/2022/07/07/tenants-say-landlords…
# International, Rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents.'Extremely challenging’: Sydney house rents jump 19 per cent since pandemic began
Tawar Razaghi Domain (No paywall)Sydney tenants are facing the highest house rents on record and unit rents are set to reach fresh highs by the spring, new figures show, as experts warn of more housing stress. The median weekly asking rent for houses jumped $20 a week, or 3.3 per cent to $620 in the June quarter – a record, the latest Domain Rent Report, released on Thursday, showed. ... Sydney’s rental market has reached this new extreme due to a combination of the limited supply of homes to choose from as the city’s vacancy rate remains at a record low of 1 per cent and some investors sell, plus demand from priced-out buyers, interest from international students and returning migrants filtering back into the market, as well as new households forming that prefer single living rather than share housing during the pandemic. ... Tenants’ Union of NSW chief executive Leo Patterson Ross said Sydney still had a fundamentally undersupplied rental market that had never improved in real terms during the pandemic. “The falling rents [during the pandemic] were largely because people were falling into economic crisis. It wasn’t because of an abundance of genuine affordable housing coming online. It was because of people losing their jobs,” Patterson Ross said. The ongoing lack of official rental relief measures at a time Sydney was facing its fourth COVID wave, wage stagnation and economic uncertainty would cause renters hardship in coming months, Patterson Ross said.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/extremely-challenging-sydne…
# TUNSW in the media NSW, Rent, Affordable housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing affordability, Housing market, International.Councils evict over 2,500 families for being unable to pay rent during pandemic
Sam Barker (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Councils evicted more than 2,500 households over the last three years for not paying rent - including many during the financial pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic. More than 2,575 households have been evicted from social housing this way since 2019, according to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests submitted by The Mirror. The council that evicted the most households for not paying enough rent in a single year was Sheffield City Council, with 140 evictions in the 2019/20 year. These FOI requests covered 154 councils representing all major cities and towns across the UK. But the true eviction figure will be even higher, as 38 councils never responded and smaller councils were not included. (Mirror)
https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/councils-evict-over-2500-families…
# International, Eviction, Public and community housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Families, Homelessness, Housing market, Local Government.July 2022 News
Shelter NSW (No paywall)In this month's edition:
NSW budget – Renters ticketless in state housing lottery
NCOSS Post-budget Breakfast
First home buyer support – be careful what you wish for
Parliamentary Inquiry into Homelessness amongst older people
NAIDOC Week - Get Up! Stand up! Show up!
Renting – it’s not just a phase we’re going through
Blue Mountains Housing Summit
The lights are off – is anybody home?
Kirsten Steedman represents Shelter NSW at Economic Business Educators (EBE) annual conference
Washing Machine Replacement Trial
https://mailchi.mp/shelternsw/shelter-nsw-july-2022-ebulletin?e=…
# NSW, Aboriginal renters, Rent, Utilities electricity water gas, Campaigns and law reform, Home ownership, Homelessness.Tenants claim they face eviction for complaining 'too much'
Nat Wallace 9 News (No paywall)"They complain too much." You'll never hear a real estate agent say it publicly but let's be honest, of course it's happening, especially in the current rental market. A Baulkham Hills family claims it is the victim of what's called a "retaliatory eviction" after $17,000 worth of repairs were required in their rental home. "The reason they want us out is we have apparently complained too much, but as you can see there's a hell of a lot to complain about," Michelle Cowley told A Current Affair. ... CEO of the Tenants' Union, Leo Patterson Ross, has long campaigned for stronger laws to make real estate agents provide a reason for not renewing a lease. He said the rental market is currently under so much stress it's "made for landlords" and it doesn't pay to complain. (A Current Affair)
https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/sydney-tenants-speak-o…
# TUNSW in the media, Video NSW, Rent, Repairs, Landlords and agents, No-grounds evictions.