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
Amid Australia’s housing crisis, why are taxpayers propping up the price of empty holiday homes?
Maiy Azize The Guardian (No paywall)Debate is once again raging about the role vacant homes and short-stay rentals play in pushing up the cost of housing. Much of the commentary about the issue has missed the point, treating it as an isolated problem. But the sheer number of holiday homes and short-stay rentals across Australia are a symptom of a housing system that’s unfair at its core.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/25/australia-…
# Hot topic Australia, .Silent danger in homes
7 News (No paywall)The crackdown on Australian drug houses: how 'meth dens’ are ruining suburban family streets, leaving property owners and their replacement tenants hundreds of thousands of dollars out of pocket.
https://7news.com.au/video/sunrise/silent-danger-in-homes-bc-634…
# Hot topic, Video Australia, .The key to finding a home? First, find a partner
Melissa Heagney-Bayliss The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)Single people who are young or on low incomes are finding it harder to rent a home of their own, let alone buy a home, without a significant other. Only 22.8 per cent of single, low-income tenants renting independently were paying affordable rent by 2020, a new study shows. Even among those who chose to live in a share house, which would most likely cut costs, about half of single low-income renters were still paying unaffordable rents, the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute report found. The figures come from the ABS Survey of Income and Housing for 2019-20.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/the-key-to-finding-a-home-f…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent.The Great Housing Hijack – what (nearly) everyone is missing
Michael Pascoe The New Daily (No paywall)“The vast majority of what is written and said about Australian housing is either nonsense, property porn, clickbait or lies, all more or less to the benefit of interests vested in maintaining the status quo of ever-more expensive shelter with all the social damage that causes.” It’s rather gauche to quote oneself, but that’s what I wrote in a blurb for Cameron Murray’s new book, The Great Housing Hijack. The book is the exception that proves the rule as it demonstrates the folly of the general consensus for solving our shelter crisis – that we should keep doing what we’ve been doing for the past three or four decades.
https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2024/02/28/michael-pascoe…
# Hot topic Australia, .Super funds stump up millions of dollars to get more people into homes
Josh Gordon The Sydney Morning Herald (Soft Paywall)Hundreds of millions of dollars of retirement savings will be thrown at Australia’s housing affordability crisis under a deal struck between industry superannuation funds to boost the supply of low-cost homes. In a landmark agreement, four of Australia’s biggest industry super funds, along with industry super fund-owned IFM Investors, have agreed to lend their members’ money to community housing providers wanting to build social and affordable housing using the federal government’s Housing Australia Future Fund.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/super-funds-stump-up-millions-of…
# Legal significance Australia, .Landlords Are Enforcing No-Sex Tenancy Clauses Now
Beth Ashley Vice (No paywall)London: Picture this: You’ve just moved to London and finally got your own place. It’s the first time you’re living without your parents, you’ve found a cute room in a central location and your flatmates don’t even seem like freaks. There’s just one problem: Your landlord won’t let you have sex. Yes, really.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7ema8/no-sex-tenancy-clauses-la…
# Hot topic International, .What Does Banning Short-Term Rentals Really Accomplish?
Sophie Calder-Wang, Chiara Farronato and Andrey Fradkin Harvard Business Review (No paywall)Cities around the world have seen rising house prices and rents and an influx of tourists over the past decade. Over the same period, an increasing number of travelers have been using short-term rentals, enabled by digital platforms like Airbnb and VRBO. These coinciding trends have led residents to blame rent increases on Airbnb and politicians to pass laws restricting the availability of short-term rentals. Short-term rental laws vary, with the most stringent resulting in almost complete bans. That’s the case in New York City, where Local Law 18 now requires hosts to register with the city, be present in the residence while hosting, and host at most two travelers.
https://hbr.org/2024/02/what-does-banning-short-term-rentals-rea…
# Hot topic International, .New Zealand's biggest build-to-rent complex nears completion in Auckland
Diana Vezich Newshub (No paywall)Build-to-rent (BTR) is a concept being labelled as a 'Gen Z' solution to New Zealand's housing crisis. The model, which is popular overseas, aims to provide housing security for long-term renters, and it's good news for Kiwis, as the country's biggest BTR isn't far from opening its doors. Located across from Auckland's Sylvia Park, the brand-new complex will offer tenants the flexibility of renting, paired with the stability of home ownership.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/money/2024/02/new-zealand-s-bigge…
# Hot topic International, Rent.