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
Busting myths about Hobart's short-stay accommodation owners
Fiona Blackwood ABC (No paywall)A new report has revealed details about the wealth of the people who own short-stay accommodation in the short-stay capital of Australia, Hobart.
The Tenants' Union of Tasmania found short-stay owners in the municipality of Hobart had property portfolios worth almost double the average Australian household's wealth.
"Short-stay accommodation providers continue to repeat the line that their hosts are everyday people who are sharing their home in order to stay afloat," said Tenants' Union principal solicitor Ben Bartl.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-30/report-reveals-details-ab…
# Must read, Hot topic Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market, Short-term holiday letting.‘Don’t put up rubbish’ proposals for ‘crap’ housing, NSW planning minister tells developers
Elias Visontay The Guardian (No paywall)The New South Wales planning minister, Paul Scully, has told property developers “don’t put up rubbish” proposals for “crap” housing that people don’t want to live in.
At the Property Council of Australia’s housing summit on Wednesday in Sydney, Scully also criticised local council zoning laws that prohibit terraces, townhouses and manor houses from being built, saying these denser dwelling types would help the state achieve its housing target.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/28/nsw-plann…
# Hot topic Australia, Housing affordability, Planning and development, State Government.Vienna housing model a blueprint for Australian cities?
Cat Woods Law Society Journal (No paywall)Can Vienna's model provide a feasible blueprint for Sydney and Australia’s other major urban cities, which face a major housing crisis featuring unaffordable rents, unstable conditions, and exploitation by owner-investors and real estate agents?
Vienna, with its unique and internationally lauded housing model, was recently recognised by both the British culture magazine Monocle and The Economist’s sister company, the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU).
The city impressed judges across a range of measures, both qualitative and quantitative, including affordability, cultural diversity, a thriving arts scene, and housing provisions. While Sydney featured in the top ten in the EIU list, it did not make the top ten in the Monocle Quality of Life Survey 2023, coming in at 14.
https://lsj.com.au/articles/vienna-housing-model-a-blueprint-for…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media Australia, Campaigns and law reform, Housing affordability, Planning and development.Renters protest against ‘rampant profiteering’ outside landlords’ convention
Robert Booth The Guardian (No paywall)Tenants facing soaring rents staged a protest against “rampant profiteering” outside a landlord convention in London where investors were told how to “build a £25m property portfolio, using none of your own money”.
Dozens of renters chanted: “Landlords! Parasites!” outside the National Landlord Investment Show and demanded a rent freeze, as the average monthly UK rent has increased by £110 – more than 10% a year – according to the property website Zoopla.
Inside, landlords described how they had waiting lists of more than 200 people wanting a single property, allowing them to pass on interest rate increases.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/jul/04/renters-protest-ag…
# Hot topic International, Rent, Housing affordability, International.Financialization of housing: a tale of 13 cities
Christine Whitehead and Kath Scanlon The London School of Economics and Political Science (UK) (No paywall)Financialization of housing has been an issue since at least the 1980s when technology improved information and efficiency in finance markets. This in turn enabled large scale international flows of funds. But it became much more obviously an issue after the Global Financial Crisis and the introduction of Quantitative Easing in many countries which led to far lower interest rates. This in turn increased the incentive to look for secure returns as well as potentially profitable gaps in the market and regulatory systems.
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lselondon/financialization-of-housing-a-…
# Research alert International, Housing market, International, Planning and development.Cost of living: What are your rights as a tenant when you're renting?
BBC BBC (No paywall)Rents are rising at their fastest rate since records began in 2016.
But with a quarter of tenants struggling to pay, what are your rights?
How much can my landlord increase my rent?
Most tenants have a rental agreement called an assured shorthold tenancy.
Some of these are "rolling" - which means tenants pay rent weekly or monthly, with no fixed end date.
In England, the landlord:
can usually only put up the rent once a year
must give at least one month's notice
Any rent rise must be fair and realistic, in line with local properties.
Sally Rooney: Renters are being exploited and evictions must be stopped
Sally Rooney Irish Times (No paywall)Why has the Government opted not to extend its moratorium on evictions? The decision has not so far proven popular, except among the relatively small and wealthy population group who are themselves private landlords. In the context of a housing emergency, in which many of those evicted will face the prospect of immediate and possibly prolonged homelessness, the resumption of evictions will not only be personally catastrophic for those affected: it will trigger an unprecedented escalation of a national crisis. Many people in the State, including many children, will be left with nowhere to live, through no fault of their own, as a direct result of this decision.
https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/2023/03/18/sally-rooney-re…
# Hot topic International, Rent, Housing affordability, International.Greens' rental price control policy: Davidson rubbishes criticisms
RNZ Radio NZ (No paywall)Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson says criticisms of their new policy that it would reduce housing supply or lead to black-market deals are "rubbish".
The party has long called for things like caps to rental price controls and minimum standards, and on Sunday launched their election policy of introducing a renters' rights bill in the first 100 days of a new government.
The party sold its policy as ensuring renters could access a warm, safe home as a human right, but Infometrics principal economist Brad Olsen warned it could force some landlords out of the market, and disincentivise improvements to rental homes.
Property Investors Federation vice president Peter Lewis told Morning Report landlords were already struggling with rising costs, and such a policy would mean many selling up.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/493091/greens-rental-price-…
# Hot topic International, Rent, Housing affordability, International.