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
NSW first home buyers to save tens of thousands of dollars in stamp duty
Nine News 9 News (No paywall)First home buyers in New South Wales will be granted increased stamp duty exemptions and concessions from the start of July after legislation passed state parliament on Thursday.
# Hot topic, Video NSW, Campaigns and law reform, Home ownership, State Government.Rental advocacy bodies, welfare groups says rent bidding reform could increase prices
Jessica Wang news.com.au (No paywall)Top rental and welfare advocacy bodies have warned the government that proposed legislation to end rent bidding will have the opposite effect and potentially increase prices and exacerbate renter pain.
This comes after the NSW government attempted to enact its first tranche of rental reforms aimed at stamping out rental bidding, with the legislation currently referred to a committee for further review.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/renting/rental-advoc…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, State Government.Social Housing Residents Protest Demolition Plan
Channel 10 Channel 10 (No paywall)Social housing residents at Wentworth Avenue in Glebe are protesting over a plan to demolish their homes.
https://www.facebook.com/10NewsFirstSyd/videos/656941426247881/?…
# Hot topic NSW, Public and community housing, Campaigns and law reform, Planning and development.Greens halve their demands for backing Labor’s $10b housing bill
Anthony Galloway The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The standoff over the Albanese government’s $10 billion housing fund is a step closer to being resolved after the Greens halved their demands for supporting the legislation.
Greens leader Adam Bandt and housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather will on Sunday announce a new set of conditions that would be required for the Greens to support the bill, which will return to the Senate for debate later this month.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/greens-halve-their-deman…
# Hot topic Australia, Affordable housing, Federal Government, Housing affordability.Australia Is Facing the Biggest Housing Crisis in Generations, and Labor’s Plan Will Make It Worse
Max Chandler-Mather Jacobin (No paywall)Anthony Albanese’s Labor government is accusing Greens MPs of standing in the way of solutions to the housing crisis. But under Labor’s plan, the proportion of public housing will drop while rents keep rising.
In the middle of the worst housing crisis in Australia’s history, a major national debate has emerged over the Labor government’s proposed centerpiece housing policy, the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF).
https://jacobin.com/2023/06/australia-labor-greens-housing-futur…
# Hot topic Australia, Federal Government, Housing affordability, Planning and development.A quarter of Australia’s property investments held by 1% of taxpayers, data reveals
Mostafa Rachwani and Antoun Issa The Guardian (No paywall)Only 1% of Australian taxpayers own nearly a quarter of all property investments across the country, amid concerns over escalating rates of wealth concentration.
Data provided by the Australian Taxation Office has revealed the extent of that concentration, with more than 7% of property investors – or 215,321 people – accounting for 25% of all property investments.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/04/a-quarter…
# Must read, Hot topic, TUNSW in the media Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Get a housemate? It sounds silly, but might be the reality until Labor and the Greens can build some homes
Paul Karp The Guardian (No paywall)Philip Lowe wants everyone to get a housemate to fix the housing crisis.
It’s the sort of highly clickable headline that turns Australia’s housing woes into great content, giving angry renters someone to blame for their predicament: an out-of-touch Reserve Bank governor.
In context, what Lowe said wasn’t so silly. He merely noted while giving evidence at Senate estimates that since the pandemic “the average number of people living in each dwelling declined and that increased total demand for dwellings”.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2023/ju…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market.More people than ever are looking for a flatmate, with more 55+ people searching
Liana Walker ABC (No paywall)With inflation, house prices, rents and the cost of living rising RBA Governor Philip Lowe told senate estimates this week more Australians need more people in their dwellings.
But for many this is already an uncomfortable reality as pressures have hit hard and those in the industry have confirmed it is already happening.
At 39 years old, Claire did not ever foresee herself having to share her housing with anyone other than her 18-year-old daughter.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-04/record-breaking-numbers-a…
# Must read, Hot topic Australia, Rent, Housing affordability, Older people.