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
Queenslanders to have their say on state's proposed rental reforms
Staff 9 News (No paywall)Queensland residents will be able to have their say on a new stage of rental reforms put forward by the state government.
An online portal has been launched to inform renters about five key changes proposed under stage two of the reforms. Community members can also provide their feedback through the portal.
Under the proposed changes, rent payments will need to be fair and landlords must be transparent about any claims against bond when a tenancy ends.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/housing-crisis-australia-queen…
# Hot topic, New policy announcement Australia, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market.Queensland council seeks to block disability housing project over fast-tracking concerns
Eden Gillespie The Guardian (No paywall)A legal stoush has broken out between a disability accommodation developer and a suburban Queensland council over a two-storey project and whether it deserves to be fast-tracked amid a housing crisis across the state.
Disability Homes Investments (DHI) said it is developing the property to house people with disabilities on a quiet street in Cleveland, south-east of Brisbane.
Once complete, the Danielle Street building would have a therapy pool and four separate two-bedroom units, each with their own bathrooms, a kitchen and a balcony, as well as a studio for a carer, according to development plans.
But the Redland city council claims the property is not a community residence and is seeking to block any works from happening, arguing the project is not exempt from seeking development approvals.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/apr/16/queenslan…
# Hot topic Australia, Public and community housing, Disability, Planning and development.Cyclone Ilsa: how disasters, the housing crisis and underinsurance can conspire to worsen inequality
Kate Booth The Conversation (No paywall)Most communities along the northwest coast of Western Australia appear to have dodged a bullet after Cyclone Ilsa made landfall overnight. While some structures, such as the Pardoo Roadhouse, were damaged, the destruction was less than we feared.
But unfortunately, there will be a next time. Climate change is predicted to bring increasingly severe and frequent weather events and disasters.
As those in recently flooded regions of New South Wales and Queensland know, it takes a long time to rebuild and recover from disasters. And alarmingly, our resilience is being undermined by the housing crisis, underinsurance and inadequate planning.
https://theconversation.com/cyclone-ilsa-how-disasters-the-housi…
# Must read, Hot topic Australia, Climate change, Housing affordability, Planning and development.The complete guide to your rights as a renter
Melissa Heagney and Tawar Razaghi Domain (No paywall)Many Australian renters are finding it difficult to find and keep a roof over their head amid the nation's rental crisis, making it increasingly important for them to know their rights.
Rental markets across the country have been recording ultra-low vacancy rates and rapidly rising rents – even for substandard homes – for months.
While a competitive market can make tenants wary of rocking the boat with their landlord, there are some protections in place to help those facing excessive rent increases or living in maintained properties.
https://www.nine.com.au/property/news/the-ultimate-guide-to-your…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market.Renters relying on hacks to dodge housing crisis, as advocates call for cultural change
Brianna Morris-Grant ABC (No paywall)Every time he rethinks living in a stranger's home, Nick McClure only has to look at the Sydney housing market.
The 29-year-old bank worker started house-sitting a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, thinking it was a loophole to staying with friends or paying for accommodation on a trip to Melbourne.
But with rental properties becoming scarce, what started as a travel hack has become an ongoing state of flux for Mr McClure.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-14/rental-market-house-sitti…
# Must read, Hot topic, TUNSW in the media NSW, Rent, Personal stories, Renting culture.‘Get out of the way’: Rose Jackson’s social housing warning for ‘anti-development’ Sydney suburbs
Tamsin Rose The Guardian (No paywall)Rose Jackson wants to make one thing very clear as she begins her new role as New South Wales’ housing minister: medium- and high-density social housing developments should be built in Sydney’s north shore and eastern suburbs.
And if the residents there don’t embrace them? Too bad.
As she grapples with just how ambitious she plans to set her targets and the levers she can pull to achieve them, Jackson said she hopes to bring the communities, described by some as anti-development, with her.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/apr/13/rose-jack…
# Must read, Hot topic NSW, Rent, Planning and development, State Government.Elders' new homes to help address systemic overcrowding in Wilcannia
Bill Ormonde ABC (No paywall)For decades, the problem of overcrowding has plagued the town of Wilcannia in outback New South Wales, a systemic issue that attracted media attention during the predominantly Indigenous community's COVID outbreak of 2021.
While the spotlight has faded, the issue has remained.
The chair of the Wilcannia Local Aboriginal Land Council, Michael Kennedy, believed the living conditions were untenable.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-13/new-homes-in-wilcannia-ad…
# Must read, Hot topic NSW, Aboriginal renters, Public and community housing, Affordable housing.'It is getting worse': Rental crisis hits NSW's Hunter region
Sarah Swain 9 News (No paywall)A housing crisis in the NSW Hunter Region is becoming more pronounced with tenants forced to reckon with major rent hikes.
Industry bodies are calling for reform as a growing number of desperate renters say they face homelessness.
Nicholas Harrison has been a renter for more than 15 years but has now lost his home.
"I was on the lease for $600 a fortnight and she has put the rent up to over $800 a fortnight," he said.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/rental-crisis-nsw-hunter-regio…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent, Housing affordability, Personal stories.