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
Edward Eagar Centre: more than shelter for the homeless
Stephen Crafti The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)There are not too many buildings that combine two such contrasting architectural styles on one site.
However, the Wesley Edward Eagar Centre, in Sydney’s Surry Hills, features a sandstone church in a Greek-revival style, circa 1847, integrated with a seven-storey 1970s brutalist concrete tower.
While the strong juxtaposition of architecture could not be changed in the recent renovation of the centre for the homeless, it certainly had to be considered by the project’s architect.
“Our brief was to bring some dignity to those who might be staying there,” says architect Rodney Paesler, managing director of Scott Carver.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/edward-eagar-centre-mo…
# Must read, Hot topic NSW, Public and community housing, Homelessness, Personal stories.$2000 a week for a two-bed flat? Agents asking inflated rental prices
Michael Koziol The Age (Paywall)Landlords and real estate agents are testing the limits of Sydney’s red-hot rental market by asking inflated prices that have to be quickly reduced to secure a tenant amid a rental crisis in which vacancy rates have plunged to 1 per cent.
But the head of the Real Estate Institute, which represents agents, blamed the practice on the previous NSW government’s decision to ban soliciting rental bids, saying it forced property owners to start high and work their way down instead.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/nsw/2000-a-week-for-a-two-bed…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Dilapidated Sydney house in Greenacre offers free rent in exchange for full renovation
Paige Cockburn ABC (No paywall)An uninhabitable Sydney home being offered rent free for a year has been criticised by the NSW premier but the agent listing the property says demand has been through the roof.
On Sunday the three-bedroom home in Greenacre in Sydney's south west was advertised for zero rent for 12 months on the condition that the tenant complete a full renovation of the dilapidated home.
The ad described the offer as a good opportunity for someone with trade experience and said rent in the second and third year of the agreement would be negotiable.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-18/sydney-home-in-greenacre-…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.'Greedy' homeowner slam is slammed after advertising patch of grass for $130 per week as rental crisis worsens
Olivia Day Daily Mail (Australia) (No paywall)A 'greedy' homeowner has been slammed for advertising a patch of grass in his backyard for $130 per week amid Sydney's deepening rental crisis.
The man, from Eagle Vale in the city's southwest, specified that renters would need to provide their own 'small shed' or 'tent' on Facebook Marketplace.
He made it clear the square of turf was only available for a 'short stay' and that $520 in bond and two weeks' rent would be required up-front.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11962341/Sydney-rental-…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.Bidding wars: inside the super-charged fight for rental properties
Jess Clark The Guardian (No paywall)Facing high demand and low supply, there is often only 48 hours to strike a deal. With some hopefuls paying £50,000 upfront to secure a home.
The cost of renting in London and many other parts of the country has soared over the past year, with a lack of available properties meaning tenants face tough competition to secure a home. Some feel they have little option but to pay thousands of pounds upfront – £50,000 isn’t unusual – or sign longer leases to beat other hopeful applicants.
According to the latest figures from the property website Zoopla, average rents in London have hit £1,978 a month – up 15.2% over the last 12 months – while Rightmove said annual rent inflation in the capital was running at 15.7%.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/apr/08/bidding-wars-insid…
# Must read, Hot topic International, Rent, Housing market, International.Are landlords fleeing the private rental sector?
Chloe Hann We Are Citizens Advice (No paywall)A recent article from the BBC reported that the number of homes available to rent in the UK has dropped by a third. Landlords have been saying the same thing, arguing that upcoming rental reforms are forcing them out of the sector.
But a few weeks ago the Guardian reported that the chief executive of the National Residential Landlord Association said the private rented sector was actually growing in size. So what’s really going on? We know that struggling to find a new home has a huge impact on renters. To get to the bottom of this we decided to look back over the last few years to understand the impact previous changes to regulation have had on the size of the private rented sector.
https://wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/are-landlords-fleeing-the-pri…
# Hot topic International, Rent, Housing affordability, International.Zoning Changes Have Small Impact on Housing Supply
Jared Brey Governing (USA) (No paywall)A new report from the Urban Institute attempts to measure the impact of a broad array of zoning reforms on housing supply and cost. The effects are significant, but very small, researchers found.
It's one of the most consequential theories in urban policy over the past few decades: The belief that loosening up zoning rules can help cities unleash abundant affordable housing for people at all income levels.
It has sparked countless calls for reform from city and state officials, underpinned federal efforts to promote looser zoning rules, animated thousands of Twitter fights, and provided the foundation for the wide-ranging YIMBY movement. Naturally, a lot of people wonder how true it is. According to a new study from the Urban Institute, it’s true that zoning reform helps create more housing units, but there’s no evidence it makes housing cheaper.
https://www.governing.com/community/zoning-changes-small-impact-…
# Hot topic, Research alert International, Housing market, International, Planning and development.Federal budget fails to address housing crisis
Leilani Farha and Julieta Perucca The Toronto Star (No paywall)As the prime minister travels the country to convince people Budget 2023 will make life more affordable, he won’t be talking about the single biggest expense for most families: housing.
It was an odd decision to leave housing off the budget, given the facts on the ground: homelessness is on the rise across the country, rental accommodation is increasingly unaffordable, made worse by the corporate concentration of ownership, which continues to scale, and home ownership is now beyond reach for most average earners.
Those who care about all this have come out swinging. The budget’s scant efforts to address housing unaffordability and homelessness received widespread critique from The Office of the Federal Housing Advocate, The Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, the Aboriginal Housing Management Association, and the National Right to Housing Network, among others.
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2023/04/07/federal-…
# Hot topic International, Rent, Housing market, International.