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
$900 a week for a studio: Mark is pushing back against a rent hike. Here’s how you can too
Jennifer Luu SBS (No paywall)Mark (not his real name) was shocked to find out the rent on his studio apartment is being upped to $900 per week.
It’s a hike of 20 per cent, with Mark currently paying $750 weekly for the property he and his partner have called home for two years.
Mark said the situation has left him feeling anxious and frustrated.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/article/900-a-week-for-a-st…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market.South Coast community donates goods to set up Bruce Buchanan's social housing unit
Holly Tregenza ABC (No paywall)An elderly man who faced early entry into aged care just to have somewhere to live says he has been saved by his community and local service agencies who rallied to find him a unit and make it his home.
Bruce Buchanan moved to Moruya on the New South Wales South Coast about a year ago to stay with his sister Gaye Finch after a series of crises left him homeless.
But with Ms Finch scheduled for significant surgery, he had to find somewhere else to live while a carer moved into her home.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-04/south-coast-community-sup…
# Must read, Hot topic NSW, Public and community housing, Older people, Strong communities.Richard pushed back on a 77 per cent rent hike. Then he was asked to leave
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Sydney renter Richard Woods knew moving out of home in a rental crisis would be no easy feat, but never expected his first share-house experience would be so short-lived.
The 25-year-old customer service worker moved into a Petersham house mid-last year, paying $325 per week for a furnished room.
But less than nine months later he returned to his family home, after being notified of a 77 per cent rent hike that would increase his housing costs to $575 per week including utilities.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/richard-pushed-back-on-a-77…
# Hot topic NSW, Eviction, Rent, Personal stories.Australian House Prices Snap Declines as Sydney Market Surges
Swati Pandey Bloomberg (Paywall)Australian house prices snapped 10 months of declines in March, led by a surge in the bellwether Sydney market in a positive sign for the economy after the central bank’s almost yearlong policy tightening cycle.
Prices in Sydney jumped 1.4%, followed by Melbourne and Perth, resulting in a 0.8% increase for Australia’s major cities, data from property consultancy CoreLogic Inc. showed Monday. Still, Sydney property values have fallen 12.1% over the past year.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-02/sydney-house-…
# Hot topic NSW, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.'I couldn't believe it': Sydney renter left stunned by real estate ad
Emily McPherson 9 News (No paywall)Just days after Sydney IT professional Ankit Mehta was forced to vacate the rental unit he and his wife were living in, he says he was blindsided by a real estate advertisement that left him stunned and angry.
With a nationwide rental squeeze deepening, Mehta and his wife were bracing for a hike to their rent when their yearly lease came to an end last month.
So, when they were told the weekly rent on their one-bedroom unit - in the north-west suburb of Epping - was going up by $75 to $500, they decided to cop it on the chin.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-rental-crisis-rent-hike…
# Hot topic NSW, Eviction, Rent, Housing market.Rental crisis: Aussies rage at detail in $375-per-week studio listing
James Clarke Yahoo News (No paywall)Aussies are up in arms over a tiny studio recently advertised for rent in the trendy Sydney suburb of Paddington, with many calling the listing exploitative – just the latest in a long list of seemingly subpar rental accommodation to attract negative attention.
Advertised for $375 per week, the now-leased unit features a combined living area and bedroom, which is to be expected of a studio apartment, however in this case a raised bed frame covers almost the entire space.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/rental-crisis-aussies-rage-at-detail-i…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media NSW, Rent, Housing market, Renting culture.Desperate for housing, Sanin is living in a tent with her children. She's angry at 'empty promises'
Finn McHugh SBS (No paywall)Sanin and her five children are among those struggling to secure a property to rent amid Australia's housing crisis. As Labor's affordable homes plan hits headwinds, she fears the situation her and others are facing "isn't going to get better".
The federal government frames its plan to build 30,000 social and affordable homes as significant. The Coalition opposes it. Some crossbenchers argue it will barely make a dent.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/desperate-for-housing-sanin-…
# Must read, Hot topic NSW, Affordable housing, Personal stories, State Government.VIDEO: Public housing tenants speak out against evictions for redevelopment
Emily Baker ABC (No paywall)With rents soaring and rental properties scarce across the country, it's no surprise that the most vulnerable tenants are feeling the pinch. According to one study, the number of rental properties affordable to people on low incomes has fallen dramatically over the past two decades.
Now residents of the nation's biggest public housing estate at Waterloo in the heart of Sydney are preparing to move as the sale of the site to private developers looms closer. Emily Baker reports.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-22/public-housing-tenants-sp…
# Hot topic, Video NSW, Public and community housing, State Government, Strong communities.