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
The rental crisis forced Kelly to move into a tent. She's angry it is becoming 'common practice'
Ellen Coulter ABC (No paywall)Kelly Ruckert sighs as she pulls back the flap on her tent.
"Over here we've got the bedroom suite with a good old camp stretcher … and this side is my wardrobe and storage area," she said.
"And that's how we live."
Ms Ruckert and her assistance dog, Ned, have been living in a tent at a caravan park in regional Tasmania since September, when Ms Ruckert was notified the rent on her home would soon increase.
With petrol and power prices also going up, it wasn't sustainable.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-08/rental-crisis-living-in-a…
# Hot topic Australia, Campaigns and law reform, Health, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Older people.New housing czar appointed to take on ACT affordability crisis
Ian Bushnell Riotact (No paywall)he ACT has a new housing czar based in the Chief Minister’s own Directorate, who will take charge of policy and project delivery across the government.
The new Office of the Coordinator-General for Housing within the Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate will bring all policy initiatives and activities under one roof in a bid to meet the growing Territory’s housing needs, with an emphasis on boosting the number of affordable homes and easing the rental crisis
https://the-riotact.com/new-housing-czar-appointed-to-take-on-ac…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Rent, Affordable housing, Housing affordability, State Government.PM - Rent support overwhelmed, cost of living pressures grow
Bridget Fitzgerald ABC (No paywall)A major support service for renters and social housing tenants says it is simply unable to keep up with demand amid growing cost of living pressures.
Tenants Victoria estimates it is able to respond to just 30 per cent of incoming calls and emails.
Record rent growth in the past year has coincided with soaring prices for things like energy, fuel and groceries, leaving renters to forgo medication or rack up debt to cover housing costs.
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/pm/rent-support-overwhelme…
# Australia, Eviction, Rent, State Government, Tenants Advice and Advocacy Services.Indigenous homelessness 'a national shame' as single mum in Gippsland evicted on Christmas Eve
Bec Symons ABC (No paywall)A roof over your head — it's the basic need a mother wants to be met for her child.
But for 22-year-old Tamia Hood it seems impossible.
The GunaiKurnai single mum is living in an old pop-top caravan on the banks of Bung Yarnda, the lake that surrounds the Lake Tyers Aboriginal Trust in East Gippsland.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-02/indigenous-homelessness-n…
# Must read Australia, Aboriginal renters, Discrimination, Public and community housing, Homelessness, Housing affordability.The World Today - Rents outstripping wage growth
Rachel Mealey ABC (No paywall)New data reveals the rental crunch confronting many Australians, with rent increases significantly outstripping wage growth.
Advocacy group Homelessness Australia has found that while wages have increased by 5-per-cent over the past 2 years, the cost of rent has gone up by close to 30-per-cent on average.
The group wants the Federal Government to approve a 2-billion-dollar rapid rehousing fund in this year's budget.
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/worldtoday/rents-outstripp…
# Audio Australia, Federal Government, Homelessness, Housing affordability.Landlord makes bombshell renting revelation
Chloe Whelan news.com.au (No paywall)A new landlord has shed light on the surprising — and sometimes discriminatory — biases that mean some renters aren’t even considered for a property.
The landlord in Melbourne revealed that 18 prospective tenants had applied to rent out their newly available apartment, but only two had been short-listed for consideration.
“None had offered more than asking (price),” they wrote on Reddit, meaning other factors had been used to determine which applicant would be an ideal tenant — all without the landlord’s knowledge.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/renting/landlords-dr…
# Hot topic Australia, Discrimination, Starting a tenancy, Landlords and agents.People with assistance dogs left struggling to find rentals and aged care in Queensland
Sara Richards ABC (No paywall)Unable to find a place to live, Saoirse has resorted to sleeping in a tent with her assistance dog in training.
The woman in her mid-20s, who asked that her last name be withheld, felt she had no other option after being rejected from more than 30 rental applications in Brisbane within a month.
"I rang up about one place, and it seemed really good," Saoirse said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-07/guide-dogs-discrimination…
# Must read Australia, Discrimination, Starting a tenancy, Disability, Homelessness, Housing affordability.'A single mum like me with 2 kids isn’t at the top of the list for landlords'
Josephine Agostino Kidspot (No paywall)As a tenant with a perfect record renting the same home for 11 years, Julie never imagined she and her two children would become homeless.
But in December, 2021, the sole parent was given an eviction notice for the three-bedroom house she had been renting ever since her daughters, April, 11, and Ella, 8, were born because the new owners were moving into the property.
“I was very worried because I knew there wasn’t much else around,” the 42-year-old from the Bega Valley, NSW, tells Kidspot.
https://www.kidspot.com.au/news/i-had-to-pull-the-kids-out-of-sc…
# Australia, Discrimination, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Young people.