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
Teen with autism forced to live in Bunbury hospital for more than three months after NDIS property eviction
Georgia Loney ABC (No paywall)A 17-year-old boy with autism spent 99 days in a country hospital after he was evicted from supported accommodation as a result of complaints about damage from the landlord and neighbours.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-26/marley-omeara-autism-ndis…
# Australia, Discrimination, Public and community housing, Disability, Young people.Renting in Victoria: Why there is no cooling standard for rental properties
Scott Carbines news.com.au (No paywall)Calls for compulsory cooling to be included in Victoria’s minimum standards for rental properties are once again being made as the state swelters through a hot summer. Rental properties must include heating in the main living area under the legislated requirements implemented over the past few years — but there is no requirement for cooling.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/melbourne-vic/rentin…
# Hot topic Australia, Climate change, Health, Minimum habitability standards, State Government.Families are falling short, even with federal government rental assistance
Emma D'Agostino ABC (No paywall)A national coalition of welfare organisations has called on the federal government to increase rent assistance payments by at least 50 per cent as well as expand the eligibility criteria, as more Australians seek financial assistance to pay for housing.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-30/families-falling-short-ev…
# Hot topic Australia, Public and community housing, Rent, Families, Welfare.Wealthy Switzerland is a country of tenants
Simon Thönen, Swiss Review Swiss Info (No paywall)[Switzerland] The majority of people in Switzerland live in rented accommodation. This is unique compared with other European countries. Its implications affect our everyday lives, the environment, politics, and – it goes without saying – the rights of tenants. But not always in the way we would expect.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/wealthy-switzerland-is-a-country-of…
# International, Climate change, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market, Renting culture.Family 'priced out' of south-west Sydney rental market, as finding affordable homes 'near-impossible'
Heath Parkes-Hupton ABC (No paywall)A Sydney mother says she had no option but to move her family into a "stinking-hot" caravan after being forced to leave the rental home she had lived in for 16 years. Linda Thompson and her two daughters were told they had to move out of the house in Bradbury in the midst of an ongoing dispute with the landlord and real estate just before Christmas.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-28/family-living-in-caravan-…
# Must read, Hot topic, TUNSW in the media NSW, Eviction, Public and community housing, Rent, Families, Homelessness, Housing market, No-grounds evictions.Rental crisis fears for international students as they return to Sydney
Christopher Harris The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A housing affordability crisis is looming for international students, according to a property expert, who has called on universities to do more to help foreign nationals find accommodation while they study in Australia.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/rental-crisis-fears-for-inte…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media NSW, Boarders and lodgers, Rent, Share houses, Housing market, Students, Sydney, Young people.Leong calls for Redfern development to retain 100% public housing
Erin Modaro City Hub (No paywall)A development on government owned land in Redfern has drawn criticism from housing advocates, including Greens MP for Newtown and housing spokesperson Jenny Leong. The rectangular block at 600 Elizabeth Street, just across from Redfern Oval, has stood empty for years since 18 public housing dwellings were demolished in 2013. The NSW government announced tender was granted to Bridge Housing and national infrastructure group Capella Capital to develop 300 new mixed housing units at the site, one third of which will be allocated for social housing. The development is due for completion in 2028.
https://cityhubsydney.com.au/2023/01/leong-calls-for-redfern-dev…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Estate renewal, History, Home, State Government, Sydney.Homelessness is highlighted with body paint during public art display featuring AFLW star Erin Phillips
Daniel Keane ABC (No paywall)AFLW player Erin Phillips is no stranger to silverware, but has donned gold for a cause that is very different to the on-field exploits she is renowned for.
The former-Crow-turned-Port Adelaide player was among seven prominent South Australians who gathered at the centre of Adelaide's main shopping strip to draw attention to the ongoing prevalence of homelessness.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-28/aflw-erin-phillips-highli…
# Must read, New policy announcement Australia, Campaigns and law reform, Homelessness.