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
Feature in Sydney $300-a-week rental slammed: 'New low'
Tom Flanagan Yahoo News (No paywall)A $300-a-week Sydney rental has come under fire online, with one questionable detail raising eyebrows.
The listing, a granny flat in the southern suburb of Heathcote, boasts "direct access to the bathroom from the kitchen" – and while that might strike you as peculiar, it's only part of the story.
A photo of the main living space shows the kitchen on the right-hand side. On the left the bathroom can be seen. However it is not enclosed by walls, and the only attempt to separate it from the rest of the studio is the use of a partially transparent divider.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/feature-in-sydney-300-a-week-rental-sl…
# TUNSW in the media NSW, Housing affordability, Landlords and agents, Minimum habitability standards.NSW brings in controls on how renters’ data can be stored and used
Caitlin Cassidy The Guardian (No paywall)New South Wales will introduce new guidelines on the personal data security of renters in a bid to crack down on cyber-attacks and identity fraud.
The rule change, announced by the state government on Saturday, will come into effect early next year and replace the need to give copies of documents in rental applications from passports to birth certificates.
The minister for customer service, digital government, small business and fair trading, Victor Dominello, said there were “essentially no rules” over how personal information was used once it was handed over.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/17/nsw-bring…
# Must read, Hot topic, TUNSW in the media, New policy announcement NSW, Privacy and access, Campaigns and law reform, Housing affordability, Landlords and agents, State Government.‘The wild west’: New headache for home-hunters in a tough market
Tawar Razaghi The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)Renter Nick Duncan spent three weeks looking for a rental with his partner in Sydney, and he was struck by how much information he needed to hand over in the hopes of securing a lease.
“The market is so hot ... We felt like if we wanted to get a place we had to abide by all the rules and provide everything that was asked,” Duncan said.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/the-wild-west-new-headache-…
# Hot topic NSW, Privacy and access, Landlords and agents, Renting culture.NSW government strips Byron council of authority to cap short-term rentals such as Airbnb
Stephanie Convery The Guardian (No paywall)The state government has intervened to strip the local council in Byron Bay of its authority to limit the use of residential properties for holiday accommodation, just one day before a much-anticipated council vote on the issue.
Byron Shire Council was due to debate and vote on a proposal at its ordinary meeting on Thursday that would amend planning laws to reduce the number of days that properties in certain zones in the shire could be rented out to tourists through platforms like Airbnb.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/15/nsw-gover…
# Must read NSW, Housing affordability, Housing market, Regional NSW, Short-term holiday letting.‘Obscene wealth’: Greens propose trophy home tax to pay for affordable housing
Jenny Noyes The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)The mega-rich owners of Sydney’s most luxurious trophy homes would be taxed to fund affordable housing under a proposal put forward by the NSW Greens on Sunday.
The “Extreme Wealth Property Tax” would impose a flat 4 per cent tax on owner-occupied mega-mansions with a land value over $10 million, or an improved value exceeding $20 million, with all revenue going towards building more social and affordable homes.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/obscene-wealth-greens-propos…
# New policy announcement NSW, Public and community housing, Affordable housing, Housing market, Landlords and agents, State Government, Tax.Lack of social housing sees 50,000 NSW residents on waitlist
Nabil Al Nashar ABC (No paywall)For the better part of a year, Laura Campbell's car was her living room, dining room and bedroom.
"I'd lay down the back seat and put in a small mattress," she said.
Living out of her car caused her severe back pain, but it was the only shelter she had.
The 40-year-old apprentice chef said she struggled to find an affordable place to live, amid a worsening housing crisis.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-19/government-housing-crisis…
# Hot topic NSW, Public and community housing, Housing affordability, State Government.‘Worst overdevelopment’: Local councils at war over Harry Triguboff’s tower
Andrew Taylor The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)Harry Triguboff and Clover Moore are unlikely bedfellows, but the billionaire property developer and Sydney’s lord mayor find themselves on the same side amid a growing row over plans for a 25-storey residential tower.
Randwick City Council voted last week to seek legal advice to restrain the City of Sydney and NSW government from pushing Meriton’s proposal to redevelop the former Suttons car dealership site in Zetland.
https://amp-smh-com-au.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.smh.com.au/nat…
# NSW, Housing affordability, Landlords and agents, Local Government, Planning and development.NSW South Coast in desperate need of housing, but are locals willing to give up bushland
Holly Tregenza ABC (No paywall)Almost every week in Batemans Bay in New South Wales, local social media pages are filled with a familiar plea.
"I have [a] perfect rentals history. I don't like asking for help but now I'm desperate," wrote Amanda Orford, a mother of two.
"The stress level is extreme."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-05/nsw-south-coast-housing-d…
# NSW, Housing affordability, Planning and development, Regional NSW, Strong communities.