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
Reason to avoid certain rentals revealed in warning to tenants
Brooke Rolfe news.com.au (No paywall)Hopeful tenants have been told to stay away from this seemingly idyllic rental for one sinister reason. The property’s advertisement on Facebook Marketplace, complete with professional photos and a legitimate summary of features, has all been revealed to be a sham.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/reason-to-avoid-cert…
# Hot topic NSW, Applying to rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Personal data and privacy.National cabinet sets new housing target and touts 'better deal for renters'
ABC News ABC (No paywall)The prime minister has touted a "better deal for renters" and a blueprint to boost housing supply following a meeting with state and territory leaders in Brisbane this afternoon. National cabinet has set a target for new homes built over five years from July 2024. States and territories will move towards limiting rent increases to once per year and requiring reasonable grounds for eviction. The Greens have slammed the rental measures, describing them as "smoke and mirrors".
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-16/anthony-albanese-speaks-a…
# Must read, New policy announcement Australia, Eviction, Public and community housing, Rent, Affordable housing, Campaigns and law reform, Federal Government, Housing affordability, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards, No-grounds evictions, Strong communities.Illawarra organisations join submission to rental crisis inquiry
Natalie Croxon Illawarra Mercury (Paywall)Illawarra organisations have joined others from across the country in calling for governments to implement a range of reforms to improve the worsening situation facing renters in Australia, with one expert describing it as "truly desperate" for her clients.
https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/8298376/truly-desperat…
# Hot topic NSW, Eviction, Public and community housing, Rent, Affordable housing, Home, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market, Local Government, Older people, Regional NSW, Strong communities, Students, Young people.National cabinet meets to discuss housing problems, with government's key policy stuck in the Senate
Evelyn Manfield ABC (No paywall)Boosting housing supply and reforming planning and zoning laws will be high on the agenda when national cabinet meets in Brisbane today, as the prime minister and state and territory leaders try to tackle Australia's housing problem.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-16/national-cabinet-meets-on…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Federal Government, Housing market.‘It’s soul-destroying’: how people on a housing wait list of 175,000 describe their years of waiting
Alan Morris The Conversation (No paywall)Nationally, about 175,000 households are on the social housing waiting list. An individual usually has to be in “greatest need” to get on the list. Even then, being listed does not mean you will be given the keys to a home any time soon.
https://theconversation.com/its-soul-destroying-how-people-on-a-…
# Must read, Research alert Australia, Domestic violence, Public and community housing, Security and safety, Applying to rent, DCJ Housing, Disability, Homelessness, Personal stories, Renting culture, Strong communities, Women.Sammi has a full-time job and paid rent for 15 years. No one will rent her a property
Melissa Heagney-Bayliss The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Sammi Clarke couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep and her hair began falling out. After being asked to vacate her rental home as winter hit, the single parent of three applied for almost 20 rental properties in Melbourne’s outer south-east but was knocked back every time.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/sammi-has-a-full-time-job-a…
# Hot topic Australia, Public and community housing, Rent, Applying to rent, Families, Health, Home, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market, Women, Young people.Implementing Trauma-Informed Care in the Proposed National Housing and Homelessness Plan
Chris Hartley Power to Persuade (No paywall)Exploring the pressing need for trauma-informed care in Australia's National Housing and Homelessness Plan, Research Fellow Chris Hartley sheds light on the deep links between trauma and homelessness while advocating for a unified, comprehensive approach to address the issue in line with global best practices.
https://www.powertopersuade.org.au/blog/implementing-trauma-info…
# Australia, Eviction, Federal Government, Health, Homelessness.United we Stand: forty years of co-operative housing
Housing for the Aged Action Group 3CR (No paywall)Fiona and Shane talk to Janet, Mea and Peter from United Housing co-op on their 40th anniversary. We discuss the history of co-operative movements and the importance of participatory tenant-led housing, how things have changed and what the future might hold for this important housing type.
https://www.3cr.org.au/haag/episode/united-we-stand-forty-years-…
# Audio Australia, Rent, Co-operatives and resident-led housing, Housing affordability, Housing market, Older people, Strong communities.