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
Vale Shane Warne, the prolific property flipper
Elizabeth Redman Domain (No paywall)Shane Warne knew how to flip more than a cricket ball. The late Aussie leg-spinner had a keen interest in collecting and trading prestige real estate, especially in Melbourne’s exclusive suburb of Brighton, and one of his homes was so nice he owned it twice.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/vale-shane-warne-the-prolif…
# Australia, Landlords and agents.Deciding on a rent rise isn’t easy
Kim Brear Inside Housing (Paywall)Under government rules, English housing associations can apply a 4.1% rent rise from April. But should they? Kim Brear explains how Leeds Federated made its decision ... Following a wider discussion, and taking into account all perspectives, we decided we will raise rents by 4.1%.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/comment/comment/deciding-on-a-re…
# International, Public and community housing, Rent.Geelong house prices almost on par with Melbourne but signs market heat is dying off
Rachel Clayton ABC (No paywall)At the beginning of 2020, speculation about a housing crash fuelled hope in first home buyers that they could, finally, get a foot in the market. But that swell of expectation came crashing down as the record-setting market of the past two years further exacerbated the dividing line of home ownership in Australia.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-09/melbourne-geelong-housing…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.Welcome to Boom Town: How sea-changers found new life in Geelong
Jewel Topsfield The Age (Paywall)But Geelong has always been a tale of two cities, divided by wealth, and the pandemic has exposed fissures in a town where intergenerational poverty has long been a problem.
Melburnians have turbo-charged the economy but the sea-change trend has also pushed up house prices and caused a shortage of rental accommodation. Some local residents have found themselves priced out of the town they grew up in, forced to move further afield to Colac or Winchelsea, or give up the dream of home ownership. ... The Urban Development Institute of Australia has warned that land supply in Geelong is approaching a crisis point, putting affordability at risk. ... Rising rents (the median house rent in Geelong has jumped 10 per cent to $440 in the last two years) are putting some locals under enormous pressure.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/welcome-to-boom-town…
# Australia, Rent, Affordable housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.Legal help for flood-affected communities
Community Legal Centres NSW (No paywall)Community legal centres are here to help if you've been affected by floods in NSW. Our thoughts go out to the people, families and communities impacted by the flooding, storms, and dangerous rainfall across the state. Read the information page here.
https://www.clcnsw.org.au/legal-help-flood-affected-communities-…
# Must read NSW, Domestic violence, Rent, Home ownership.‘Let’s face it, it’s climate change’: Floods renew debate over where we should live
Michael Koziol, Nick O'Malley and Lucy Cormack The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk: “I’ve never seen so many natural disasters, we seem to be dealing with more and more; more cyclones, more floods,” she said on Friday. “Let’s face it, it’s climate change.” Prime Minister Scott Morrison also acknowledged we would see more calamities because of climate change. “This is what the Bureau of Meteorology is telling us, this is what all of these things tell us.” Read Eddie Lloyd's article entitled: 'The PM calls this a natural disaster – it’s not natural, it’s climate change smashing down our doors' in 'The Guardian' at: [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/mar/04/the-pm-calls-this-a-natural-disaster-its-not-natural-its-climate-change-smashing-down-our-doors]. Read Daniel Hurst's article entitled: '"It’s not a footnote. It’s the story": Climate Council says too many Australian leaders silent on cause of floods' in 'The Guardian' at: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/mar/07/its-not-a-footnote-its-the-story-climate-council-says-too-many-australian-leaders-silent-on-cause-of-floods]. Read Robyn Fitzgerald's article entitled: 'Why the listless reaction from governments, the hush on climate change?' in 'Michael West Media' at: [https://www.michaelwest.com.au/why-the-listless-reaction-from-governments-the-hush-on-climate-change/].
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/let-s-face-it-it-s-climate-c…
# Australia, Climate change.‘Beyond dire’: how the Queensland and NSW floods are worsening the rental crisis
Conal Hanna The Guardian (No paywall)The loss of thousands of homes means renters will have fewer properties to bid for and they will also be competing against flood-hit owner-occupiers. ... Digby Hughes, senior policy officer at Homelessness NSW, describes the Northern Rivers housing market pre-floods as “beyond dire”. Rental vacancy rates in the region have hovered around 0.6%, according to Leo Patterson Ross, chief executive of the Tenants’ Union of NSW, compared with a healthy natural vacancy rate of somewhere between 3-5%. “Anything under that means there are more tenants than available houses, which puts pressure on prices and people find it hard to find a home. ... Patterson Ross said while affordability had been an issue in Byron Bay for some time, the problem had spread in recent years as locals began relocating to cheaper surrounding areas. “Places like Lismore that were nice places to live, but weren’t right on the beach, hadn’t experienced that same level of desperation until recently,” Patterson Ross said. Based on SQM Research property data, Patterson Ross estimated the Northern Rivers was 2,300 homes short of a healthy tenancy rate ahead of the floods. Now, would-be renters will not only have fewer properties to bid for but be competing against flood-hit owner-occupiers seeking temporary housing, many of whom will be backed with insurance money. [Read on]
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/mar/07/beyond-di…
# TUNSW in the media NSW, Public and community housing, Rent, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market, Regional NSW, Short-term holiday letting.Older People, Housing, and International Womens Day
Housing for the Aged Action Group (No paywall)Housing for the Aged Action Groups email bulletin ... International Women's Day (IWD) has always been a significant day for HAAG, representing the struggle for justice and gender equality in our society, workplaces, on the streets and in our homes. But this year IWD takes on added significance. More than 400,000 older women are at risk of homelessness across Australia, we have a government that has ignored the demands ... [read on]
https://mailchi.mp/ec7b089d99d9/older-tenants-voice-summer-editi…
# Must read Australia, Campaigns and law reform, Homelessness, Women.