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
‘I thought The Castle was a joke’: three trees cost landowners $120,000
Angus Thompson The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)An Orchard Hills couple whose property is being acquired for the Sydney Metro project say the government authority deducted $120,000 from the value of their land because of three trees.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/i-thought-the-castle-was-a-j…
# NSW, Planning and development.Rise in rough sleeping since 2010 ‘a stain’ on Conservatives’ record, says Jenrick
Nathaniel Barker Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... The increase in people sleeping rough since 2010 is a “stain” on the Conservative Party’s record, former housing secretary Robert Jenrick has admitted. ... He said the government should be putting together a strategy as part of the Spending Review to bring rough sleeping down “to at least the levels it was when we came to power in 2010”.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/rise-in-rough-sleeping…
# International, Homelessness.California's homeless crisis is out of control. Don't let evictions make it worse
Editorial (Paywall)From the United States ... The best way to prevent homelessness is keeping people in their homes. (San Francisco Chronicle)
https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/Editorial…
# International, Eviction, Homelessness.Time for a crackdown on ‘liar loans’ to douse home price bonfire
Jessica Irvine The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)According to the latest “liar loans” survey released last month by UBS, the share of home loans on which people freely admit their information has been “misstated” has risen to 41 per cent, up from 27 per cent in 2015.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/time-for-a-crackdown…
# Australia, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Time for a crackdown on ‘liar loans’ to douse home price bonfire
Jessica Irvine The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Amid rapidly inflating home prices, all borrowers face a massive incentive to leverage to the hilt – out of necessity for home buyers and, for investors, to ensure maximum returns. As Reserve Bank assistant governor Michele Bullock put it recently: “When prices are rising very rapidly and there are expectations that this will continue, borrowers are more likely to overstretch their financial capacity in order to purchase property.”
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/time-for-a-crackdown…
# NSW, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Theme for International Tenants’ Day 2021 and this year’s IUT film
(No paywall)International Union of Tenants, IUT has chosen the theme: ”Covid recovery, climate, and construction” for the International Tenants’ Day 2021. The theme reflects our hope for covid-19 pandemic recovery, a renewed emphasis, and solutions for the climate crisis together with the construction of affordable housing for all. See the film here. (International Union of Tenants)
https://www.iut.nu/news-events/theme-of-international-tenants-da…
# Must read NSW, Campaigns and law reform, Coronavirus COVID-19, International.Older women facing homelessness in Australia: from awareness to action
Robert Mowbray Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)On Friday, 17 September 2021 HAAG organised the online forum, ‘At Risk 2021 Forum’, hoping to move us on from an acknowledgement of the problem to real action to address it. The half day forum brought together advocates from across the housing and homelessness sector, researchers, journalists, decision makers and women with lived experience. In this short blog Robert Mowbray, the Tenants' Union's Older Renters' Project Officer, provides a summary of the highlights and key takeaways from the forum.
https://www.tenants.org.au/blog/older-women-facing-homelessness-…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Rent, Affordable housing, Campaigns and law reform, Homelessness, Older people, Women.More deaths as cold creeps into Australian homes
Melissa Coade The Mandarin (No paywall)Housing advocates have warned that the poor thermal performance of homes in South Australia is associated with more than 600 deaths each year. .... The report was commissioned by tenant advocacy organisation Better Renting and identified that as temperatures went down during the SA winter, death rates went up. Better Renting executive director Joel Dignam said that despite the fact that Australia experienced milder winters compared to other places in the world, the way that the homes in Australia are built make them less resilient when the temperature drops. What this showed, he said, was that warmer countries experienced higher rates of deaths (mainly due to respiratory and cardiovascular disease in older people) correlated to cold weather. “A cold home doesn’t just mean higher power bills, it means living every day with a threat to your health,” Dignam said.
https://www.themandarin.com.au/170278-more-deaths-as-cold-creeps…
# Australia, Rent, Health, Minimum habitability standards, Older people.