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
New ombudsman tables reveal worst-performing landlords on damp and mould
Grainne Cuffe Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... The Housing Ombudsman has unveiled a series of tables highlighting the worst performers regarding damp and mould in homes as part of a new ‘spotlight’ report into the issue. Between April 2019 and March 2021 the watchdog examined 410 complaints related to damp and mould, investigated 142 landlords and made maladministration findings in 56% of cases. This rose to 64% for complaint-handling.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/new-ombudsman-tables-r…
# International, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Mould.Sydney real estate agents under fire for failing to warn buyers of 'serious defects' in apartment towers
Amy Greenbank ABC (No paywall)Real estate agents selling apartments in two Sydney high rise buildings found to have "serious defects" by government inspectors have been targeted in a fiery New South Wales parliamentary hearing. Courtney Houssos — who is Labor's shadow minister for better regulation — used parliamentary privilege to take aim at agents selling units in the Atmosphere Towers in Castle Hill and the Aya Eliza building in Auburn. Ms Houssos described the buildings as "notorious" and claimed she had discovered several real estate agents had not disclosed to prospective buyers that both developments were under prohibition orders.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-27/sydney-real-estate-agents…
# NSW, Strata, Landlords and agents, Minimum habitability standards.Meet a family at the centre of the homelessness crisis in Queensland's fastest growing region
Baz Ruddick ABC (No paywall)"It's homelessness elite," Leia McCabe jokes as she gestures to the caravan she now shares with her husband, daughter and dog, which cost them most of their savings. It's been a tumultuous 18 months for the family, who went from living in the same rental for nearly 10 years, to subletting, then finally, to homelessness. ... [Karen Rollinson works for a Homestay program with community organisation Encircle, which helps people at risk of losing their accommodation] "We've had families have to split up so some of the kids have had to go to one of their friend's places, we have had families of five sleeping in cars, or they'll sleep in a tent or couch surf in different people's houses," she said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-28/qld-homeless-crisis-moret…
# Australia, Homelessness, Housing market, Personal stories.Rental Crisis Looms: Property Signs 27th Oct 2021
Martin North (No paywall)In today’s show we look at the latest rental data which underscores the pressure many renters are under, examine the last gasp borderline mortgage applications being rushed through before APRA’s tighter rules come in next week, and we look at the comprehensive credit reporting regime, and why people want it further expanded. (Digital Finance Analytics blog)
https://digitalfinanceanalytics.com/blog/rental-crisis-looms-pro…
# Video Australia, Rent, Home ownership, Housing market.Budget 2021: Sunak promises £640m per year for homelessness
Lucie Heath Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... The chancellor of the exchequer has vowed the government will spend £640m per year on rough sleeping and homelessness. Delivering his Budget in the House of Commons today, Rishi Sunak said: “We’ve reduced rough sleeping by over a third, but we will go further with £640m a year for rough sleeping and homelessness.” The chancellor said this was an 85% increase in funding compared with 2019. Also, check Jack Simpson's article entitled: 'Budget 2021: Sector responds to Rishi Sunak’s announcements' at [https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/budget-2021-sector-responds-to-rishi-sunaks-announcements-73091]
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/home/home/budget-2021-sunak-prom…
# International, Homelessness, Housing market.Facebook push to find Gold Coast's homeless Princess permanent accommodation
Tom Forbes, Nicole Dyer and Kirsten Webster ABC (No paywall)Dressed in a bikini, David "Princess" Buncombe has been turning heads in Surfers Paradise for more than 20 years. Now, the 61-year-old homeless "child of God" has become the focus of an online campaign, as friends try to find the local identity a permanent place to call home. ... The local St John's Crisis Centre provided more than 33,000 meals to homeless and vulnerable people in the past financial year.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-28/push-to-find-homeless-sur…
# Australia, Homelessness, Housing market, Personal stories.House rental yields fall as property prices soar across the country: Domain Rent Report
Melissa Heagney Domain (No paywall)Rental yields have dropped in most Australian capitals, new data shows, with booming house prices clipping rent profits and forcing investors to rethink where they will buy. Though many have traditionally looked to invest close to their own capital cities, some are now looking further afield, experts say, investing regionally or in other states to get better returns.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/house-rental-yields-fall-as-prope…
# Australia, Rent, Landlords and agents, Regional NSW.Sydney house prices hit record high, with median climbing to almost $1.5 million
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Sydney property prices have climbed to record heights yet again, with the median house price now just shy of $1.5 million and the typical apartment costing more than $800,000.
Greater Sydney house prices jumped about $720 per day over the September quarter to reach a record median of $1,499,126, the latest Domain House Price Report, released on Thursday shows. Annually, the median is up a massive 30.4 per cent, or about $349,000, over the year to September, marking the strongest annual growth since Domain records began in 1993 – with prices in half a dozen regions rising at least $500,000. While Sydney’s housing market had seen phenomenal growth, said Domain chief of research and economics Nicola Powell — house prices have risen more than three times faster than unit prices over the year — the pace of the price hikes has eased substantially.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/sydney-house-prices-hit-record-hi…
# NSW, Strata, Housing market.