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
Call for COVID-19 rental relief after tribunal backs eviction in landmark case
Jewel Topsfield The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Victorians unable to pay rent between March 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be forced to repay what they owe until after October 25, a landmark tribunal case has determined. However, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal found it was lawful to evict a person for unpaid rent accrued during the state’s moratorium on evictions after the suspension ended on March 28. The test case has renewed calls for the state government to introduce a rental assistance package that includes rent relief and targeted legal protections for renters affected by the pandemic as Victoria weathers its sixth lockdown.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/call-for-covid-19-renta…
# Hot topic Australia, Eviction, Rent, Tribunal NCAT, Coronavirus COVID-19, State Government.COVID-19 Financial Incentives for Landlords
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)The NSW Government has introduced financial incentives that can be claimed by landlords who provide a rent reduction to tenants impacted by COVID-19 during this period. If you are an ‘impacted tenant’, you can advise your landlord that if they provide you with a rent reduction, then they can claim one of the ... two types of government payments. [Read on]
https://www.tenants.org.au/news/covid-19-financial-incentives-la…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Landlords and agents.Older Women & Housing
Shelter WA (No paywall)Older women’s homelessness is often hidden from view. The 2016 Census estimated that 6,866 older women were homeless and a further 5,820 older women were living in marginal housing and may be at risk of homelessness. Older women are the fastest growing group at risk due to lower lifetime incomes, less access to financial assets such as superannuation because they are more likely to take on informal care responsibilities, relationship breakdown, and the consequences of family and domestic violence. With zero per cent of private rentals in Perth affordable to singles on government income support the choices are limited. This event highlighted the issues older women are currently facing and experiencing with an exploration into solutions across permanent and appropriate options for homes so older women on low incomes can age well.
# Australia, Rent, Affordable housing, Health, Homelessness, Older people, Women.The face of homelessness in Australia is changing
Claire Victory Pearls and Irritations (No paywall)As house prices soar and wages stagnate, the housing affordability crisis is creeping towards middle Australia. Governments have left housing to the market and the market has failed. Deb Madden was devastated after her husband died and with few people to call upon, Deb faced the added burden of being unable to afford the rent on her apartment. She became one of a fast‑growing number of older women experiencing homelessness. Vinnies was able to help first by providing a room in a local hostel and then helping Deb to relocate to a permanent home in one of Vinnies’ brand new social housing sites.
https://johnmenadue.com/the-face-of-homelessness-in-australia-is…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Home ownership, Homelessness, Older people, Tax, Women.Landlords Banning Renters From Cooking With Spices Isn’t Just Illegal, It’s Racist
Millie Roberts (No paywall)In a rural town south of Dubbo, an older couple hates seasoning. Not just in their own food, but in their properties — so much so that this landlord duo loom over their tenants’ kitchens like a culinary ghoul. “I added a clause in our lease that they are forbidden to cook with any spices that leave smells,” they wrote in a private Facebook group for like-minded individuals. “Me and hubby drive past at random during dinner time for a smell check just to make sure they are complying”. During these illegal drop-ins, they even claimed to go as far as to personally inspect pantries, rummaging for contraband cayenne, some cheeky turmeric, or god forbid, paprika. (Junkee)
# TUNSW in the media NSW, Discrimination, Privacy and access, Rent, Landlords and agents, Race and ethnicity.Home prices boom in three-quarters of top global cities during the pandemic: Juwai IQI report
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Australian house hunters dismayed by the country’s rapid price gains may want to spare a thought for their New Zealand counterparts, who are facing some of the steepest price hikes in the world.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/home-prices-boom-in-three-quarter…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market, International.NZ ranked as 13th-most expensive country to rent a three-bedroom house - UK study
Mark Quinlivan (No paywall)New Zealand is ranked the 13th least-affordable country to rent in the world, according to a new study out of the UK. ... The Cost of Rent Index Study, released by money.co.uk on Thursday, analysed the average cost of renting a three-bedroom house in more than 50 developed countries - compared against the average living costs for a family of four. New Zealand is 13th on the list of most expensive countries to rent a three-bedroom house and 10th on the list of countries spending the highest percentage of monthly outgoings on rent. [In a table entitled 'Top 10 countries spending the highest % of outgoings on rent', Australia ranks 9th, just ahead of New Zealand.]
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/money/2021/08/nz-ranked-as-13th-m…
# International, Rent, Housing market, International.The Stigma of a Scarlet E Eviction cases — called Scarlet E’s
Matthew Goldstein The New York Times (Paywall)[Scarlet E's] are a stubborn blot on a renter’s history. Piecemeal privacy legislation in some states may not be enough to protect millions of struggling tenants. ... The apartment was just what Chanque Jones needed: four bedrooms, and $500 cheaper than the run-down house she had been renting back in Chicago. It was a fresh start for her three sons, as well as for her mobile manicure business. Then an old eviction case turned up on a routine background check prepared for her landlord. It didn’t matter that she had gone to court and won. The fact that the case was filed at all was enough to mark her as a risk: what tenant advocates call a Scarlet E — the E standing for eviction. “I didn’t even know about the eviction record,” Ms. Jones said. Eviction cases are a stubborn blot on any renter’s history. They are nearly impossible to scrub away, even if the tenant made good on obligations or it was only a scare tactic by an aggressive landlord. The pandemic has given the problem new urgency: Although the Biden administration has announced a new eviction moratorium for much of the country through Oct. 3, millions of renters are behind on their payments after more than a year of economic upheaval and could face eventual eviction. Aware of the enormous consequences for renters who lost jobs or work hours because of the pandemic, a handful of states and cities have passed laws to make it easier for tenants to seal their eviction cases — a crucial step that can mean the difference between having a roof over their heads or not.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/09/business/eviction-stigma-scar…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Tenant databases.