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
Opal Tower builder denies involvement in separate Sydney apartment complex found with defects
Josh Bavas ABC (No paywall)The builder of Sydney's infamous Opal Tower has been hit with an order by the NSW Building Commissioner to fix a number of defects in a separate residential complex. Icon Co (NSW) Pty Ltd was issued with the order last Thursday over a number of defects in the Roseberry complex but has denied any link to the project, telling the ABC it will dispute the claim. The list of defects included waterproofing issues on the roof and in the basement, corroding balustrades which pose a "threat of collapse", as well as fire safety issues.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-11/opal-tower-builder-denies…
# NSW, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.Multibillion-dollar land sales target imposed on NSW departments
Tom Rabe The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The NSW government has imposed a $3 billion land and property sales target on its departments, including education, to buffer the state’s budget and bankroll future infrastructure projects.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/multibillion-dollar-land-sal…
# NSW, Planning and development, State Government.'My flat is now a commodity’: Berlin to vote on seizing rental properties
(Paywall)Bid to confiscate apartments from publicly listed landlords could set precedent for other cities with high rents. (Financial Times)
https://www.ft.com/content/ad96da11-d012-440a-b1d9-05718aac47a5
# International, Rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Local Government.Demolish and subdivide: the Perth suburbs in property developers’ sights
Tracy Vo and Lauren Pilat The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Property developers are knocking Perth homes down and subdividing blocks at an increasing rate with some local governments approving up to 44 per cent more demolitions in the last year, which experts put down to low housing stock and COVID-recovery grants.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/demolish-and-s…
# Australia, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Local Government.Sydney boarding houses in Randwick and Newtown hit the market
Allison Worrall (No paywall)The auction of two established boarding houses in Sydney will test the market’s demand for an asset class that has delivered promising results since the onset of the pandemic. (commercialrealestate.com.au)
https://www.commercialrealestate.com.au/news/boarding-houses-107…
# NSW, Boarders and lodgers, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.Aged care operator Regis uncovers up to $40m in staff underpayments
Emma Koehn The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Aged care operator Regis Healthcare has uncovered staff underpayments that could be potentially as high as $40 million over six years because employee entitlements were recorded incorrectly in its payroll system. The $630 million company, which owns residential care and retirement villages across Australia, told investors on Monday morning it was working with external advisors on a comprehensive review of payroll data to work out exactly how much it owed to staff.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/aged-care-operator-reg…
# Australia, Housing market, Older people.Buying a house without an agent through private sale
Yasmin Jeffrey ABC (No paywall)When Becky Irvine Stone decided to sell her investment property back in 2011, she was concerned by the $10,000 fee quoted by a prospective real estate agent. People tend to use real estate agents because they can make it easier to meet the legal requirements of selling a home as well as preparing the property for sale, listing it, marketing it, running viewings, dealing with prospective buyers and the actual sale bit. But "in the same way you're entitled to sell your sofa yourself, you're entitled to sell your house yourself", says Dr Cathy Sherry, an associate professor at UNSW who teaches property law. There's no legal requirement that you have to use a real estate agent to buy or sell, she adds. A bit of online research later and Becky decided she didn't mind putting in the work if it meant ending up with more money. (ABC Everyday)
https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/buying-house-without-agent-throu…
# Australia, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Financial markets are betting big the COVID-19 vaccine rollout will be a success
David Taylor ABC (No paywall)There's a bizarre narrative playing out in the Australian economy right now. ... Record low interest rates are also driving the property market. ... It's clear there are factors looming that could slightly cool down the market by next year: poor affordability, fewer government home buyer incentives, rising fixed mortgage rates and the potential for a reintroduction of macro-prudential tightening by the regulators.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-11/economic-contraction-with…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.