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.
Our main email newsletter, Tenant News is sent once every two months. You can subscribe or update your subscription preferences for any of our email newsletters here.
See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
We love sharing the news and hope you find it informative! We're very happy to deliver it for free, but if you find it valuable, can you help cover the extra costs incurred by making a donation?
Archive
The English Housing Survey: five key takeaways
Dominic Brady Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ...The government has published its annual English Housing Survey covering 2019/20. Dominic Brady looks at some standout findings from the report ... 1) Overcrowding again reached record highs and was worst in social rented sector; 2) Social renters feel more anxious than others; 3) Almost a quarter of social renters went into arrears in the last year; 4) City dwellers report feeling more lonely than those living in rural areas; 5) Social renters are more concerned about fire safety than private renters
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/insight/the-english-hous…
# International, Public and community housing, Rent, Health.The benefits of investing in NDIS properties
Sue Williams Domain (No paywall)Looking for a property investment that could make you feel as good as the returns it promises? As one of Australia’s leading advocates for investment in National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) housing, SMSF Loan Experts founder Yannick Ieko claims it’s the perfect proposition. On the surface, too, it offers definite benefits: higher than average market rents with yields of up to 18 per cent; returns guaranteed by government; long tenancies; and limited availability.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/the-benefits-of-investing-in-ndis…
# Australia, Disability, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Call for Wollongong's homeless to be a priority for COVID-19 vaccinations
Brendan Crabb (No paywall)For nearly six weeks, Darren Mealing has been sleeping rough in a Wollongong CBD carpark. "I've spent 11 years in the street out of my 50 [years]," he said on Friday. He isn't the only homeless person using the space for shelter during lockdown. ... Mandy Booker, chief executive officer of the Wollongong Homeless Hub, said crisis accommodation was currently full, and demand for services was "really high". The Homeless Hub was working with the Department of Communities and Justice to reach out to rough sleepers, and get as many people into temporary and crisis accommodation as they could.
https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/7344584/wollongong-rou…
# NSW, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness, Regional NSW.Almost one-third of Australians face rental or mortgage stress, survey finds
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Almost a third of Australians say they face mortgage or rental stress amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, with household savings also taking a hit in recent months. Against a backdrop of rapidly rising property prices and record-high rents across much of the country, 31 per cent of people are struggling to make their rent or home loan payments, new figures show. ... [Julia Davis from the Financial Rights Legal Centre] feared the latest lockdowns would only add to the financial stress of those who had already chewed down on their savings last year and noted some people were already spending less on food and other essentials in order to meet their repayments.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/almost-one-third-of-australians-f…
# Australia, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Home ownership, Housing market.Rents rise at fastest pace since January 2009
Euan Black The New Daily (No paywall)National rents reported their fastest annual growth in more than a decade last financial year. Data released by CoreLogic on Monday shows national rents soared 6.6 per cent as the economic recovery beat expectations and record amounts of government stimulus flowed into Australian bank accounts. House rents increased in all capital cities over the financial year and unit rents rose in all capital cities except Sydney and Melbourne, which were affected by an oversupply of apartments and a lack of migrants due to international border closures. But the largest rent hikes were seen in regional Australia. Taryn Paris in the Urban Developer writes about the same issue at: [https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/regional-rental-prices-outpace-cities].
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2021/07/19/rents-fas…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market, Regional NSW.Pandemic boost to household wealth leaves many renters feeling poorer, research finds
Rob Stock (No paywall)From New Zealand ... Robert Whitaker is wealthier than a year ago, but feeling poorer. A lot of other renters feel the same. ... Whitaker, one of the founders of the Renters United political group representing the interests of renting households, was not surprised renters were feeling poorer, despite many having more money in the bank, and in KiwiSaver, as the rapid rise in house prices had put many further from ever owning a home. (Stuff)
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/125735639/pandemic-boost-to-hou…
# International, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Home ownership.'They got out of hand’: Auckland street wrestles with fate of 400 pet rabbits
Tess McClure The Guardian (No paywall)After years of complaints from neighbours and concerns about house prices, hundreds of rabbits in a suburban garden had to go ‘by any means necessary’. ... The story starts simply. In August 2014, residents Elaine Cowlin and Dylan Lewis bought four rabbits from a local pet shop. They didn’t de-sex them. The rabbits began to breed. “We just love rabbits,” Cowlin tells the Guardian. ... One of the villas across the road sold for $3.62m in February. In such a place, a multitude of fluffy animals let loose is not just an eccentricity – it represents a potential threat to the value of a street packed with multi-million-dollar assets.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/14/they-got-out-of-ha…
# International, Health, Housing market.The next housing crash will hit even harder than the last
Rory Hearne (No paywall)The latest house prices show the disastrous extent of the crisis in housing — there needs to be a sea change in policy. (Irish Examiner)
https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/commentanalysis/arid-40327…
# International, Rent, Home ownership, Housing market.