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
NSW government calls eviction moratorium for renters amid Sydney COVID lockdown
Warren Barnsley (No paywall)New South Wales renters struggling to make ends meet during the COVID-19 lockdown will be protected from being evicted. The state government has on Tuesday called a 60-day moratorium on evictions for residential tenants who have lost 25 per cent or more of their income due to the stay-at-home orders. “There will be no evictions for the next 60 days for those doing it tough - for workers who had a reduction in income by 25 per cent,” said Treasurer Dominic Perrottet. Moreover, Perrottet says any landlords who provide rental relief for tenants can gain access to rebates and a reduction in land tax. The NSW government has made a similar announcement for commercial and retail tenants. (7 News) Matt Wade in the Sydney Morning Herald also reports on assistance to residential tenants at: [https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/support-package-will-help-but-nsw-s-economic-recovery-has-already-been-dealt-a-blow-20210713-p589e8.html].
https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/nsw-government-c…
# Must read NSW, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, State Government.As Australia faces a rental crisis, is it time to re-introduce price caps?
Allison Worrall Domain (No paywall)As a devastating rental crisis grips several regions across the country, there is little dispute that more affordable rentals are desperately needed to prevent locals from being squeezed out of their homes and communities. But how this might be achieved is generally where the conversation gets stuck or turns sour, when ideologies clash and emotive us-versus-them rhetoric ensues. ... The “big problem” in popular regional areas is that prospective tenants can be among 100 applicants, according to Leo Patterson Ross, the chief executive of the Tenants Union of NSW. “The dynamic falls apart for letting the market set the price,” Mr Patterson Ross says. “That’s where we see really rapid increases … with no correlation to the quality of housing.” Although rent control is somewhat of a “toxic word”, Mr Patterson Ross points to other widely accepted forms of price controls, such as the regulation of hail and rank taxi fares to protect customers being charged excessively. “We have price control in reality in a few other places like energy and utilities,” he adds. “Again, we acknowledge that the thing being sold is important not to leave entirely up to the market, and consumers have insufficient power to adequately influence the supply chain with just their actions alone. “That’s really similar to renting.” ... Rental regulation fell into the history books for several decades until the pandemic saw states and territories introduce temporary legislation to protect tenants from evictions. Four states went as far as banning rent increases. ... There are dozens of models of rent regulation in place across the world. ... “To the extent that rent control may discourage what has been over the last few decades increased speculation into rental housing, that would be a good thing,” [Dr Martin, a senior research fellow at UNSW’s City Futures Research Centre'] says. “If we didn’t have that, we could have a bit more space in our rental market for community housing providers and social housing providers to be developers of housing in their own right.” Mr Ross says superannuation funds or large real estate investment trusts could also step into the void. “You create a culture where the expectation for your property investment is a solid, safe, stable return, not the get-rich-quick approach Australia has.”
https://www.domain.com.au/news/as-australia-faces-a-rental-crisi…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media, History NSW, Rent, Affordable housing, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Regional NSW.Young renters cry out against ‘lack of respect’ in rental market
Bianca Dabu (No paywall)Young Australians have expressed dismay over the perceived discrimination within the rental market as the wealth divide forces them into long-term renting. The Young Renters: We Hear You report by the Tenants’ Union of New South Wales and Youth Action has highlighted the struggle young renters face within the Australian property market, driven mostly by dwindling wealth, higher rates of unemployment and cuts to assistance programs like JobKeeper and JobSeeker. (nestegg)
https://www.nestegg.com.au/invest-money/property/young-renters-c…
# TUNSW in the media NSW, Discrimination, Rent, Housing market, Young people.Investing in new social housing for survivors of domestic violence ‘could boost Australian economy’
Amy Remeikis The Guardian (No paywall)Investment in new social housing for survivors of family and domestic violence in Australia would not only give safety and security to some of those needing it the most, it also makes economic sense, new analysis has found. The pandemic has taken some of the attention away from the issue of domestic and family violence, despite an escalation of abuse during this time and the fact that it is the main reason women and children seek specialist homelessness services. You will find an audio from the ABC on the same report at: [https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/am/social-housing-could-save-millions/13441040]
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jul/12/investing-in-new…
# Research alert, Audio Australia, Domestic violence, Public and community housing, Federal Government, Women.Up to 7,700 women return to violent partners over lack of affordable housing, research suggests
Tom Stayner SBS (No paywall)The federal government should invest billions more in social housing to prevent women being forced to decide between returning to abusive partners and sleeping rough, according to a new report. More investment in social housing is required to help protect thousands of women forced to return to violent partners each year or face homelessness, new research has found. Modelling by Equity Economics estimates as many as 7,700 women are returning to violent partners with another 9,000 domestic violence victims forced into homelessness. The research was commissioned by the Everybody's Home campaign, which is calling on the federal government to spend $7.6 billion on almost 17,000 new homes to address the entrenched shortage of housing for women in need. It says the additional social housing investment would not only provide security to women fleeing abuse but also deliver economic benefits.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/up-to-7-700-women-return-to-violent-…
# Research alert Australia, Domestic violence, Public and community housing, Affordable housing, Federal Government, Women.Sweden’s Collective Bargaining for Rents Must Be Defended
Anton Osgard (No paywall)In Sweden, rents aren’t set at landlords’ whims but through collective bargaining with the tenants’ union. The system is a reminder of Swedish social democracy’s once-great reformist measures — but also how vulnerable they are in an age of neoliberal counter reforms. (Jacobin Magazine)
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/07/sweden-left-party-social-democrat…
# International, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, History, Housing market.Rental Burdens: Rethinking Affordability Measures
(No paywall)How much of your income should you set aside for rent? With the cost of housing on the rise, researchers are reexamining the 30-percent rule of thumb for measuring rental burden. (Edge, US Department of Housing and Urban Development)
https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr_edge_featd_article_09…
# International, Rent, Home ownership, Housing affordability.How a cookbook brought Melbourne's inner-city public housing community together
Jessica Lodge ABC (No paywall)Almost a year on from enduring Australia's strictest lockdown, residents of Melbourne's public housing towers have turned to cooking to help them heal and reconnect their community. Jess Ho from The Guardian also writes about this cookbook. Go to: [https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/jul/13/cooking-is-a-way-for-me-to-share-my-love-recipes-from-melbourne-public-housing-residents]
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-11/vic-how-a-cookbook-brough…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Coronavirus COVID-19.