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
‘Creating massive uncertainty’: Government told to act on responsible lending laws
Jennifer Duke The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The federal government’s planned repeal of responsible lending laws has come under attack from the Greens who are trying to force it to take the legislation to a vote this week. The government is looking to wind back some requirements on borrowers within the National Consumer Credit Protection Act. It is concerned that the requirements are too onerous and that facilitating more borrowing could help the economy’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. But Senator McKim said the laws were there to protect consumers from “greedy banks” and to prevent them from lending money to people who cannot afford it. He criticised the government for using the pandemic to wind back the rules.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/creating-massive-uncerta…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Federal Government, Housing market.A new, rebalanced UK could be the happy legacy of a shift to working from home
Rowan Moore The Guardian (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... As the government contemplates making it easier for workers to stay away from the office, could this revitalise poorer parts of the country?
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/20/new-rebala…
# International, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.The House Of Horrors: DFA Daily 20th June 2021
Martin North (No paywall)In today’s post we pick apart the horrors of Australian housing, look at a horror story from US housing ... (Digital Finance Analytics)
https://digitalfinanceanalytics.com/blog/the-house-of-horrors-df…
# Audio Australia, Housing market, International.Accommodation supplement propping up rental market by $30m a week
Susan Edmunds (No paywall)From New Zealand ... The amount of money spent on accommodation supplements to help struggling tenants pay rent has doubled in recent years but there are warnings there is no easy way to redesign the system. Accommodation supplements are paid to people who need assistance with their housing costs, and are tied to incomes. In the March quarter of this year, there were 360,549 receiving the accommodation supplement, up 43,023 on the year before.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/125195278/accommodation-supplem…
# International, Rent.The First Home Super Saver scheme can boost your deposit. Here's how to use it
Patrick Wright ABC (No paywall)Ana Kresina moved to Australia from Canada about seven years ago, and lately she's been thinking of buying a family home. To help her save a deposit, she's using the First Home Super Saver (FHSS) scheme, which helps eligible first-home buyers to save a house deposit through super. (ABC Everyday)
https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/how-the-first-home-super-saver-s…
# Australia, Federal Government, Home ownership.Australia is seeing a housing boom, but builders are struggling to get the timber to make them
Richard Willingham ABC (No paywall)Andrew Clements wishes his truss business could pump out more trusses to keep up with Australia's insatiable appetite for building supplies, but he simply cannot get enough timber due to a "perfect storm" buffeting the construction industry.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-21/australia-victoria-housin…
# Australia, Federal Government, Housing market.Clause that would have prevented landlords ending lease dropped from Queensland rental reforms
Jessica Marszalek and Domanii Cameron (Paywall)A clause that would have prohibited Queensland landlords from ending a lease has been dropped in major rental reforms to be introduced in parliament today. See what the changes mean for you. Landlords will be able to end a lease at the end of its term without reason and retain rights to refuse pets in redrawn rental reforms that signify a major back down to the industry. (Courier Mail) You can read about this on the Queensland Government's website at: [https://www.rta.qld.gov.au/about-us/legislation/rental-law-reform-proposals]
https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/clause-that-would…
# Australia, Eviction, Rent, State Government.Renters deserve warm homes in winter
Riley Brooke Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)Like many Sydneysiders who rent, I live in an apartment that, in winter, is perpetually flippin’ freezing. My apartment is one of five in a subdivided former townhouse, and the bathroom and storage room of my apartment are an add-on to the back of the property, outside of the property’s original brick walls. You can actually see to the outside through the crack between the brick wall back of the original house and the walls of the added section. The door to the added section has a large gap underneath, and doesn’t close properly. This all means there is very little stopping the cold from getting in, and very little keeping any heating I put on inside the building – so it’s freezing!
https://www.tenants.org.au/blog/renters-deserve-warm-homes-winte…
# Must read NSW, Rent, Minimum habitability standards.