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
Melbourne apartment defect horror leaves owner with health issues
Sue Williams Domain (No paywall)When Zoe Foster visited her doctor for a routine COVID-19 test, the doctor regarded her swab with horror. “Your nose is black inside!” she exclaimed. “It looks like … mould spores.”
https://www.domain.com.au/news/melbourne-apartment-defect-horror…
# Australia, Strata, Health, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards, Mould.Newcastle's public housing on the decline
Sage Swinton (Paywall)There were 150 less properties in Newcastle owned by the state government’s housing arm last year than a decade before as applicants face a wait of up to 10 years for social housing. ... Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp said the decrease was “disappointing, but it’s not surprising”. “This government is flogging off these properties in Newcastle and raking in the cash, but completely failing to build appropriate properties to keep up with demand,” he said. (Newcastle Herald)
https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/7303133/newcastles-publ…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Regional NSW, State Government.Banking regulators poised to tighten lending standards to cool market
Shane Wright and Clancy Yeates The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The Reserve Bank and the nation’s prudential regulator are poised to tighten lending standards in the face of soaring property prices and growing household debt as Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says higher house prices are good for the economy. The Commonwealth Bank, the nation’s biggest lender, revealed it would increase the interest rate it uses to assesses new loan applications, while the RBA and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority are considering ways to temper some of the heat across the national market in coming weeks.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/banking-regulators-poise…
# Australia, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing market.Flammable cladding on apartment complexes leaves painful legacy in Victoria months after ban
Christina Zhou ABC (No paywall)Sara Robertson used to wake up in the middle of the night thinking that she heard a fire alarm and her apartment was going to burn down. The 35-year-old teacher and her husband Alan did their due diligence and knew there were some fire safety issues before they bought their home in Melbourne's south-east in 2018. But they didn't realise just how serious the issues were until they moved in, nor were they prepared to be told their home was covered in flammable cladding.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-20/victoria-flammable-claddi…
# Australia, Asbestos, lead, hazardous materials, Home ownership.Social housing experts split over effectiveness of Canberra's new Sleepbus for vulnerable women and children
Isaac Nowroozi ABC (No paywall)Canberra's first community-funded Sleepbus will hit the road today, despite concerns from social housing providers that the temporary accommodation is a band-aid solution that fails to address the root cause of homelessness. The pink-and-black bus will be parked at the Tuggeranong Uniting Church and offers short-term accommodation for vulnerable women and children.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-19/social-housing-experts-sp…
# Australia, Domestic violence, Homelessness.‘I don’t like it’: Rising number of Sydney families becoming long-term renters
Caitlin Fitzsimmons The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)An increasing number of Sydney families are becoming long-term renters, including in established suburbs around the eastern suburbs and inner west. ... Recent analysis by the University of NSW City Futures Research Centre showed renting increased over the 25 years as a proportion of households in the inner west, eastern suburbs, north shore and northern beaches but not as much as Greater Sydney as a whole. Meanwhile, the growth in renting was greater than expected for most areas west of Homebush, including north western areas such as Erskine Park and Whalan and south west towards Campbelltown. UNSW senior research fellow Chris Martin said these areas had historically provided an opportunity for relatively affordable home ownership but “more and more of those properties are owned by landlords rather than owner-occupiers.”
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/i-don-t-like-it-rising-numbe…
# NSW, Rent, Families, Housing market.Trying to stay warm? Here’s the most cost-effective way to heat a room
Sean Naden and Nick O'Malley The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)As Sydneysiders shiver through their coldest day in nearly four decades and Melburnians get buffeted by high winds, a thermal comfort expert has suggested people can better protect themselves by getting better homes. ... Houses better designed for winter – or even retro-fitted for it – with fewer cracks, better glazing and better insulation, would have left Australians more comfortable this week, Australia’s leading expert in the niche field of thermal comfort says. Either way when the cold hit his Sydney home this week, Professor de Dear, who works with the University of Sydney’s school of architecture, opted to curl up with the cat rather than try to heat the surrounding space. This sort of direct heating is always most efficient, he says.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/sustainability/trying-to-stay…
# NSW, Utilities water energy internet, Fixtures - lights, aircon etc.Regional rents surge as mining and domestic tourism booms put pressure on vacancies
Rachel Pupazzoni ABC (No paywall)Port Hedland real estate agent Scott Lowe and his team have been busy trying to find local residents somewhere to rent. The Pilbara region, like many outside the capital cities around Australia, has seen an influx of people moving to town, and agents like Mr Lowe have been struggling to find enough homes for tenants.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-21/regional-australia-rents-…
# Australia, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market, Regional NSW.