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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See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
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Archive
Vienna’s housing strategy—How this city became one of the most equitable and affordable in Europe -
Annabelle Quince ABC (No paywall)Australia is facing a housing crisis - there is a shortage of affordable housing, essential workers can no longer live in the areas they work, and families are finding themselves homeless. While our politicians are struggling to come up with ideas to solve this crisis, one city that has managed to develop a housing strategy that works for most of its citizens - Vienna.
Guests
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/rearvision/rear-vi…
# Audio International, Public and community housing.We asked two experts for their solutions to the rental crisis. This is what they came up with
Daniel Jeffrey 9 News (No paywall)Ask three different people about how to solve Australia's rental crisis and you'll likely get three different answers.
So, after asking two housing experts whether the cost of renting was likely to ease next year and whether the federal government's signature housing policy was enough of an intervention – spoilers: probably not and definitely not, respectively – 9news.com.au invited them to offer up some policies that would address the issue.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/rental-housing-crisis-australi…
# Hot topic Australia, Eviction, Rent, Short-term holiday letting.Sydney going backwards on housing: NSW premier
Duncan Murray AAP (No paywall)NSW has fallen behind other states in addressing housing shortages despite being the most in need of new homes.
The state is building five new dwellings for each 1000 residents every year, compared with roughly eight to nine per 1000 residents a year in Queensland and Victoria.
"This is Australia's biggest state. We're Australia's largest city. We have the largest increase in rents and we've also had the largest increase in house prices," Premier Chris Minns said on Wednesday.
https://www.perthnow.com.au/business/commercial-property/sydney-…
# Must read, Hot topic NSW, Affordable housing, Housing affordability, State Government.NSW rental pain: Households spending more than 35 per cent on rent
Jessica Wang news.com.au (No paywall)Households in NSW are spending the most of their household income on rent, with one housing data expert warning conditions were the toughest he’s seen in more than 20 years.
NSW renters are spending more than 35 per sent of a household’s weekly income on rent, new data from Suburbtrends has revealed.
The worrying statistic comes as welfare groups warn a household is in rental stress if more than 30 per cent of its income goes towards rent.
Suburbtrends founder Kent Lardner said people “across the board” were falling under rental strain in “one fell swoop”, with conditions the toughest he’s his 20-year-plus career.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/renting/nsw-rental-p…
# Hot topic, Research alert NSW, Housing affordability, Housing market, Planning and development.Walgett Aboriginal elders demand housing help 18 months after men's homeless shelter demolished
Kenji Sato ABC (No paywall)Aboriginal elders in Walgett are demanding more housing support from the state government more than a year after the town's only men's shelter was demolished.
The NSW government bulldozed Namoi House in January last year to make way for domestic violence units, but construction ground to a halt due to a budget blowout.
The absence of support in the town comes as new Homelessness NSW data shows Walgett has the worst rates of homelessness in the state.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-17/walgett-shelter-demolishe…
# Hot topic NSW, Aboriginal renters, Campaigns and law reform, Planning and development.More in NSW falling into rental stress
Steven Byerley MPA Mag (No paywall)Renters in New South Wales are facing the toughest conditions in over 20 years, as new data from Suburbtrends reveals that households in the state are spending more than 35% of their weekly income on rent.
This statistic has raised concerns among welfare groups, who consider a household to be in rental stress when more than 30% of its income is allocated to rent, according to a report from NCA Newswire.
According to Kent Lardner, founder of Suburbtrends, people from all walks of life are experiencing rental strain simultaneously, making the situation particularly challenging.
https://www.mpamag.com/au/news/general/more-in-nsw-falling-into-…
# Hot topic, Research alert NSW, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market.NSW's building industry is reforming after years of apartment defects, but comes too late for many owners
Gavin Coote ABC (No paywall)Brian Tucker is forking out thousands of dollars on quarterly strata fees and paying down his mortgage on an apartment that's been uninhabitable for more than four years.
The Sydney surveyor owns one of the 130 apartments in the defect-plagued Mascot Towers that have been unoccupied since 2019 when cracks were found in the basement.
And while the Mascot Towers saga helped bring systemic issues in the NSW construction industry into clear focus, Mr Tucker's life remains on hold.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-15/nsw-building-industry-ref…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media NSW, Housing affordability, Housing market, Planning and development.International students struggle to find housing in Wollongong
Natalie Croxon Illawarra Mercury (Paywall)International students are falling vulnerable to exploitation as they struggle to find housing in an already stretched Wollongong, with the upcoming academic session bringing another influx of students to the city.
# Hot topic NSW, Housing affordability, Housing market, Students.