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
PropTrack: Melbourne rents rising faster than any other capital, could get worse
Nathan Mawby realestate.com.au (No paywall)Melbourne rents are growing the fastest of any capital city in the nation and our most affordable homes are being hit the hardest.
And things are set to get worse for tenants with the state’s top real estate advocacy group warning they believe landlords are preparing to exit the market in droves.
New PropTrack figures show the city’s typical unit cost tenants $470 a week to lease at the end of June after a $20 (4.4 per cent) a week lift in the past three months.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/proptrack-melbourne-rents-ris…
# Hot topic, Research alert Australia, Rent, Housing affordability, Personal stories.Mixed views over housing affordability measures
Catriona Stirrat SBS (No paywall)The debate continues over the federal government's stalled $10 billion housing fund proposal. The Greens and Coalition blocked the bill last week, citing their own issues with the fund. But industry experts and economists are also divided over the scheme.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/podcast-episode/mixed-views-over-hou…
# Must read, Hot topic, Audio Australia, Federal Government, Housing affordability, Planning and development.Outer suburbs’ housing cost advantage vanishes when you add in transport – it needs to be part of the affordability debate
Neil G Sipe The Conversation (No paywall)In all the debate about Australia’s housing crisis, the impact of transport has been largely overlooked.
When we talk about transport, it’s usually about time spent commuting and not the out-of-pocket costs. While housing is typically the biggest household cost, spending on transport is the second- or third-largest cost – and these costs are inextricably linked.
https://theconversation.com/outer-suburbs-housing-cost-advantage…
# Hot topic Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market, Planning and development.YIMBYs and NIMBYs unite! You can have both heritage protection and more housing
James Lesh The Conversation (No paywall)Heritage conservation has been blamed for making the housing crisis worse by standing in the way of new, higher-density housing. But protecting heritage and increasing housing should be complementary objectives. Heritage suffers when not enjoyed by our growing communities. Housing suffers when not shaped by our communal heritage.
YIMBYs and NIMBYs are usually on opposing sides of this debate. Yet what they agree on is the desirability of heritage areas. People in both the Not In My Back Yard and Yes In My Back Yard camps want to live in established suburbs, often in the inner city, with attractive historic urban landscapes.
https://theconversation.com/yimbys-and-nimbys-unite-you-can-have…
# Hot topic, History Australia, Heritage listings, Housing affordability, Planning and development.This student is sharing a bed with a stranger because she can't afford the rent
Sandra Fulloon SBS (No paywall)Priyanka (not her real name) is a 19-year-old international student who, at night, sleeps in a bed in a sharehouse on the outskirts of Melbourne.
But during the daytime, the bed has a different occupant; a man who works night shifts as a truck driver.
The practice is known as 'hot-bedding'.
Between them, the two strangers, who are both from India, split the $550 per month rent for one room. The other male tenants in the house are also truck drivers and from India.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/this-student-is-sharing-a-be…
# Must read, Hot topic Australia, Rent, Housing affordability, Personal stories.Busting myths about Hobart's short-stay accommodation owners
Fiona Blackwood ABC (No paywall)A new report has revealed details about the wealth of the people who own short-stay accommodation in the short-stay capital of Australia, Hobart.
The Tenants' Union of Tasmania found short-stay owners in the municipality of Hobart had property portfolios worth almost double the average Australian household's wealth.
"Short-stay accommodation providers continue to repeat the line that their hosts are everyday people who are sharing their home in order to stay afloat," said Tenants' Union principal solicitor Ben Bartl.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-30/report-reveals-details-ab…
# Must read, Hot topic Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market, Short-term holiday letting.‘Don’t put up rubbish’ proposals for ‘crap’ housing, NSW planning minister tells developers
Elias Visontay The Guardian (No paywall)The New South Wales planning minister, Paul Scully, has told property developers “don’t put up rubbish” proposals for “crap” housing that people don’t want to live in.
At the Property Council of Australia’s housing summit on Wednesday in Sydney, Scully also criticised local council zoning laws that prohibit terraces, townhouses and manor houses from being built, saying these denser dwelling types would help the state achieve its housing target.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/28/nsw-plann…
# Hot topic Australia, Housing affordability, Planning and development, State Government.Vienna housing model a blueprint for Australian cities?
Cat Woods Law Society Journal (No paywall)Can Vienna's model provide a feasible blueprint for Sydney and Australia’s other major urban cities, which face a major housing crisis featuring unaffordable rents, unstable conditions, and exploitation by owner-investors and real estate agents?
Vienna, with its unique and internationally lauded housing model, was recently recognised by both the British culture magazine Monocle and The Economist’s sister company, the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU).
The city impressed judges across a range of measures, both qualitative and quantitative, including affordability, cultural diversity, a thriving arts scene, and housing provisions. While Sydney featured in the top ten in the EIU list, it did not make the top ten in the Monocle Quality of Life Survey 2023, coming in at 14.
https://lsj.com.au/articles/vienna-housing-model-a-blueprint-for…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media Australia, Campaigns and law reform, Housing affordability, Planning and development.