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
LOCAL NEWS Report says it's cheaper to buy a home in Detroit than to rent one, but for how much longer?
Paula Wethington CBS News (No paywall)If you are considering whether to rent or buy your home in Detroit, the latest listing data might surprise you. Detroit and Pittsburgh are the two cities in the top U.S. 50 metropolitan areas where it was cheaper to buy a home than rent a home during January, Realtor.com reports. The calculations do not include property taxes and insurance. The typical home list price in Detroit was $239,950 during January; resulting in a monthly mortgage payment of $1,252 compared with the median rent of $1,313. For Pittsburgh, the median home list price was $229,700 in January, with a monthly mortgage payment of just $1,199. During that same time, the median rent in the Pennsylvania metro area was $1,413.
https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/cheaper-to-rent-or-buy-detr…
# Hot topic International, .Amendments to Residential Land Lease Communities Act
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)As reported in Outasite 12, the laws governing residential land lease communities changed in 2024. We have updated our factsheets to reflect the changes. Many residents in land lease communities have started to receive notices from their operators around some of the more notable changes to the Act. If you’re a home owner who has received notice of a change to your fixed method or by-notice method of site fee increase, and are not sure if it complies with the new requirements, contact your local Tenants Advice service for advice.
https://www.tenants.org.au/thenoticeboard/news/further-amendments
# NSW, Land lease communities.Lismore squatters negotiate with NSW RA over buyback houses
Echo (No paywall)The people occupying buyback houses in Lismore were able to come together with the NSW Reconstruction Authority (RA) on Friday to talk about potential ways to move forward following the RAs attempt to disconnect water to some of the premises. ‘The meeting, facilitated by Superintendent Scott Tanner, occurred after authorities attempted to disconnect water services to the occupied homes in the flood-buyback zone – despite residents’ consistent offers to pay for these essential utilities,’ said House You following the meeting. It is understood that the negotiations came after the RA disconnected water to one house occupied by a single mother, and attempted to disconnect water at a Pine Street house.
https://www.echo.net.au/2025/02/lismore-squatters-negotiate-with…
# Hot topic NSW, Disasters.Cost-of-living pressures drive record demand for housing legal assistance
Karl Hoerr Law Society Journal (No paywall)The spike, recorded in the service’s annual report for 2023-24, reveals that almost 4,500 people per year are trying to secure assistance for housing and tenancy issues. Natalie Bradshaw is a Senior Solicitor at Legal Aid NSW and heads up their Housing and Homelessness specialist teams. She says cost-of-living pressures are definitely flowing through, with increased demand for legal services. “We’ve seen an increase in rents in recent years and a lot of people who were already struggling to find affordable housing have just felt that pressure in the NSW rental market,” says Bradshaw. People are coming to Legal Aid with a range of concerns, either in private rental or social housing.
https://lsj.com.au/articles/cost-of-living-pressures-drive-recor…
# Must read NSW, Rent.The plan to return hundreds of homes to inner Sydney’s rental market
Megan Gorrey The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Councils are intensifying pressure on the NSW government to toughen restrictions on short-term rentals in Sydney’s inner city, as the state’s housing minister says all options will be considered to increase the supply of longer-term rental homes. The government is weighing up tougher rules for short-term rental properties, such as tightening a cap on the number of days they may be let out and imposing a levy on holiday homes used as short-term rentals, but it has yet to propose any changes.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/the-plan-to-return-hundreds-…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent.From pools to seawalls – councils can’t keep their heads above water
Sarah Macdonald The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)There’s red-hot fury in the gentle streets of North Sydney over its pool rebuild, cost blowout and a proposal for rate rises of 87 per cent over two years. The laid-back vibe of the northern beaches has been contaminated by resident rage due to a proposal for a 40 per cent increase over three years. With their blue waters and great lifestyle, these Sydney areas have been the envy of many of us, who would love to live there. But if you’re feeling suddenly smug for not doing so, I’ve got bad news. Your council may be in trouble, too.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/from-pools-to-seawalls-counc…
# NSW, .Land lease communities: Update to the standards for solar installations
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)We recently updated our land lease communities factsheet: Making alterations to your home. The update covers a significant change to Australian Standard AU/NZS4777.1 around solar installations. There is now an increase in capacity for inverter energy systems to 200kVA before the Operator or Owner of a community is required to install additional grid protection equipment. In an article in our June 2023 edition of Outasite, Sustainable energy should be an option for all residents, we reported on the now revised maximum inverter capacity.
https://www.tenants.org.au/thenoticeboard/news/update-standards-…
# Must read NSW, Land lease communities.Australian state government’s rationale for demolition of public housing debunked by refurbishment proposal
Paul Bartizan World Socialist Website (No paywall)A recent report issued by a group of independent architects proved that 44 high rise public housing towers in Melbourne can be refurbished to provide quality public housing. The report represents a devastating indictment of the Victorian Labor government, which has claimed that total demolition is the only possible response to deteriorating conditions in the 6,600 apartments. Some 10,000 residents are impacted by the government’s plan, which is slated to begin early this year. Simon Newport, chief executive of Homes Victoria—the government body tasked with demolishing the towers—has claimed that any attempt to refurbish the towers would be like “putting lipstick on a pig.”
# Hot topic Australia, Public and community housing.