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
Controversial rule around rent bidding ditched by Minns government
Eli Green news.com.au (No paywall)More From Real Estate
Gobsmacking property stat says everything
Gobsmacking property stat says everything
Renters rely on family help as vacancies dwindle
Renters rely on family help as vacancies dwindle
Backyard reveals Aussie renter’s nightmare
Backyard reveals Aussie renter’s nightmare
The Minns government has backflipped on a controversial decision on rent bidding that advocacy organisation said would worsen the housing crisis.
The NSW government has announced it will “press pause” on a proposed law that would have forced agents to notify all applicants if someone offers above the advertised rent.
The proposal was met with opposition by advocacy groups who argued it would “legitimise” rent bidding and lead to “unintended consequences” in a rental market that is already stretched thin.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/renting/controversia…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, State Government.Proposal to ban secret rental bidding comes under fire
Samantha Lock Yahoo News (No paywall)Tenant advocates and real estate agents have criticised NSW laws designed to help tenants amid warnings that bans on secret rent bidding will drive prices higher.
The proposed legislation would close loopholes that allow landlords and real agents to covertly solicit bids on rental properties and take offers without informing other prospective tenants.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/proposal-ban-secret-rental-bidding-052…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, State Government.‘Partial privatisation’: Waterloo South public housing tenants say NSW Labor misled residents
Jordyn Beazley The Guardian (No paywall)After the Minns government won the New South Wales election, Norrie May-Welby finally invested in a mod con to her home that would seem humdrum to most: she bought new fly screens.
This, she thought, was the end of seven years spent waiting for the day she would be relocated from her home at Waterloo South public housing estate.
But now, May-Welby is one of more than 3,000 residents awaiting answers after a string of conflicting Labor messages has left them confused about the future of the estate.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/03/sydney-wa…
# Hot topic NSW, Public and community housing, Personal stories, State Government.NSW first home buyers to save tens of thousands of dollars in stamp duty
Nine News 9 News (No paywall)First home buyers in New South Wales will be granted increased stamp duty exemptions and concessions from the start of July after legislation passed state parliament on Thursday.
# Hot topic, Video NSW, Campaigns and law reform, Home ownership, State Government.Rental advocacy bodies, welfare groups says rent bidding reform could increase prices
Jessica Wang news.com.au (No paywall)Top rental and welfare advocacy bodies have warned the government that proposed legislation to end rent bidding will have the opposite effect and potentially increase prices and exacerbate renter pain.
This comes after the NSW government attempted to enact its first tranche of rental reforms aimed at stamping out rental bidding, with the legislation currently referred to a committee for further review.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/renting/rental-advoc…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, State Government.Social Housing Residents Protest Demolition Plan
Channel 10 Channel 10 (No paywall)Social housing residents at Wentworth Avenue in Glebe are protesting over a plan to demolish their homes.
https://www.facebook.com/10NewsFirstSyd/videos/656941426247881/?…
# Hot topic NSW, Public and community housing, Campaigns and law reform, Planning and development.Greens halve their demands for backing Labor’s $10b housing bill
Anthony Galloway The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The standoff over the Albanese government’s $10 billion housing fund is a step closer to being resolved after the Greens halved their demands for supporting the legislation.
Greens leader Adam Bandt and housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather will on Sunday announce a new set of conditions that would be required for the Greens to support the bill, which will return to the Senate for debate later this month.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/greens-halve-their-deman…
# Hot topic Australia, Affordable housing, Federal Government, Housing affordability.Australia Is Facing the Biggest Housing Crisis in Generations, and Labor’s Plan Will Make It Worse
Max Chandler-Mather Jacobin (No paywall)Anthony Albanese’s Labor government is accusing Greens MPs of standing in the way of solutions to the housing crisis. But under Labor’s plan, the proportion of public housing will drop while rents keep rising.
In the middle of the worst housing crisis in Australia’s history, a major national debate has emerged over the Labor government’s proposed centerpiece housing policy, the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF).
https://jacobin.com/2023/06/australia-labor-greens-housing-futur…
# Hot topic Australia, Federal Government, Housing affordability, Planning and development.