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
How the private rental sector created a homelessness crisis in Ireland and England
Mark Jordan and Padraic Kenna The Conversation (No paywall)There is a homelessness crisis in Ireland. More than 11,000 people including 3,500 children were living in emergency homeless accommodation at the end of 2022 – a 300% increase since 2014. And these figures do not even capture the full extent of hidden homelessness because thousands of people in Ireland are living in unaffordable, unsafe, insecure housing.
In recent years Ireland’s private rental sector has been used to plug the gap left by reduced social housing availability. Combined with booming demand from private renters, properties are now in very short supply.
https://theconversation.com/how-the-private-rental-sector-create…
# Hot topic International, Homelessness, Housing affordability, International.Australian rental crisis will get worse as construction fails to keep pace with demand, report says
Josh Taylor The Guardian (No paywall)Australia’s painful rental crisis will get worse in the coming years, a new report says, due to a shortage in supply of new houses and units caused by costs and ongoing constraints in construction.
In its third report on the state of the nation’s housing for 2022-2023, released on Monday, the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) said banks increasing their interest rates earlier relative to the Reserve Bank of Australia guidance had reduced the supply of dwellings.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/apr/03/australia…
# Must read, Hot topic Australia, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market.Landlords welcome ‘exciting’ rent rises, slam ‘ridiculous’ proposals for caps
Michael Koziol The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Landlords have welcomed “exciting” rent increases caused by record low vacancies and the housing supply crunch, while slamming proposals to cap rents to ease pressure on renters as “ridiculous”.
The Australian Landlords Association held a webinar on Tuesday titled “Is it still worth being a landlord?” amid rising interest rates and regulations they say are forcing them out of the market.
Skyrocketing rents have contributed to a cost-of-living crisis for tenants, with helplines inundated and families skipping meals. It has led state governments to contemplate rent caps, and this week Queensland announced it would join NSW and Victoria in limiting rent increases to once a year.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/landlords-welcome-exciting-rent-…
# Must read, Hot topic Australia, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Renting culture.Max Chandler-Mather on the housing bill and the Yimby movement
Paul Karp The Guardian (No paywall)Chief political correspondent Paul Karp is joined by the Greens’ housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather to discuss the housing crisis, Labor’s climate policy and the Indigenous voice to parliament.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/audio/2023/apr/01/max…
# Hot topic, Audio Australia, Rent, Affordable housing, Housing market.Changes to rental laws in Canberra ban no-cause evictions and soliciting rental bids
Charlotte Gore ABC (No paywall)The ACT has become the first Australian jurisdiction to remove all forms of tenancy termination without a legitimate cause in a raft of changes that also bans encouraging rental bidding.
The historic ban on 'no-cause' evictions comes into effect on April 1 — and means landlords cannot terminate a renters' lease unless they provide a legitimate reason.
The changes to the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 will also prevent landlords or real estate agents from asking prospective tenants to offer more in rent than what is advertised.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-31/act-change-tenancy-act-ba…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Another rental increase could leave Shane, and his two beloved dogs, homeless
Allanah Sciberras 9 News (No paywall)Shane Channing worries another rental increase might leave him and his two dogs homeless.
He has lived in his apartment in Whyalla, about 385 km from Adelaide for about five years while receiving welfare payments.
"I understand a lot of people are worse off than me and most people these days are struggling with the rising cost of living, it's very disruptive to my life and doesn't help my mental health," Channing told 9news.com.au.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/exclusive-australian-rental-cr…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Homelessness, Pets.Solar panels could be a lifesaver for public housing tenants grappling with Australia’s soaring energy costs
Benita Kolovos The Guardian (No paywall)Natalie Rabey doesn’t know how much time she has left. But she knows what she wants to do with it.
“While I’m still breathing, I’d like to get some action on solar panels for people in public housing, because it’s just terrible at the moment,” she says.
The 73-year-old public housing resident has spent more than a decade advocating for improved living conditions for public tenants in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs. She says with the cost of living soaring, she has never seen so many people doing it so tough.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/apr/03/solar-panels…
# Hot topic Australia, Utilities electricity water gas, Housing affordability, Personal stories.Greens MLA calls on ACT government to regulate short-term accommodation market as rental crisis continues
Georgia Roberts ABC (No paywall)A Canberra Greens politician says short-term accommodation companies like Airbnb and Stayz are keeping Canberrans from finding affordable rentals.
ACT Greens MLA Johnathan Davis brought forward a motion today in the Legislative Assembly, proposing a cap on the number of short-term rentals in Canberra.
In a statement, he said the motion aimed to "acknowledge and respond" to evidence that short-term rental accommodation was negatively impacting the supply and price of long-term rental properties in the capital.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-30/short-term-accomodation-k…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Housing market, Renting culture.