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
Calls for government intervention amid 'very serious' rental crisis
ABC ABC (No paywall)Dr Michael Fotheringham has called for state and federal governments to intervene, saying there is a lack of available rental stock across Australia.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-21/calls-for-government-inte…
# Video Australia, Federal Government, Housing affordability, State Government.Real estate agents called out on TikTok for creative rental ads
A Current Affair Staff A Current Affair (No paywall)Aussies have taken to TikTok to call out real estate agents they accuse of using creative language to incorrectly describe properties amid the nation's rental crisis.
"They should be embarrassed by some of the things they put out there," Rachel told A Current Affair after she went viral on TikTok for pointing out some of the worst.
https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/rental-crisis-aussie-r…
# TUNSW in the media, Video Australia, Campaigns and law reform, Housing affordability, Housing market, Landlords and agents.‘Are you asking us to sleep under the Harbour Bridge?’: 3 myths about international students and the housing crisis
Angela Lehmann The Conversation (No paywall)There is a story doing the media rounds that international students – particularly from China – will now “flood” back to Australia. It is claimed this will push up already high rents for scarce housing in our major cities.
This story is one of three myths that risk setting up international students as scapegoats for Australia’s ongoing housing crisis. However, immigration data and our monitoring of social media, where international students share their experiences, simply don’t support these narratives.
https://theconversation.com/are-you-asking-us-to-sleep-under-the…
# Must read Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market, Students, Sub-letting.A rental application service is selling extra data protection for $20. Not everyone is sold
Jim Malo and Abbir Dib The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)A rental application platform is offering to withhold identification documents from real estate agents at an additional cost of $20 to renters.
The tenancy application portal 2Apply launched the service in response to high-profile data breaches such as the Optus, Harcourts and LJ Hooker hacks.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/a-rental-application-servic…
# Must read, TUNSW in the media Australia, Privacy and access, Security and safety, Landlords and agents.Shameless realtors are already grinding out property listings with ChatGPT
Noor Al-Sibai Futurism (No paywall)It seems that real estate agents are already using OpenAI's controversial ChatGPT artificial intelligence software to pump out property listings so they can free up time to do what they do best: part would-be homeowners from their money.
# International, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Response to Reforming the Private Rented Sector Report
ACORN Acorn (UK) (No paywall)The Housing Committee of the house of commons today published its inquiry into the government’s white paper ‘A fairer Private Rented Sector’ which in June last year laid out the government's intentions for the upcoming Renters Reform Bill.
You can read ACORN’s initial response to the White Paper here, and our submission to this Inquiry here.
Although we are pleased that the committee has made some sensible recommendations on the future regulation of private renting, and hope these are taken on board in the drafting of the bill, we are surprised by some of their conclusions, and are disappointed that in the midst of the worst cost of living and housing crisis for a generation, the housing committee have not been bolder in suggesting the real solutions we need to ensure the Private Rented Sector is fit and fair for tenants.
https://www.acorntheunion.org.uk/response_to_reforming_the_priva…
# International, Eviction, Campaigns and law reform, Landlords and agents, No-grounds evictions.Rent shock ahead as warnings grow of bust in new home market
Shane Wright and Rachel clun The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)The housing industry fears new home construction will tumble to its lowest levels in a decade as the Reserve Bank drives up interest rates, while tenants have been warned national rents could soar more than 11 per cent over the coming 12 months.
As minutes of the Reserve’s latest board meeting showed it considered hitting borrowers with a 0.5 percentage point lift in rates this month, analysis by St George suggests renters may have to pay an extra $10 billion to their landlords this year in a move that would slow the overall economy.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/rent-shock-ahead-as-warn…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Federal Government, Housing affordability, Housing market, Planning and development.North Norfolk: The place where one in 10 homes is largely unused
Laurence Cawley BBC (No paywall)"I will never be able to buy my own home here," says Polly Robins, a third-generation resident of Wells-next-the-Sea, a North Norfolk town sitting in an area of outstanding natural beauty.
She is philosophical rather than bitter about her property prospects.
"I would want to own my place, but only because it would give me some security," the 50-year-old says.
And yet Ms Robins, who works 50 hours a week, counts herself lucky.