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
Queensland heads off crisis talks with doubling of social housing spend
Matt Dennien (Paywall)An extra 5600 social and affordable homes will be built by the Queensland government over the next five years in a previously floated move made to preempt crisis talks. But the number is still short of what the sector says it needs. The state government will pour an additional $1 billion into its housing fund, doubling its size and the number of homes built from its investment returns by 2027.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/queensland/queensland-heads-off-…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Affordable housing, Housing market.Vladimir Putin's military draft sent thousands of men fleeing to Kazakhstan, driving up rents in its biggest cities
Lucia Stein ABC (No paywall)Though thousands of kilometres away from the front-line in Ukraine, the consequences of Vladimir Putin's deadly war are being sharply felt in Kazakhstan. ... After Putin declared a "partial mobilisation" in an attempt to get his disastrous war back on track, more than 200,000 Russians packed up their bags and descended on Kazakhstan. The sudden influx caught many small communities by surprise. Hotels, hostels and Airbnb apartments quickly sold out within days, sending prices for remaining accommodation skyrocketing and forcing new arrivals to find emergency lodging in schools, cinemas and gyms. ... The arrival of thousands of Russians in such a short period of time has also strained housing markets in some cities, prompting landlords to raise rents against a backdrop of rampant inflation.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-29/vladimir-putin-faces-more…
# International, Rent, Homelessness.Turning a rental backyard into an edible garden
Gardening Australia ABC (No paywall)For many gardeners, living in a rental home can really put a dampener on garden dreams, but for horticulturist Brooklyn Mabbott her lack of home ownership hasn’t stopped her from creating a productive edible back garden her household can pretty much live off. The 29-year-old lives in Bowden, ten minutes away from the busy city streets of Adelaide. (ABC Everyday)
https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/how-to-turn-your-backyard-into-a…
# Australia, Rent, Home.The Sydney suburbs where house prices have risen and fallen the most
Tawar Razaghi and Melissa Heagney Domain (No paywall)House prices in outer Sydney suburbs are holding up the best in the city’s property downturn, new data reveals. Meanwhile, just a handful of suburbs in some premium and inner Sydney pockets recorded house price falls over the year to September as the rest of the city escaped annual price falls.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/the-sydney-suburbs-where-ho…
# NSW, Housing market, Sydney.‘A slap in the face’: NSW state housing push set to clip Kiama’s green hills
John Ellicott The Guardian (No paywall)A portion of the famous rolling green hills near Kiama, on the New South Wales south coast, is under threat from a housing development, after the state government overrode Kiama municipal council zoning to allow a 440-house development. The South Kiama project is part of a push by the Perrottet government to ease housing pressures, but the Kiama mayor, Neil Reilly, said viable alternative sites on non-rural land were ignored, including an old quarry at nearby Bombo and vacant land within Kiama’s town boundaries.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/oct/28/a-slap-in…
# NSW, Housing market, Planning and development, Regional NSW.Want to save up to $380,000 on your home purchase cost? Here’s how
Jessica Irvine The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Labor came to power having pledged a radical ‘Help to Buy’ scheme, under which the federal government would help low-to-middle income buyers by essentially co-purchasing up to a maximum of 40 per cent of a new home and up to 30 per cent of the purchase of an existing dwelling. The policy seems to have been forgotten by most people, including, perhaps, Labor which included $325 million for the scheme in this week’s budget, but provided no new details on the policy ... But if you are someone who has completely given up on the idea of homeownership because you think you will never be able to afford it, it’s definitely something worth getting your head around and keeping your eye on. So, how does it work?
https://www.smh.com.au/money/borrowing/want-to-save-up-to-380-00…
# Australia, Federal Government, Home ownership.EU citizens’ housing ‘at risk’ as new Home Office digital ID leaves them unable to prove status to landlords
Lucie Heath (No paywall)EU nationals living in the UK say their ability to find housing or employment is being hampered by a new digital ID system introduced by the Home Office. Some say they have experienced technical glitches with the system, which sees EU nationals given a digital share code to prove their immigration status – rather than a physical card, that has left them unable to prove their status when trying to rent a property or find work. EU nationals who have obtained a right to live in the UK via the post-Brexit settlement scheme are only able to prove their rights and entitlements in this country via the Home Office’s “view and prove” online system. But the3million, a charity that supports EU Citizens living in the UK, told i they are contacted “every week” by people who are unable to access the system and are therefore unable to prove their status to potential landlord or employers. (inews)
https://inews.co.uk/news/eu-citizens-housing-at-risk-as-new-home…
# International, Rent, International, Landlords and agents.Housing affordability crisis continues as strong demand pushes up Adelaide rents
Ethan Rix ABC (No paywall)Adelaide rents rose 12 per cent in the year to September — the city's biggest rent hike on record — according to the latest PropTrack report, published by the company behind realestate.com.au. SA's Housing Minister Nick Champion said the state has an "extraordinarily tight rental market" and asked landlords to have "consideration for their tenants at this time".
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-30/rental-crisis-continues-i…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market.