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
G15 landlord hit with two severe maladministration judgements for damp and mould
Jack Simpson Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... In a judgement today, the ombudsman hit Southern Housing Group with two severe maladministration findings after an investigation found that a resident had made repeated complaints about damp and mould over several years and that the association did not provide a permanent fix. The landlord has now been forced to apologise to the resident and pay compensation of £1,095. According to the ombudsman’s findings, the resident repeatedly complained to the landlord about the recurrence of a damp and mould issue in the flat over five years. However the landlord failed to communicate effectively with the resident throughout and attempted to treat the issue every year by carrying out mould washes and repainting. This short-term solution failed to fix the underlying problem, and the resident repeatedly complained that the damp reappeared and was causing her children to become unwell, as well as costing her money because she had to throw away items damaged by the mould.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/g15-landlord-hit-with-…
# International, Public and community housing, Mould.Houses to be hit harder than flats by price falls, RBA says
Peter Hannam The Guardian (No paywall)Houses, particularly those at the luxury end of the market, are likely to be hit harder by falling property prices than flats or apartments, the head of domestic markets for the Reserve Bank of Australia, Jonathan Kearns, has said. In a speech on Monday, Kearns also said the RBA’s rapid increase in its key interest rate would “tend to depress residential and commercial property prices” but the wider risks for financial stability “appear to be contained”. While Kearns did not provide an estimate of how far property prices would drop – the central bank governor, Philip Lowe, said last week he wouldn’t be surprised by a 10% fall – he said higher interest rates would have the biggest impacts where “the supply of housing is less flexible, mortgage debt is higher, there are more investors and incomes are higher”.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/sep/19/houses-to…
# Australia, Strata, Housing affordability, Housing market.Bad to worse for first-home buyers, despite property price plunge
Matthew Elmas The New Daily (No paywall)Many first-home buyers hoped they would finally get a chance at the Australian dream when big banks forecast the biggest property price plunges in history earlier this year. But their optimism was short lived. Housing affordability is rapidly worsening as the sheer pace of interest rate hikes squeezes buyer borrowing power much faster than home prices can realistically fall.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2022/09/19/first…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.When it comes to cold, damp Wellington homes, the Sustainability Trust has seen it all
Kate Green (No paywall)From New Zealand ... A charitable trust which has been into 9000 Wellington homes this year has seen the worst effects of the cost of living crisis, with some families having to choose between heating and eating. Sustainability Trust chief executive Georgie Ferrari said so many poor health outcomes were linked to cold, damp homes. (Stuff)
https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/wellington/129904871/…
# International, Health, Housing market.Settling for less: Perth students tighten belts as living costs soar
Mya Kordic The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Perth students chasing a degree while struggling to make ends meet have revealed how soaring living costs are affecting more than just their wallets. Finlaey Hewlett, 21, who is studying journalism and creative writing at Curtin University, said the spike in costs of everyday necessities like groceries or fuel made it difficult to live out of home. ... Hewlett lives in a sharehouse with three other girls, paying $155 in rent every week, which she says is a good deal but still barely affordable for her. If anything happened to her Centrelink payments she would quickly lose her housing.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/settling-for-l…
# Australia, Share houses, Students.Coastal towns where you can buy a house for less than $600,000
Elizabeth Redman Domain (No paywall)On a budget of $600,000, it is still possible to buy a home in a coastal town despite the pandemic-induced boom in regional property prices. It might not be right on the waterfront, but it is likely to offer peace and quiet, which are features that have been drawing buyers out of the major cities. ... Rental accommodation has been a different story. There are not enough homes available for potential tenants who are looking ...
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/coastal-towns-where-you-can…
# NSW, Housing affordability, Housing market, Regional NSW.Gunnedah residents criticise flood response as region braces for more rain
Tom Plvey The Guardian (No paywall)Residents of Gunnedah on the New South Wales Liverpool Plains are appalled by the lack of preparation, warnings and response from authorities to Sunday’s Namoi River flood, as they brace for another deluge. ... Erin and Michael Edmunds live on Talibah Street and ... are still waiting on assistance promised to them for the November floods when the water in their house was “knee high”, but state efforts seem to be focused on Lismore, they say, and the $1,000 assistance payment only applies to floods after February 2022. ... [They] are braced for further flooding, with the BoM predicting a 100% chance of rain on Wednesday.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/sep/21/gunnedah-…
# NSW, Housing market, Regional NSW.Half of Western Sydney foodbowl land may have been lost to development in just 10 years
Nicky Morrison and Awais Piracha The Conversation (No paywall)More and more farming land is being lost to other land uses such as housing on the outskirts of our cities. But how much land is being lost? And why does it matter?
https://theconversation.com/half-of-western-sydney-foodbowl-land…
# NSW, Housing market, Planning and development, Sydney.