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
Lack of affordable lets leaves families with little left to live on
Maeve McClenaghan , Charles Boutaud and Vicky Gayle (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... It is impossible for those on housing benefits to rent a home across large swathes of Britain, according to new research from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. The situation has left some cutting back on heating and dipping into other benefits to meet their housing costs. A Bureau analysis of tens of thousands of rental properties shows 98% of those advertised over a single month were beyond the means of people in receipt of universal credit or housing benefit. ... Polly Neate, chief executive of the housing charity Shelter, said: “These findings back up what we are seeing in our frontline services every day – that finding a safe home if you are on a low income is now like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Housing benefit should be the safety net that stops people becoming homeless, but it’s frozen at 2020 levels, leaving renters desperately trying to make up the shortfall … The housing emergency is at the core of the cost of living crisis, but it is being ignored.” (The Bureau of Investigative Journalism)
https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2022-10-07/lack-of…
# International, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market.Perrottet’s bid for end-of-year lift with stamp duty reform
Lucy Cormack The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The Perrottet government will introduce its long-touted stamp duty overhaul to parliament this week, as it races to have the property taxation reform in place by mid-January. Legislation for the reform giving first home buyers the option of an annual tax instead of stamp duty will refocus the government’s policy agenda after months plagued by industrial warfare, the New York trade job scandal and a conga line of Coalition MPs bowing out before the March state election. If the reform passes both houses in the 15 remaining sitting days of the year, eligible buyers who purchase on or after January 16 will be able to pay an annual levy of $400 plus 0.3 per cent of the land value instead of stamp duty on properties worth up to $1.5 million. Also, read Ashleigh Raper's article entitled: 'NSW launches online calculator in a step towards stamp duty reform, but is yet to introduce bill' on the ABC at: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-10/nsw-government-online-calculator-part-of-stamp-duty-reforms/101516674].
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/perrottet-s-bid-for-end-of-y…
# NSW, Home ownership, Housing market, State Government, Tax.Uneven path to a decent home: Australians with a disability face battle for accessible housing
Stephanie Convery The Guardian (No paywall)One of Tristan’s favourite pastimes is looking after his chickens. But between the back doorway of his community housing property and his chicken coop is a short, steep hill. In this space, he has fallen numerous times. ... For him a fully accessible house requires flat outdoor paths, ramps and level access to rooms, doorways wide enough for a wheelchair or walker, grab rails, and modified taps and light switches. When Tristan first moved into the Maitland community housing property, it did not have many of these features. He spent two years submitting requests for his housing provider, Hume Community Housing, to make alterations, only for the most significant ones to be ultimately rejected as too costly – a situation he describes as “stigmatising” and “dehumanising”.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/oct/06/dehumanis…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Disability, Housing market, Personal stories.Transgender people often face homelessness. This is how April Young became a home owner
Asha Couch, Briana Fiore and Lauren Smith ABC (No paywall)Three years ago, the idea of being a home owner felt like an impossible dream for April Young. She was 16 and had been forced into homelessness. Now, the 19-year-old trans woman, from Albany, Western Australia, starts her mornings with a coffee made in her own kitchen, in the home she bought eight weeks ago. ... Ms Young's situation is far from rare. Australian research shows one in five transgender people will experience homelessness at some stage in their life, often due to family rejection. After periods of couch surfing, Ms Young found herself on the doorstep of a youth support centre in Albany called Young House. [Read on]
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-06/april-young-trans-woman-h…
# Australia, Home ownership, Homelessness, LGBTIQ+, Personal stories.Planning minister kills proposal for new tower at Barangaroo’s missing link
Michael Koziol The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Planning Minister Anthony Roberts will kill off a controversial proposal to increase building heights in the final section of Barangaroo, sending the blindsided developer back to the drawing board and potentially leaving the prime foreshore site in limbo for years. Roberts – who is the decision maker on the proposal – told the Herald that a planned luxury apartment tower served no public benefit, and he could see no way that approving the modification would be in Sydney’s best interests. ... [The minister] delivered his verdict on the proposal after receiving an overwhelmingly critical report from the NSW Government Architect, which he had commissioned. The architect found the increased building heights did not “follow the important urban language established by the Millers Point Conservation Area”, and a 73-metre tower would obstruct public views to and from Observatory Hill, “a highly significant public place in the history of Sydney”. Also, read Amber Griffin's article entitled: 'Community celebrates as planning minister scraps “20 storey eye-sore” development in Barangaroo' in 'City Hub' at: [https://cityhubsydney.com.au/2022/10/community-celebrates-as-planning-minister-scraps-20-storey-eye-sore-development-in-barangaroo/]
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/planning-minister-kills-prop…
# NSW, Heritage listings, Housing market, Planning and development.Reserve Bank acknowledges its rapid rate hikes could force some people to sell their homes
Gareth Hutchins ABC (No paywall)The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has acknowledged that its rapid interest rate hikes could see some households with mortgages falling into arrears, forcing some to sell their homes or to enter foreclosure.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-07/rba-says-its-rate-hikes-m…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.Caravan park evacuated, shopping centre inundated as torrential rain lashes flooded western NSW
Lucy Thackray and Xanthe Gregory ABC (No paywall)Torrential rainfall across already flooded areas of western New South Wales has forced overnight evacuations and closed roads and bridges as major rivers rise. Widespread falls of 40 to 50 millimetres were recorded with significantly higher rain totals in isolated storms. The main areas of concern are Bathurst, Mudgee, Dubbo, Canowindra, Nyngan, Narromine and Warren. The Macquarie Wambuul River at Dubbo is expected to peak at about 8.5 metres this morning, forcing the evacuation of a nearby caravan park, Western Plains Tourist Park, and inundation of shopping centre's car parks on the city's Main Street. Read the same and other journalists' updated article entitled: 'Flood rescues, landslips and evacuations after severe rain lashes parts of already flooded NSW' at: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-09/rain-lashes-flooded-nsw-forcing-evacuations/101515970?utm_source=abc_news_web&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_web]
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-09/rain-lashes-flooded-weste…
# NSW, Land lease communities, Regional NSW.Just 'good company' and 'no worries' for intergenerational housemates Quinta and Zac — despite 54-year age gap
Lucie Cutting ABC (No paywall)Quinta Bartels's husband Ted Bartels died this year and, in her grief, the widower was confronted with a difficult reality that needed almost immediate attention. The 82-year-old, who lived in a rental property in South Hobart, could not afford her weekly rental payment as a sole occupant. But a housemate over 50 years her junior provided the solution that Ms Bartels needed and enabled her to maintain greater independence. A short-term living arrangement was how 28-year-old Zac Galloway first came to live with Ms Bartels.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-08/intergenerational-housema…
# Australia, Rent, Share houses, Housing market, Older people.