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.
Our main email newsletter, Tenant News is sent once every two months. You can subscribe or update your subscription preferences for any of our email newsletters here.
See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
We love sharing the news and hope you find it informative! We're very happy to deliver it for free, but if you find it valuable, can you help cover the extra costs incurred by making a donation?
Archive
Dig-up date looms in WA council’s war of the roses with great-grandfather
Ezra Holt and Cameron Myles The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A 92-year-old great-grandfather has until the end of the month to remove his award-winning roses from the verge outside his house or face the wrath of the City of Rockingham council. Trevor Coster was told in May he had to rip up or relocate the roses he started planting more than a decade ago because the thorny bushes apparently posed a threat to passersby.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/dig-up-date-lo…
# Australia, Local Government, Neighbours.‘I feel so guilty’: the highs, lows, and hustle of New York housing brokers
Carey Dunne The Guardian (No paywall)When Keyan Sanai moved to Manhattan and started working as a real estate broker in 2014 ... his first few years as a broker were rough. Working at a “boiler room” brokerage, he got acquainted with what he calls the “dark underbelly” of the industry. “The script is basically to lie to people: ‘Put up [an ad] that says ‘no fee’, and once you get ’em in, say, ‘Oh, that’s rented, but I have something else,’” he recalls managers telling him. He says they insisted their employees “just get [the client] out to the appointment, then pump the fear and pressure them into making a decision”. “I was like, ‘Ahh, I can’t do that,’” Sanai says. After three years of scraping by as a broker, he personalized a more ethical approach to renting, switched agencies, and became Douglas Elliman’s top-ranked New York rental agent in 2019. ... For renters who make less than $160,000 a year – the minimum required to secure a $4,000 rental – the housing crisis can mean spending months searching for an affordable apartment, or being priced out of a neighborhood long called home. But for many rental agents, it’s been a boon for business.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/22/nyc-real-estate-…
# International, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Landlords and agents.Agencies help Coopernook State Forest campers find housing after homelessness
Wiriya Sati ABC (No paywall)When Mick Kruetz hears the rain fall outside, he feels an immense sense of gratitude for the roof over his head. A year ago, Mick was part of a community of men permanently camping in the Coopernook State Forest on the NSW mid-north coast after finding themselves homeless. They were eventually moved on from the site by Forestry Corporation, which doesn't allow permanent camping. ... Mr Kruetz is one of three campers who have managed to find more permanent housing amid a severe housing crisis on the mid-north coast. With the help of agencies including Samaritans and Home in Place, Mr Kruetz is now settled in a one-bedroom apartment where he can live with his much-loved dog.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-24/homeless-bush-campers-nsw…
# NSW, Homelessness, Regional NSW.China’s property market is in freefall. What does this mean for the world economy?
Keyu Jin The Guardian (No paywall)The sector is dangerously overheated – but unlike the 2008 financial crisis, the global ripple effect is likely to be limited ... The property sector in the Chinese economy has always been something of a puzzle. At its peak, it accounted for a quarter of the nation’s economic output, broadly measured. And it sees people in Beijing and Shanghai paying house prices similar to those in San Francisco and New York, despite having just a quarter the income of American buyers. Now many believe that we are about to see a violent contraction of the property market in China. The government wants to intervene to curb speculation, and rein in what it calls the “three high” problem: high prices, high debt and high financialisation. The approach has been nothing short of dramatic. Financing for property developers has tanked. Earlier this year, property sales declined by as much as 20-30%, in-progress developments are not being completed and people have taken to the streets, banding together to stop mortgage payments on such projects in protest. [Read on]
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/23/china-prop…
# International, Housing market, Landlords and agents.New Australian houses might need a total redesign. Here's why some states won't change construction codes
Annie Guest ABC (No paywall)Should newly built homes have to be accessible for frail elderly people or people with a disability? Aged and disability advocates certainly think so, and they're urging a meeting of housing ministers on Friday to push for agreement on national accessible building standards. But at least three states have already opted out.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-23/australian-houses-might-n…
# Australia, Disability, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards, Older people, State Government.A US city is paying Airbnb hosts to remove listings
Kristy Johnson Domain (No paywall)One US city in Arizona is embarking on a bold initiative to improve its housing options for locals. The council-approved “rent local” program will provide Airbnb hosts in Sedona up to $US10,000 ($14,511) to remove their short-term listings from the vacation rental company. The move is not to discourage travel to the area, but rather to improve housing options for locals amid rent increases and the general uncertainty of the real estate market.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/a-us-city-is-paying-airbnb-…
# International, Rent, Housing market, Local Government, Short-term holiday letting.Off-the-plan sunset clauses under spotlight in Queensland review
Jocelyn Garcia The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Sunset clauses used by property developers to terminate off-the-plan contracts are being examined by the Queensland government. The government is asking for feedback on possible reforms under the Property Law Review to better protect property buyers. “Since the pandemic we have seen more people move to Queensland, resulting in growing property sales including buying ‘off the plan’ developments,” Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman said. “I am aware of recent reports of developers terminating contracts for off-the-plan sale of land if the contract is not settled within a specified time frame. “At the same time, property prices have been rising, which may leave these buyers with limited or no options within their budget.”The government is asking for feedback on possible reforms under the Property Law Review to better protect property buyers.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/queensland/off-the-plan-sunset-c…
# Australia, Strata, Housing market, Landlords and agents, State Government.We’re comparing apples, oranges and bananas’: Climate disclosure by banks under microscope
Simone Fox Koob The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Reporting of climate change risks for banks and other financial institutions must become more standardised, climate experts say, with some calling for mandatory rules around disclosure. Australia’s biggest lender, the Commonwealth Bank, last week released its first standalone climate report, which found that more than $31 billion of Commonwealth Bank home loans are in areas exposed to increasing extreme weather events.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/we-re-compar…
# Australia, Climate change, Housing market.