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
Can Renters Actually ‘Just Buy a House’? An Investigation.
Sonam Thomas (No paywall)Short answer: No. Longer answer: Still no. ... As the cost of housing continues to surge amid flatlining wages, the prospect of owning a house in Australia for many young people has fast become a bit of a pipe dream. But as VICE reported last week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison offered a simple solution for young people trapped in the rental cycle: simply buy a house instead. The Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the National Party, Barnaby Joyce, also had some sage advice when challenged over housing costs, suggesting people just pack up their life and move to the regions. (Vice)
https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3n7z8/can-renters-actually-just…
# Australia, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market, Young people.Northland's housing crisis sees social housing waiting list soar, street living
Denise Piper (No paywall)From New Zealand ... Northland’s housing crisis is described as a “matter of desperation”, as small towns see people living on the streets for the first time. Rising house prices, population growth from Auckland, and the impacts of Covid-19 are being blamed for the problem, as the region’s social housing waiting list soars. (Stuff)
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/housing-affordability/1…
# International, Public and community housing, Rent, Homelessness, Housing market.Thinking of buying a dehumidifier? Advice from an expert on mould and damp
Michael Taylor The Conversation (Paywall)Google searches for “dehumidifier” have soared in the past month, especially in New South Wales, and there are a lot of options to choose from. ... I’ve researched mould and indoor air quality, and work with clients helping address mould problems in homes. Here’s what you need to know on where a dehumidifier can help, and when it’s more likely just a band-aid for a deeper problem. ... But if you’re renting or short on cash, and circumstances prevent you adding an extraction fan, a dehumidifier will at least help keep things under control.
https://theconversation.com/thinking-of-buying-a-dehumidifier-ad…
# Australia, Rent, Minimum habitability standards, Mould.Woollahra’s newest NIMBY idea: Don’t count parks or schools as land
Michael Koziol The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Two Woollahra councillors have proposed a novel way to reduce the number of new homes they are required to build: stop counting the area’s schools, parks and golf course as land. ... They argue that if parks, schools, infrastructure and other public spaces are excluded from what counts as Woollahra’s land mass, the local government area’s “real” population density increases from 4851 people per square kilometre to 6567.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/woollahra-s-newest-nimby-ide…
# NSW, Local Government, Planning and development.‘Eviction by dereliction’: the decay of public housing
Claire Connelly (Paywall)Housing initiatives purporting to create a ‘social mix’ are a convenient way for governments to avoid building new social housing or to neglect existing stock while shifting public land into private ownership.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2022/04/09/evi…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Estate renewal.Domestic abuse survivor still in regional Queensland crisis shelter after 14 months
Katrina Beavan ABC (No paywall)Jennifer vividly remembers the moment she tearfully arrived at a crisis accommodation centre in a small regional Queensland town with nothing but the clothes she was wearing and her dog in her arms. After suffering domestic abuse at the hands of her ex-partner for close to a decade, she finally fled her home. She remains there more than a year later, a stone's throw away from where her abuser lives, because of a statewide housing crisis. In a town where everyone knows everyone, Jennifer still sees him frequently.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-12/escaping-domestic-abuse-i…
# Australia, Domestic violence, Homelessness, Housing market.The Week in Housing: a question of rent
Jack Simpson Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... The end of March ... sees the start of a new rent year. ... Under the government’s rules, social landlords are able to raise their rents by September’s Consumer Price Index plus 1%. In this year’s case, the maximum is 4.1% – the highest for many years. This comes at a very difficult time for tenants, who are dealing with the other cost of living challenges such as National Insurance hikes, food price rises and increasing energy costs. So with all of this going on, how have social landlords decided to approach the rent increase? Have they attempted to soften the blow on residents, or gone for the maximum allowance?
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/insight/the-week-in-hous…
# International, Public and community housing, Rent, Housing market.Social Housing Regulation Bill: are the government’s reforms enough to transform the sector?
Stephen Delahunty Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Will the government’s new reform package be enough to rebalance the landlord-tenant relationship? ... The announcement came almost a year-and-a-half after the Social Housing White Paper was published and more than four years since the preceding Social Housing Green Paper was first launched. ... The government has promised that the latest changes will improve the way social housing is regulated and encourage greater engagement with tenants, but will it live up to these expectations? Inside Housing dives into the announcement to see what the sector thinks.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/insight/social-housing-r…
# International, Public and community housing, Federal Government.