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
ACT landlords may have to provide references to tenants, REIACT concerned
Abbey Halter (No paywall)The shoe may soon be on the other foot between landlords and renters in Canberra. A motion is being introduced in the ACT Legislative Assembly this week giving renters the power to request a reference from their landlord, not just the other way round. Fronting the proposal is ACT Labor MLA, Michael Pettersson, who said the current housing landscape means many in the community will be renters for the rest of their lives. Rental laws have long been debated in the ACT, and Mr Pettersson said the current government has been implementing reforms to try and address the imbalance.
Landlords are entitled to extensive background information about tenants, while tenants gain little to no information about their landlords, said Mr Pettersson. The proposal would give prospective tenants the right to receive a reference from a landlord’s previous tenants, he said, giving landlords a greater incentive to treat renters with more dignity and respect. (Canberra Weekly)
https://canberraweekly.com.au/act-landlords-may-have-to-provide-…
# Australia, Rent, Landlords and agents.Flood-hit Queensland renters have just days left to negotiate a break in their lease
Eden Gillespie The Guardian (No paywall)Under Queensland law, if a property becomes uninhabitable as a result of a natural disaster, the tenant or landlord can seek to break the lease within one month of the disaster, which will expire in the next few days. ... [Chief executive of Queensland Tenants, Penny Carr] says the law is not “black and white” where liveability is concerned and for the most part, people choose to stay in their tenancy even if they have to leave their homes for a while. [Read on]
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/mar/24/flood-hit…
# Australia, Rent.Parramatta footbridge construction begins
ABC (No paywall)Parramatta River is undergoing a transformation, with construction on a new footbridge starting today, expected to create tens of thousands of new homes and jobs. ... With Parramatta one the of state's fastest-growing cities, with the population expected to grow by more than 200,000 in the next two decades, Planning and Homes Minister Anthony Roberts said an investment of $60 million would support infrastructure and transport networks. "Investing in vital infrastructure now will pave the way for more than 72,000 homes to be built and at least 113,000 jobs created to cater for the demand,” Mr Roberts said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-22/parramatta-alfred-st-brid…
# NSW, Housing market, Planning and development, State Government.Gloria lost everything in the floods. Here’s why she’s rebuilding
Melissa Heagney Domain (No paywall)Gloria Grande has lived in the same house in Coraki, in the Northern Rivers region of NSW, for the past six decades. The 80-year-old former barmaid is one of thousands of homeless homeowners after recent floods devastated the area, about 25 minutes from Lismore, but is planning to return and rebuild as soon as she can. “I just love Coraki,” Ms Grande said. “There’s a good community here – they’re really good – and we all know each other.”
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/gloria-lost-everything-in-t…
# NSW, Home ownership, Personal stories.Queensland floods raise questions about the ‘ethical obligation of planners’, industry figures say
Sally Dillon The Guardian (No paywall)Planners are calling for a shake-up of their industry and the planning system in the wake of the devastating floods across south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales. As flood waters rose across Brisbane, Brent O’Neill, the director of design at Wolter Consulting, logged on to his computer and asked: “As development professionals, what is our responsibility to ensure we do not put people’s lives and property at risk?
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/mar/20/queenslan…
# Australia, Planning and development.As floods worsen, some say it is time to rethink how Queenslanders build for the future
Ben Smee The Guardian (No paywall)In the aftermath of the floods that hit Queensland and northern NSW this month, some communities are reckoning with a harsh and climate-fuelled reality: that their homes may become uninsurable or even uninhabitable. Some are questioning whether to rebuild. Others have called for property buybacks.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/mar/19/as-floods…
# Australia, Housing market.‘Bringing huge hardship’: steep rent rises in Queensland force some to leave home towns
Joe Hinchliffe The Guardian (No paywall)Rents have risen by more than $200 a week over the last two years in parts of Queensland, a surge which has forced people from their home towns and into caravans, sheds and poverty.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/mar/17/bringing-…
# Australia, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Families, Homelessness.Where next for the private rental sector?
Amy Norman and Aveek Bhattacharya (No paywall)The past twenty years have seen dramatic shifts in the English housing market, chief among which has been the rise of the private rented sector. Since the year 2000, the share of private renters has risen from 1 in 10 to 1 in 5 households. Private renting has risen in all age groups under the age of 55, but the growth has been particularly strong among under 35s. The causes of this change continue to be debated, but rising house prices (which have been linked to low interest rates and supply shortages) as well restrictions on mortgage credit have all played a role, as have deregulation of the private rented sector and the introduction of buy-to-let mortgages. These changes have led to societal concern and political consternation, with the word “housing” routinely suffixed with the description “crisis”. Read the full report. (Social Market Foundation)
# International, Rent, Housing market.