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
Land tax in Tasmania is about to get slashed. Here's what impact it'll have
April McLennan ABC (No paywall)A Tasmanian economist has argued a decrease in rental prices due to a land tax slash is a "myth propagated by the property industry". Tax relief is hoped to ease the cost of living for owners of rental properties, shacks, vacant land and commercial property. ... The Tasmanian government has revealed plans to double the tax-free threshold for land tax to $100,000, less than a year after initially doubling it to $50,000. ... [Tasmanian Residential Rental Property Owners Association's Louise ElliotMs Elliot] said a cut to land tax could be beneficial to rental tenants. [Economist Saul Eslake] does not expect reductions in land tax to be passed on in the form of lower rents. "It's a myth propagated by the property industry, that land taxes affect rents, they don't," he said. "Rents are determined by the interaction of demand and supply in the land market, in the rental housing market. I'd be very surprised if many landlords, having received a lower land tax bill, decide to reduce the rents they charge their tenants."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-28/tasmanian-government-to-d…
# Australia, Rent, State Government, Tax.Affordable housing – in pandemic times, what works and what doesn’t?
Emily Hamilton The Conversation (No paywall)Two years of pandemic disruptions have put a spotlight on shortcomings in the U.S. housing market. Some of these shortcomings have their origins in federal and local policy decisions made decades ago. But there are also positive examples of cities making zoning decisions that work to create affordable housing. On Feb. 10, 2022, SciLine interviewed Emily Hamilton, an economist and senior research fellow and director of the Urbanity Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, about housing policy and how it affects who can afford to live in American cities.
https://theconversation.com/affordable-housing-in-pandemic-times…
# International, Affordable housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market, Race and ethnicity.First-home buyers hit by double-whammy cost of living hikes
Joel Gibson The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Housing costs soared last year by an average of 22 per cent. In Sydney, prices rocketed 29.6 per cent – almost $1000 a day – according to property market researcher CoreLogic. Melbourne house prices rose by 17.9 per cent. Regional rents soared by 12 per cent in 2021 because of a once-in-a-generation demographic shift of those moving from capital cities to the country, as working from home became the norm. However, these extraordinary leaps are not factored into the official inflation rate of 3.5 per cent because of a quirk in how the CPI measures housing costs. A new research report to be released today by Dr Angela Jackson, from Impact Economics and Policy, states that although the CPI measures some housing costs, such as capital city rents and new home purchases, it does not reflect the cost of purchasing established homes or regional rents.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/planning-and-budgeting/first-home-b…
# Australia, Rent, Home ownership, Housing market, Regional NSW.Social housing package off the table for good, says Pallas
Paul Sakkal The Age (Paywall)The Andrews government has dumped its controversial $800 million social housing tax, even if Labor is re-elected, after fierce resistance from the property sector. Less than two weeks after it was announced, Treasurer Tim Pallas on Tuesday ditched the package, which could have streamlined planning approvals, creating $7 billion of economic uplift over 10 years while building 1700 new affordable homes for vulnerable Victorians. ... Julijana Todorovic, spokeswoman for Labor for Housing, an internal party pressure group, said she was devastated the government had ruled out the reforms even if it won the next election. “It’s incredibly disappointing that we had a once-in-a-generation opportunity to move from Victoria being the state with the least social housing per capita,” she said. “Whether it was a scare campaign or poor planning, either way, we now don’t have a long-term funding solution.” Read his previous articles at: [https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/reduce-it-or-replace-it-property-industry-urges-changes-to-housing-tax-bill-20220227-p5a03d.html] and [https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/pallas-offers-take-it-or-leave-it-ultimatum-on-800m-housing-tax-20220228-p5a07m.html] You may also read the same story by Richard Willingham and Sian Johnson entitled: 'Victorian government ditches plan to tax developers to fund social housing projects' on the ABC at: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-01/developer-tax-to-fund-social-housing-dumped-victorian-government/100870910].
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/andrews-government-d…
# Hot topic Australia, Public and community housing, Affordable housing, State Government, Tax.Rental affordability hits record lows in Geelong, driving youth homelessness and housing stress
Harrison Tippet (Paywall)Geelong is in the midst of a rental affordability crisis. New data has revealed there has never been fewer affordable rentals in the region as median rental prices reach record heights – having tripled since 2000. And with about 200 young people experiencing or at immediate risk of homelessness on any given night in Geelong, experts fear the increasingly unattainable rental market will fuel youth homelessness. (Geelong Advertiser)
https://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/property/rental-affordabili…
# Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market, Young people.Power, hot water switched off in 'almost vigilante' attempt at eviction in Nelson
Amy Ridout (No paywall)From New Zealand ... Alyssa Lennon and her 12-year-old daughter lived without hot water for three weeks and without power for 10 days while their landlords attempted an “almost vigilante attempt at eviction”. The Tenancy Tribunal has awarded Alyssa Lennon $6940 after an ordeal of several weeks during which her landlords, Megan and Bruce Gordon, forced their way into her home to make what the tribunal called a “Dickensian attempt at an eviction”, leaving her so distressed she sawed off a slat from her bed to create a barrier for the door. (Stuff)
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/127861853/power-hot-water-switc…
# International, Eviction, Privacy and access, Tribunal NCAT, Utilities electricity water gas.Tasmania to build 10,000 affordable homes in 10 years but thousands of people sit on public housing waitlist
Alexandra Alvaro and Selina Ross ABC (No paywall)With [Tasmania's] housing crisis showing no sign of letting up, the government has unveiled a $1.5 billion, 10-year housing package, with about $1 billion worth of new spending included. The package features funding for 6,500 new public housing homes on top of an already promised 3,500 — leading to a total of 10,000 homes built by 2032. On average, that's 1,000 homes a year. As well as the homes for people on waitlists, all stamp duty and first home owner grants and concessions will be increased to a $600,000 threshold for buyers. The government is also retaining the First Home Owner Grant at $30,000 for the 2022-23 financial year. The package also includes changes to the HomeShare program, which will now be called the Housing Market Entry Program. The program allows eligible Tasmanians to share the cost of buying a home with the Tasmanian government, with the individual paying out the Director of Housing's share within 30 years. The government will double the state's equity contribution to a maximum of $200,000 or 40 per cent of the purchase price for buyers of new homes or units, and up to $150,000 or 30 per cent of the purchase price for eligible existing homes or units. The Residential Land Rebate will also double from $15 million to $30 million.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-02/tasmanian-housing-plan-10…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Home ownership, Housing market, Tax.Scottish government to end COVID-19 eviction rules
Lucie Heath Inside Housing (Paywall)Extended notice periods introduced in Scotland in response to the coronavirus pandemic will finish at the end of this month. ... Previous legislation laid by the Scottish government included provisions to allow for the longer notice periods to continue until the end of September this year, however the government has decided to end the protections now.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/scottish-government-to…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.