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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
Housebuilding target to rise from 300,000 per year to 370,000, says Angela Rayner
Reuters The Guardian (No paywall)The collective total for the new mandatory housebuilding target would rise from 300,000 a year to 370,000 under Labour, with an obligation to build homes in all areas, Angela Rayner told MPs in parliament. Councils in England could be forced to build on low-quality green belt sites to meet mandatory targets as part of a government shake-up of planning rules. Under the new regime all local authorities will have a duty to deliver more homes, and unless they produce a clear plan for how this will happen, ministers could step in and take over the process.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/video/2024/jul/30/housebuil…
# Hot topic International, Rent.‘Applying for a home felt harder than applying for a job’: NZ private rentals won’t solve need for emergency housing
Jessica Terruhn & Francis L Collins The Conversation (No paywall)The number of people living in emergency housing in Aotearoa New Zealand has grown exponentially over the last eight years – but plans to rely on the private rental sector ignore fundamental realities of renting. Established in 2016, the emergency housing programme – short-term housing for people with nowhere to stay – was meant to be a stop-gap measure. There are now 3,000 active tenancies as a lack of affordability and shortages in housing place pressure on low-income renters.
https://theconversation.com/applying-for-a-home-felt-harder-than…
# International, Rent.The Kelly gang’s last stand
Tessa Flemming and Sean Davey ABC (No paywall)Photojournalist Sean Davey captures Margaret Kelly’s crusade to stay in her public housing home, and the community support that highlighted the plight of all public housing tenants. It was a few weeks before the Christmas of 2021 when residents of Port Melbourne’s 89-dwelling Barak Beacon Estate were delivered relocation notices. One of those was long-term resident Margaret Kelly.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-30/the-fight-to-save-port-me…
# Hot topic Australia, Public and community housing.Rental growth is slowing, but here’s why renters are still likely to downsize
Benn Dorrington realestate.com.au (No paywall)Renters can expect to see a slowdown in rental growth over the coming months, but the persistent shortage of homes available to rent will keep the pressure on tenants. National rents remained flat at $600 per week over the three months to June, according to the latest PropTrack Rental Report. However, national rents have increased by $50 per week or 9.1% since June last year in what has been a significant hit to the hip pocket of many renters.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/rental-growth-is-slowing-but-…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media Australia, Rent.'Portable bonds' on the way for New South Wales renters
Richard Wood 9 News (No paywall)Millions of renters in New South Wales will soon be able to directly transfer their bond over to a new property when they move home, the state government announced today. The changes aim to cut the number of renters facing "double bond" – needing to pay bond to secure a new rental before receiving the bond refunded from their previous home – by having the bond board digitally transfer from one property to another. The NSW government will invest $6.6 million to develop and deliver Australia's first Portable Rental Bonds Scheme.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/portable-bond-scheme-to-be-lau…
# Must read, New policy announcement Australia, Bond.Does tenancy reform ‘spook’ investors?
CoreLogic ()In today’s Pulse, Eliza Owen explores the potential impact of tenancy reform on property investment trends.
Stronger capital growth markets have seen more resilience in investor activity, despite rental reforms.
Investor lending declines when housing market returns are low.
In WA, where ‘no grounds’ evictions remain firmly in place, investor activity over the past few years has been rising strongly, and the state is attracting a higher share of investment loans. However, capital growth could be the main driver, and the high investment activity has not stopped the state having the highest rental growth in the country.
Tenancy reform is making headlines this week after the NSW government announced a ban on ‘no grounds’ evictions.
https://www.corelogic.com.au/news-research/news/2024/does-tenanc…
# Must read, Hot topic, New policy announcement Australia, Eviction.Houses to homes: Pets and picture-hanging OK, say new rent reforms
Sarah Brookes WA Today (No paywall)Pets and minor modifications such as hanging pictures or installing new shower heads will be allowed in most rental properties as a new tranche of rental reforms take effect on Monday. Under the changes a landlord would be only able to refuse if written laws, local laws or by-laws prevent them, or if a good reason can be provided to the Commissioner for Consumer Protection. Disputes about pets and minor modifications will be heard in new processes with the Commissioner for Consumer Protection to hear from both sides before making an independent ruling.
https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/houses-to-…
# Hot topic, New policy announcement Australia, Rent.From gated villages across Australia, retirees are sharing their financial horror stories about the land lease industry
Adele Ferguson and Chris Gillett ABC (No paywall)For almost a decade, pensioners Trish Reece and her husband Wayne have been living in a gated village in Shepparton in regional Victoria, run by the controversial land lease operator Lifestyle Communities. Now they want to get out. "We don't want to live here anymore," she says. But she says they are stuck, financially, due to the so-called exit fees charged by the company when a resident sells their home. Lifestyle Communities exit fees start at 4 per cent of the selling price and scale up to a cap of 20 per cent from the fifth year of ownership. For a house that sells for $500,000, Lifestyle can take up to $100,000 in exit fees after five years.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-29/land-lease-operators-life…
# Must read, Hot topic Australia, Land lease communities, Starting a tenancy.