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
Fresh approach to Sydney’s industrial land will open up space for homes
Michael Koziol The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The Greater Sydney Commission is preparing to allow more of Sydney’s industrial land to be opened up for housing and other purposes, after conceding its policy of “safeguarding” those sites from redevelopment was too strict.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/fresh-approach-to-sydney-s-i…
# NSW, Housing market, Planning and development.John Barilaro takes executive director role with Sydney property developer
Anne Davies The Guardian (No paywall)Former New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro has started working with Sydney property developer Coronation Property, just weeks after leaving parliament. The company, which said it had $1.4bn worth of projects under way, and a further $5bn in the pipeline, will employ Barilaro as its executive director.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/feb/24/john-bari…
# NSW, Housing market, Landlords and agents.The battle for Figtree Hill and the koala corridor
Roe Mary Petrass The Fifth Estate (No paywall)Lendlease must be wary of its next move if it is to maintain its reputation as one of the most sustainable housing companies in the world, environmentalists warn. At Figtree Hill, Gilead, in NSW’s Macarthur region near Campbelltown, south west of Sydney property developer Lendlease began clearing trees after Campbelltown Council gave the green light to begin work on a 1700-home estate early last year. The development is planned to be 100 per cent renewable and all-electric, with a community facility, bike paths, and walking trails. Environmentalists have tried to block the problematic development because the location is the only koala habitat listed in New South Wales as expanding. It also straddles the shortest route between two breeding populations. Koalas were early month finally listed as endangered after a long decline in numbers due to land clearing, catastrophic bushfires and a pervasive chlamydia epidemic. Since 2001 62 per cent of the NSW koala population has been lost.
https://thefifthestate.com.au/innovation/building-construction/t…
# NSW, Utilities electricity water gas, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Planning and development.New affordable housing levy in Victoria is limited to multiple dwellings but still developers are not happy
Rose Mary Petrass The Fifth Estate (No paywall)The Victorian government’s plans for a long term funding mechanism to support social and affordable housing has been slammed from the predictable quarters. The plans, under proposed amendments to the Planning and Environment Act 1987 are for some new developments to make a of 1.75 per cent of the market value of: new developments of three or more dwellings; or the subdivision of land that results in three or more new residential lots. The proposed legislative reform will contribute to new social and affordable housing development across Metropolitan Melbourne, Greater Geelong, Ballarat and Greater Bendigo, the government said. ... The Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) welcomed the reform. “This a momentous moment for housing policy in Victoria, which will create a sustainable funding mechanism to help house people on very low to moderate incomes across the state”, said PIA Victoria president Gabby McMillan. Social and affordable housing will ensure that people are housed, but also fuels the construction industry and therefore increases access to work and the labour pool.... However, the levy is being criticised by the building and property sectors.
https://thefifthestate.com.au/innovation/residential-2/new-affor…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Anti-social behaviour, Landlords and agents, Tax.Real estate agents caught voting for foreign landlords
Judy Skatssoon (No paywall)Twenty real estate agents have been slapped on the wrist after Victoria’s local government watchdog found they illegally voted in a Melbourne City Council election on behalf of overseas property owners. ... The Local Government Inspectorate looked at 216 ballot papers completed by representatives from 21 real estate agencies and submitted during the 2020 Melbourne City Council election. “During our investigation, 20 agents from 18 of the agencies admitted completing the ballot papers on behalf of landlords whose properties they manage,” the inspectorate said in a statement. This was despite the inspectorate working with Council to contact real estate agencies before the 2020 election to inform them they couldn’t vote on behalf of an owner.
https://www.governmentnews.com.au/real-estate-agents-voted-illeg…
# Australia, Rent, Landlords and agents.The Forgotten Answer to the Affordable Housing Crisis
Cole Sinanian (No paywall)From United States ... C Street Co-op was developed by Eugene architecture firm Cultivate Inc., and by local nonprofit affordable housing developer Square One Villages. Its subsidized funding and communal ownership structure makes it affordable to people making below-average income who otherwise couldn’t afford to live in a desirable neighborhood like C Street’s. And by giving residents partial ownership of the property, they can tap into its appreciation value, meaning they can sell their unit for more than they bought it for when they decide to move out. (Eugene Weekly)
https://eugeneweekly.com/2022/02/03/the-forgotten-answer-to-the-…
# International, Public and community housing, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.One in three renters lose their bond, but some are fighting back
Henrietta Cook The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)One in three renters lost all or part of their bond last year, with legal and tenants groups warning that the situation is leaving many Victorians struggling to pay rent and basic living expenses at their next home. ... Renters and Housing Union secretary Eirene Tsolidis-Noyce said it was “unacceptable” that real estate agents were routinely keeping renters’ bonds. “Recent reports show the average cost for moving house is $4000, and renters have every right to have their bond returned when they decide they want to move,” she said.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/one-in-three-renters-lo…
# TUNSW in the media Australia, Bond, Rent.This graph shows why it’s so hard to save a house deposit
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Australian home values rose almost 10 times faster than wages last year, with the market boom pushing the dream of homeownership further out of reach for more Australians.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/this-graph-shows-why-it-s-s…
# Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market, Work, employment.