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
Plan for nearly 10,000 homes in Canterbury delayed
Daniel Esson BBC (No paywall)Plans for almost 10,000 more homes in a Kent city have been pushed back by up to a year amid a government shakeup of house-building rules. Canterbury City Council (CCC) was originally planning to have its plan for housing up until 2040 finished by June 2025, but has pushed it back to spring 2026. In March, the local authority announced its plans to scrap the previous administration’s local plan.
# Hot topic International, .Outrage as bed in conservatory listed as 'studio' to rent for £1,200 per month
Susie Beever The Mirror (UK) (No paywall)A bed in a cheerless conservatory has prompted outrage after being listed as a £1,200-a-month studio flat - and it isn't even in London. Costing more than half the UK average monthly take-home pay, the underwhelming rental in a house divided into studios in Manchester city centre has sparked fury. Once a small summer room, the small portion of the terraced house has been converted into a three-room flat with a double bed, sofa, desk and a filing cabinet and appears to be falsely advertised as the "lowest room price".
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/outrage-bed-conservatory-l…
# Hot topic International, Rent.We want to keep our Oasis say residents
Coast Community News (No paywall)Residents of Oasis Caravan Park felt the love when the Central Coast Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service (CCTAAS) hosted a meeting outlining their options. The residents, including owners and renters in caravans and mobile homes, are fighting to keep their community together in the face of a redevelopment proposal to build 675 units across a series of high-rise buildings on the 5ha site at Kanwal. Some residents have been at the 60-year-old Oasis, now renamed Wyong Village, for decades. None of them want to leave. “Please don’t kick us out,” one resident said.
https://coastcommunitynews.com.au/central-coast/news/2024/08/we-…
# Must read, TUNSW in the media NSW, Land lease communities.https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/they-pay-200-a-week-rent-to-live-in-paddington-they-re-being-evicted-20241001-p5keua.html
Sue Williams The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)All the battlers living in a row of four rundown boarding houses in Sydney’s Paddington have been told they’re to be kicked out – despite a massive neighbourhood fight to stop their 32 homes being turned into four luxury houses. The owner-developer, who’s currently in the Land and Environment Court (LEC) appealing a ban on the conversion by the City of Sydney, irrespective of the court outcome, intends closing the boarding houses by the end of the year.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/they-pay-200-a-week-rent-to…
# Must read NSW, Boarders and lodgers, Rent.NCAT Evictions Map
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)The Tenants' Union NCAT Evictions Map aims to provide transparency on the use of the NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal (NCAT). This dashboard will be updated regularly to ensure the public has access to up to date information on the location and extent of evictions across NSW. This dashboards allows us to explore the LGAs where eviction applications are being made by private landlords as well as community, public and Aboriginal housing providers across NSW. The rates of eviction applications per 100 renters can be used to compare eviction rates across different regions and providers.
# Must read, Research alert NSW, Eviction, Tribunal NCAT.Pod village residents to be charged rent
Aslan Stand Echo (No paywall)There is no doubt that finding affordable accommodation throughout the northern rivers is a challenge and the recent notice given to the 2022 flood impacted residents in the Wollongbar pod village caused significant distress. For the last two years, accommodation across the 11 villages throughout the Northern Rivers has been provided free of charge, however, the NSW Reconstruction Authority (NSW RA) announced yesterday that they would now start charging rent to those living in the pod villages.
https://www.echo.net.au/2024/09/pod-village-residents-to-be-char…
# Must read NSW, Disasters, Rent.Tourist magnet Byron Bay launches 60-day limit on short-term holiday rentals
Richard Wood 9 News (No paywall)A major change to how visitors spend their time in the holiday hotspot of Byron Bay in New South Wales has come into effect today. Owners of short-term rental accommodation in large parts of the local government area will only be allowed to lease their properties for 60 days every year. There are exemptions in areas of Byron Bay and Brunswick Heads - identified by the council as holding high tourism appeal - which do not have a cap, allowing for year-round letting.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/byron-bay-starts-60-day-limit-…
# Must read, Hot topic NSW, Rent.New rules will make it easier for tenants to have pets in NSW
Sarah Swain 9 News (No paywall)New rules will make it easier for tenants to have pets in rentals, the NSW Government says. Landlords will no longer be able to refuse pets without any reason, but they will still be able to decline in certain specific situations, the NSW Government said. Around a third of the state's population rents, the government says, with the number of homes on offer at historic lows. But according to the government, one in five pets are surrendered to the RSPCA due to rental worries. Plus domestic violence organisations say victims face a barrier leaving dangerous homes because of fears about getting a rental with their pet.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/rental-rules-for-pets-change-n…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent.