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
New laws set to protect ACT buyers from developers rescinding sales after raft of complaints
Elizabeth Byrne ABC (No paywall)Off-the-plan buyers in Canberra are set for greater protections from this week, with a new law making it harder for developers to cancel sales. The new law has been prompted by dozens of complaints from people who bought off-the-plan properties from the 3 Property Group, only to have them rescinded earlier this year.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-07/new-laws-offer-protection…
# Australia, Strata, Housing market.Tasmanian government urged to do something about housing crisis in island's north-west
Piia Wirsu ABC (No paywall)Rochelle Gordon has been on the priority public housing waiting list for two-and-a-half years, and she says it is damaging her physical and mental health. Her private rental in Stanley has uneven floors, a shower over a bath stained with rust, narrow access paths and low doorways, but it's all she can afford.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-07/housing-crisis-worsens-in…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Rent, Health.Evictions are still banned in these states
Annie Nova (No paywall)From the United States ... Months after the national ban on evictions expired, a number of states and cities have either kept in place or implemented their own policies to try to keep families in their homes. Despite heavy opposition by landlords, advocates say these policies are necessary with hardship among tenants still so high. More than 15% of adult renters continue to say they’re behind, with as many as 28% of African American-led households reporting the same. ... Connecticut, Virginia, Oregon, Massachusetts, Michigan and Minnesota as well as Washington, D.C., all have limits on evictions tied to the rental assistance process that will last until 2022, according to an analysis by the COVID-19 Eviction Moratoria Team. Meanwhile, three states continue to have a statewide eviction moratorium in effect. Most renters in New Jersey and New York can’t be evicted until January. New Mexico has also prohibited renters from being pushed out of their homes, and hasn’t yet specified when the protection will end. (CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/05/evictions-are-still-banned-in-th…
# Hot topic International, Eviction, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.Sydney Social Housing: Two Point Perspective
(No paywall)In this podcast presenters Rebecca Hawcroft and Kieran McInerney chat with architectural historian and heritage specialist Dr Noni Boyd and architect Dr Michael Zanardo. Their architecture guide map Affordable Housing Sydney reveals the incredible range and quality of local affordable housing over time. Affordable Housing Sydney brings together for the first time Sydney’s rich but relatively unknown built history of affordable housing. (SoundCloud)
# Video NSW, Affordable housing.Will the cost of LA’s decarbonization lead to tenant evictions?
Chelsea Kirk (No paywall)From United States ... Chelsea Kirk is a research and policy analyst at Strategic Actions for a Just Economy. Her forthcoming report “Los Angeles Building Decarbonization: Tenant Impact and Recommendations” analyzes the impact of building decarbonization on the renter population. She writes: 'Tenants are in a state of crisis. Half of all renters spend more than 50% of their income on rent. Many have rental debt and are at risk of displacement due to COVID-19-related job loss. Households are cutting back on basic needs like food and clothing to be able to pay rent. Decarbonization could cause sharp increases in housing costs for tenants and make an already dire situation worse.' (CalMatters)
https://calmatters.org/commentary/2021/11/will-the-cost-of-las-d…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Climate change.Tenants demand nationwide landlord licensing to tackle danger slum rental properties
Andrew Penman (No paywall)Campaigners for tenant rights are calling for a national register of private landlords to combat slum lettings and “beds-in-sheds”. Barely 7% of privately rented homes in England are currently covered by selective licensing schemes for landlords because local authorities don’t have to set them up. (Mirror)
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tenants-demand-nationwide-…
# International, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, Landlords and agents, Local Government.Australia’s Indigenous housing won’t cope with climate change, research finds
Lorena Allam The Guardian (No paywall)Regional and remote Aboriginal housing is not able to withstand climate change and will be unsuitable for future living, forcing people to consider migrating away from their traditional lands if nothing is done, research says. Even the best-kept housing will not be enough to protect people from the worst impacts of climate change, according to the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) [which you will find at: https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/368].
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/nov/04/australia…
# Australia, Aboriginal renters, Public and community housing, Climate change, Housing market.What if we treat homelessness like a pandemic?
Sarah Tranum The Conversation (No paywall)From Canada ... COVID-19 outbreaks in shelters and other effects of the virus forced more people to sleep rough — on sidewalks, under bridges, in encampments — making homelessness more visible. People experiencing homelessness were disproportionately impacted and five times more likely to die of COVID-19. [Yet] the solutions to homelessness are not unknown or out of reach. There are many programs and organizations creating solutions that are part of a systems-based strategy to help end homelessness in Canada. Research clearly points to three important measures: affordable housing, support programs and prevention.
https://theconversation.com/what-if-we-treat-homelessness-like-a…
# International, Affordable housing, Health, Homelessness.