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
Class action looming against Canberra developer 3 Property Group after rescinding contracts for off-the-plan properties
Elizabeth Byrne and Antoinette Radford ABC (No paywall)Some Canberra off the plan buyers who've lost their home deals after the 3 Property Group rescinded their contracts have stepped up their fight, starting a class action. The 3 Property Group has done nothing illegal — it's simply used a sunset clause which allows either party to get out of the contract. But, the rescinded sales have left dozens of people now out of the housing market, after they received letters saying the company had failed to obtain the necessary approvals to commence the building works.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-22/class-action-against-canb…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.Homeowners in the lurch as red tape and buck-passing leave thousands of houses 'orphaned'
Daniel Mercer ABC (No paywall)Thousands of Victorian homeowners are being stranded with "orphaned" houses they cannot live in because of regulatory failures and bureaucratic dithering, according to industry experts. The Australian Institute of Building Surveyors (AIBS), which represents private construction inspectors, says there are up to 20,000 orphaned building permits across Victoria. The term refers to permits that cannot be completed because a project's building surveyor is no longer in business and no other surveyors are willing to take on the job due to crippling insurance liabilities.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-22/orphaned-homes-leave-thou…
# Australia, Housing market.Super-low fixed rate mortgage party looks over
John Collett The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Any doubts that the best is over for fixed-interest rate mortgages were quashed last week when the Commonwealth Bank increased its longer-term fixed rates – a move quickly matched by Westpac.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/borrowing/super-low-fixed-rate-mort…
# Australia, Housing market.How I bought and sold a home in pandemic (amid marriage breakdown)
Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Aussies are on the move. COVID-19 hasn’t just de-stabilised everything, it has decentralised a big proportion of us, too. Suburb to suburb, town to town, state to state, so many Aussies are selling up and buying elsewhere because the pandemic has proven they can work from anywhere. ... Here are the six new things I learned about buying and selling in the past three crazy months.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/planning-and-budgeting/how-i-bought…
# Australia, Housing market.'Out of control' Wellington rents pushing students to ditch studies for work
Jake McKee (No paywall)There is concern university students will start moving away from the capital because of high rental prices as some students struggle to juggle their studies with their bills. (RNZ)
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/453995/out-of-control-wellin…
# International, Housing affordability, Students.Outasite Lite
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)The anticipation is over. The Appeal Panel of the Tribunal has handed down the decision in Kincumber Nautical Village Pty Ltd v Morris & Ors and it is not good news for home owners. ... And lots more news
https://mailchi.mp/tenants.org.au/land-lease-communities-site-fe…
# NSW, Land lease communities, Campaigns and law reform.NSW makes its biggest investment in tackling domestic violence
Alexandra Smith The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The NSW government will make its single largest investment in tackling domestic violence, spending almost $500 million on extra refuges for women and children fleeing their homes. The spending will form a significant part of the state government’s COVID-19 economic recovery package and will add 75 women’s refuges, taking the number in NSW to 161. More than $464 million will be spent over four years on a model focused on self-contained accommodation to support women and children escaping domestic and family violence. The accommodation is located next to services including counselling, legal assistance, education, and employment support. The sites also contain meeting rooms, audio-visual equipment for court appearances, communal kitchens, and playgrounds.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/nsw-makes-its-biggest-invest…
# New policy announcement NSW, Domestic violence, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.Pandemic spurs women's housing insecurity
Gina Rushton (No paywall)Thousands of women in NSW live in unsafe housing and face homelessness as rent remains unaffordable and the economic impact of the pandemic continues, local governments, charities and social services groups say. A coalition of groups including the NSW Council of Social Service, Local Government NSW, Mission Australia and the Older Women's Network have released a report highlighting the urgent need to support women's economic security and safety by investing in social housing. (7 News) Check out the NSW Council of Social Service's media release with a link to the report at: [https://www.ncoss.org.au/policy-advocacy/policy-research-publications/rebuilding-womens-economic-security-investing-in-social-housing-in-nsw/]
https://7news.com.au/business/pandemic-spurs-womens-housing-inse…
# Research alert NSW, Rent, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Older people, Women.