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
Government unaware of size of social housing spend, with some projects set to take years
Tom Crowley ABC (No paywall)The federal government does not know how much it is spending on the thousands of social and affordable homes green-lit by its housing agency, with most funding likely to be years away. A Monday announcement that 13,700 new homes would be supported through the government's flagship Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) was made before grants were finalised and, in some cases, before successful applicants were told. While a government spokesperson and industry sources said that was standard practice, it has left some uncertainty about the timeline for construction.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-17/government-unsure-of-size…
# Hot topic Australia, Public and community housing, Rent.Revealed: criminals and unlicensed agents operating across Australia’s real estate sector
Christopher Knaus and Nick Evershed The Guardian (No paywall)Convicted criminals and unlicensed agents are operating in the real estate sector across multiple states, a Guardian Australia investigation has found. In New South Wales, the Guardian has established that two individuals convicted of dishonesty offences have been allowed back into the industry well within the usual 10-year prohibition, and that gaps in the law mean convicted money launderers are able to find their way back into the industry.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/sep/17/australia…
# Hot topic Australia, .Was the housing crisis caused by the Howard government’s policies?
Keith Mitchelson The New Daily (No paywall)The housing crisis plaguing Australia is the direct result of Coalition taxation policies that favour individuals with capital and assets, and disadvantages individuals on wage incomes. In 1999, John Howard reduced Capital Gains Tax (CGT) liabilities by 50 per cent for individuals, after Labor had introduced the CGT in 1985. The reduction resulted in a boom in investment in existing housing (an instant earning asset), and it prompted richer individuals to transfer income into capital gains to reduce personal tax liabilities.
https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2024/09/16/howard-governm…
# Hot topic Australia, .The Australian tenants who are charged to pay their rent
Ariel Bogle The Guardian (No paywall)For almost two years, Tim* has paid an extra $4.83 a month to pay the rent. That recently climbed to $5.10 when the rent went up. The real estate agency that manages their home in Melbourne moved its tenants over to a payment app called Ailo in late 2022. Since then, they have paid a service fee – worked out as a percentage of their rent – to set up a recurring bank transfer on the platform. Tim was “annoyed at having to pay money for basically nothing” but was afraid to say anything to their property manager.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/sep/18/renttech-…
# Must read Australia, Rent, Starting a tenancy.$84bn lost to housing tax lurks? That would go a long way towards ending the housing crisis
Alan Morris The Conversation (No paywall)Australia’s deep housing crisis is causing enduring and widespread harm. A key impact is that it is increasing inequality. The children of parents who have paid off their mortgage and have disposal income are far more likely to become home owners. They will be better off as a result. On the other side of the coin, a growing proportion of young Australians feel they will never be in a position to buy a home and will be lifelong private renters.
https://theconversation.com/84bn-lost-to-housing-tax-lurks-that-…
# Hot topic Australia, .Housing crisis forces Queensland families to live out of motel rooms
Johanna Marie, Nikki Sorbello & Grace Whiteside ABC (No paywall)While the four walls of a motel room offer safety from the outside world, the space inside is far from a home. Single mum Jessica Davies and her four kids, aged between two and 16, have been living in a motel in the Queensland city of Bundaberg since July. "It's not suitable, especially with a two-year-old," she said. Her family has been on the waiting list for social housing since February, and has lived in several motels over the past six months. She said she was not able to find an affordable rental in Bundaberg with enough room for her kids.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-14/housing-crisis-forces-fam…
# Hot topic Australia, Public and community housing, Rent.Our unending housing crisis will never get fixed without a lot more thought and effort
Ross Gittins The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)Contrary to popular opinion, the cost-of-living crisis will pass. But the housing crisis will go on worsening unless politicians – federal, state and local – try a mighty lot harder than they have been. The cost of home ownership took off – that is, began rising faster than household incomes – about the time I became a journo 50 years ago, and is still going. Even the (unlikely) achievement of Anthony Albanese’s target of building 1.2 million new homes by 2029 probably wouldn’t do more than slow the rate of worsening affordability for a while.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/our-unending-housing…
# Hot topic Australia, .Creating better outcomes for renters by reforming negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions
Jago Dodson and Liam Davies Centre for Urban Research (No paywall)This policy discussion paper argues that the Commonwealth is underutilising its taxation powers in relation to the welfare of rental housing tenants. This is because of opaque and unaccountable tax concessions to private residential rental investor-landlords.The paper sets out the case for a national reform of rental tenancy subsidies and regulation that links landlord access to negative gearing and capital gains discounts to improved dwelling quality and tenancy conditions.
https://cur.org.au/creating-better-outcomes-for-renters-by-refor…
# Hot topic Australia, .