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
NSW Health limits residents of locked-down tower block to six beers per day
Anton Nilsson and James O'Doherty (No paywall)Residents in a Sydney tower block under a strict coronavirus lockdown are having their alcohol deliveries policed. Residents in apartment blocks locked-down by NSW Health are having their alcohol deliveries policed as part of a policy to limit the number of drinks being consumed each day. NSW Health has imposed rules limiting people in “NSW Health controlled buildings” to a certain amount of alcohol each day in a bid to “ensure the safety of health staff and residents”. Mission Australia’s Common Ground building in Camperdown is the latest building where occupants are subjected to the harsh rules. (news.com.au)
https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/news/nsw-health-limits-…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Health, State Government.What’s the state of purpose-built student accommodation? A look at the City of Adelaide.
Andrew Rossiter (No paywall)Purpose-built student accommodation is changing the fabric of many of our CBDs. Last month our Local Government Population Forecasting Team reviewed population forecasts for the City of Adelaide and were surprised with just how big an impact the sector is having in the Adelaide CBD. In this blog, Andrew Rossiter shares some of what the team learned on the current state of purpose-built accommodation in Adelaide, including the impact of the pandemic on current occupancy rates and what the road to recovery may look like. (.id blog)
https://blog.id.com.au/2021/population-forecasting/whats-the-sta…
# Australia, Housing market, Students.Camperdown Social Housing Residents protest Over-policing and Rent Conditions while under hard COVID-19 lockdown
Daniel Lo Surdo (No paywall)Residents and supporters of the Common Ground social housing facility in Camperdown protested renting conditions and over-policing after their building was placed in a hard lockdown for two weeks after four tenants tested positive to COVID-19. Residents revealed that the NSW Police, under the direction of NSW Health, were confiscating alcohol and searching packages delivered to the towers whilst tenants are in lockdown. This was confirmed by the Sydney Local Health District, which noted that some deliveries of alcohol were restricted to ensure the safety of health staff and residents. (City Hub)
https://cityhubsydney.com.au/2021/09/camperdown-social-housing-r…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Coronavirus COVID-19.Pay down the mortgage faster or invest? Here’s my strategy…
Jessica Irvine The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)I’m often asked why I choose to only make the minimum repayments on my mortgage. It’s an excellent question, so let me explain my thinking.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/investing/pay-down-the-mortgage-fas…
# Australia, Home ownership.Council compensates homeless man for housing delay
BBC (No paywall)A watchdog ordered a council to pay a homeless man compensation for taking too long to find him emergency accommodation. An investigation found Bristol City Council knew he was at risk of self harm yet took five weeks to find him a place. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman report said the delay was "excessive". The council has apologised and paid the man £250 for the distress he suffered.
# International, Homelessness, Local Government.More financial support on offer for struggling tenants, landlords
Kayla Osbourne (No paywall)Tenants and landlords affected by ongoing stay-at-home orders will now have access to additional financial support. The NSW Government's Residential Tenancy Support Package has been increased to up to $4500 per tenancy, with the eviction moratorium also extended until November 11, 2021. ... Tenants' Union's policy and advocacy coordinator Jemima Mowbray told the Leader that many renters were experiencing high levels of stress as COVID restrictions continued. "We know that renters are more likely to have precarious or casual jobs and it has now been four or five weeks without a solid stream of income," she said. "What we have seen though is a lot of people have increased their debt as they dug into savings during the lockdown last year. "They may have paid rent but built up credit card debt or bill debt just to make it through last year so they don't have those same resources to draw on this time." (St George & Sutherland Shire Leader)
https://www.theleader.com.au/story/7420071/more-financial-suppor…
# TUNSW in the media NSW, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, State Government.Sydney house values climb $850 a day amid fears of living standard hit
Shane Wright The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The average new mortgage to buy an established house in NSW has soared by more than $200,000 in two years amid a nationwide glut of home lending, raising fears our obsession with pumping money into real estate may hurt Australia’s long-term living standards. You will find a similar story for Melbourne at: [https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/melbourne-houses-climb-457-a-day-amid-fears-of-living-standard-hit-20210909-p58q6f.html]
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/sydney-house-values-clim…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Going viral: COVID-19, social housing and social media
Travis Gilbert (No paywall)When a novel coronavirus, with no known effective treatment or vaccination, arrived in Canberra in 2020, the health advice was simple. Stay home, stop the spread, save lives. A week later, the Prime Minister declared there would be a moratorium on evictions from private and social rental homes for all households unable to make rent due to loss of income from the economic fallout of COVID-19. With that, the argument many housing advocates, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had been making for years, was confirmed true. An affordable, safe and secure home that is not crowded and is of sufficient amenity to enable constant modulation of inside temperature is a critical social determinant of good health. (RiotAct!)
https://the-riotact.com/going-viral-covid-19-social-housing-and-…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Health, Homelessness.