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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
Renters should look out for these red flags when signing a property lease, experts say
Annika Burgess ABC (No paywall)In a competitive rental market, many people are facing stress and anguish just trying to find a property. So when you finally get your hands on a lease, you may not feel like exerting any bargaining power. But experts say lease agreements are one of the things residential laws do well, ensuring tenant rights are upheld and they can't be caught off guard. And, you still have many rights to challenge lease agreements once they are signed. Here are the red flags and points to look out for to make sure you're getting the real deal.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-08/rental-property-lease-agr…
# Must read Australia, Rent, Starting a tenancy.Christopher Luxon, Chris Bishop open biggest build-to-rent scheme at Resido, Mt Wellington
Anne Gibson NZ Herald (Paywall)New Zealand: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Housing Minister Chris Bishop today opened New Zealand’s largest build-to-rent housing scheme, with Luton saying quality accomodation for tenants was a key to easing this country’s housing shortage.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/christopher-luxon-chris-bish…
# Hot topic International, Rent, Starting a tenancy.Legal service funding can't meet Australia's needs, independent review finds
Georgia Roberts ABC (No paywall)An independent review of legal service funding has found that current levels are insufficient to meet Australia's legal assistance needs, especially help for marginalised groups, which legal services say they have been raising concerns about for years. The Independent Review of the National Legal Assistance Partnership (NLAP), which provides federal and state funding for Legal Aid Commissions, Community Legal Centres, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services, was compiled by Dr Warren Mundy, who was asked to consider the future of the partnership and its ability to provide access to legal services. He gave his review to the federal government in March. It was publicly released on Tuesday, just under three months after the government received it.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-29/review-of-legal-services/…
# Must read, Hot topic Australia, Aboriginal renters.Victoria May Force Landlords To Install Air-Cons In Their Rentals — Big Surprise, They’re Pissed
Lachlan Hodson Pedestrian (No paywall)A new proposal from the Victorian Government could see all rental properties in the state fitted out with air-conditioning, insulation, and draught proofing, meaning renters don’t freeze their nips off in the winter. However, the potential change has one group particularly upset: landlords in Victoria. On June 3, Jacinta Allan‘s government announced a potential change to rental rules that would improve the living standard for renters across the state by raising the minimum heating standards.
https://www.pedestrian.tv/news/victoria-landlords-heating-standa…
# Must read, New policy announcement Australia, Utilities electricity water gas.Renters turn to motels and caravan parks in regional Victoria amid housing crisis
Rhiannon Stevens ABC (No paywall)Toni and Billy were looking for a night of respite when they booked into a neat, if slightly forgotten, motel on a grassy plain outside Ballarat in regional Victoria. Unable to secure a rental property and homeless, they wanted to be out of the cold. The couple, who did not want their full names published, had been camping through winter with their children at a free campsite for months. "It was hard," Toni said. "It sucked. It was really stressful. It was gut wrenching." "Trying to apply for houses, you always get knocked back, knocked back, knocked back," Billy added.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-30/renting-housing-crisis-ac…
# Must read, Hot topic Australia, Land lease communities, Rent, Security and safety, Starting a tenancy.Landlord’s secret Facebook post urging investors to band together to collude on price hikes sparks fury
Shannon Molloy news.com.au (No paywall)A jaw-dropping post in a private Facebook group for landlords has sparked fury from a prominent renter advocate, who says it exposes the true nature of Australian property investors. A member of the closed ‘Landlord’s (sic) Victoria’ group shared a post encouraging fellow investors to “be united” by colluding to increase rent prices uniformly. The user complained that properties in suburbs in outer-Melbourne were achieving “low” rents in comparison to “states like Perth”. The man suggested an organised increase of up to $200- per-week to put combined pressure on the market.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/renting/landlords-se…
# Must read Australia, Rent.Single older women living in converted tiny homes, cabins at caravan parks amid housing crisis
Rachael Lucas ABC (No paywall)When Lesley Wheeler, 72, noticed rental prices on the rise in her outer Melbourne suburb of Frankston six years ago, she had a stark realisation that the only way she was going to survive retirement was to own her own property. "Four months prior to turning 65, I'd been told by some job service: 'Don't even bother looking for another job because at your age you won't get one and you're a woman'," she said. "I kind of realised that I was going to be stuck. I had no superannuation left, as I had to use that previously, and no other resources other than a pension. "I thought, 'I'm going to have to do something about this' and the tiny house movement interested me."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-02/single-older-women-living…
# Hot topic Australia, Land lease communities, Rent, Security and safety.Moving back home, co-housing, and boarders. How three households embraced communal living
Tessa Flemming & Aishah Kenton ABC (No paywall)Ellamay Khongroj Fitzgerald didn’t imagine herself still living with her parents at 31. “You know, you’ve grown up with your parents, you sometimes have your differences and you want to get away which I did,” she says. But after living abroad, she moved back into the downstairs area of her parents’ Palm Beach home — along with roommate Courtenay Mccue in April 2023. The pair have their own bathroom, kitchen and living space but share a backyard and laundry with Ellamay’s parents.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-01/three-households-embrace-…
# Must read Australia, Rent, Share houses.