ADVICE OVER THE HOLIDAY PERIOD
Tenants Advice & Advocacy Services have limited availability over the holiday period. The Tenants' Union will operate a Tenancy Advice Hotline from Wednesday 18/12/2024 until Wednesday 8/1/2025 (excluding weekends and public holidays). The hours of operation are 10am-1pm and 2-5pm.
Get advice on: (02) 8117 3750 or 1800 251 101
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.
Our main email newsletter, Tenant News is sent once every two months. You can subscribe or update your subscription preferences for any of our email newsletters here.
See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
We love sharing the news and hope you find it informative! We're very happy to deliver it for free, but if you find it valuable, can you help cover the extra costs incurred by making a donation?
Archive
The London ‘hell’ estate fighting back: murders, fires and broken lifts
Christopher Cherry, Adam Sich Sammy Gecsoyler, Temujin Doran and Katie Lamborn The Guardian (No paywall)VIDEO: Milford Towers is a social housing estate in Lewisham, south London, slated for demolition and described by its residents as 'hell'. The residents accuse the council of ignoring them and deliberately running it into the ground. There are frequent leaks, mould infestations, fires, stabbings and violence – and perpetually broken lifts. The Guardian's Adam Sich and Christopher Cherry spent a day there as residents announced that enough was enough, and united to challenge the council to finally start treating them as people.
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/video/2024/feb/20/the-london-…
# Video International, Eviction, Public and community housing, Repairs, Security and safety.Revealed: how companies made $100m clearing California homeless camps
Brian Barth The Guardian (No paywall)On an October morning, a small army arrived to evict Rudy Ortega from his home in the Crash Zone, an encampment located near the end of the airport runway in San Jose, California, Silicon Valley’s largest city. As jets roared overhead, garbage trucks and police squad cars encircled Ortega’s hand-built shelter. Heavy machinery operators stood by for the signal to bulldoze Ortega’s camp. As the workers closed in, Ortega grew increasingly upset. “They’re going to have to drag me out of here,” he said. The camp, one of the largest in California, was cleared between 2021 and 2023 in part by a private company named Tucker Construction. Public spending on private sweep contractors is soaring across California.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/16/us-homeless-enca…
# Must read International, Discrimination, Eviction.Home prices reach record high of $387,600, putting damper on spring season
Khristopher J. Brooks CBS News (No paywall)The cost of buying a house hit new record highs this month, making homeownership an even more daunting task for the typical American. The median U.S. home sale price — what buyers actually paid for a property — reached $387,600 during the four weeks ending May 19, a 4% increase from a year ago, according to a new report from online real estate brokerage Redfin. The monthly mortgage payment at that price — factoring in the 7.02% U.S. median interest rate for a 30-year mortgage — is now $2,854, Redfin said. Mortgage rates are up slightly from 6.99% last week. The nation's median asking price — what sellers hope their property goes for — reached a record $420,250, a 6.6% rise from a year ago. Redfin drew its data from tracking home sales activity from more than 400 metro areas between April 21 and May 18.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/home-prices-housing-market-mortgage…
# Hot topic International, .A city in South Korea is offering small apartments for $11 a month. Why isn't Australia doing the same?
Hannah Murphy ABC (No paywall)It's a tale of two of the world's least-affordable housing markets. Sydney is home to some of the country's most well-known landmarks, gorgeous beaches and an enviable lifestyle. And if you're looking to buy an apartment in the coveted city, you could be stung about $1 million for the privilege. It's the average price for an apartment in the 2000 postcode, or if you're looking to rent, $700 a week. Meanwhile in Seoul — a bustling South Korean known for its own landmarks, beaches and lifestyle — the average price is about $800 a week. But in a small suburb inside the city, an apartment is going for $11 a month.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-24/a-tale-of-two-housing-mar…
# Hot topic Australia, Public and community housing, Rent.Why knock down all public housing towers when retrofit can sometimes be better?
Trivess Moore, David Kelly, Ralph Horne & Robert Crawford The Conversation (No paywall)The Victorian government is planning Australia’s largest urban renewal project. The plan is to knock down and rebuild 44 large public housing towers in Melbourne. The government says these towers, built in the 1960s and ’70s, are no longer fit for purpose and will cost more to maintain and upgrade than to replace. Rebuilding will allow 20,000 more people to live on these sites. However, most of the extra housing will be for private renters or owners. It will not add much more public or affordable housing. Rebuilding involves breaking up public housing communities. Many tenants have already been forcibly displaced. Removing stock from the system to make way for future housing reduces the capacity to house people in need amid a housing crisis.
https://theconversation.com/why-knock-down-all-public-housing-to…
# Must read Australia, Eviction, Public and community housing, Repairs.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…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent.Jess Hill on the refuge housing supply crisis for those fleeing violence — and how to fix it
Anthony Furci ABC (No paywall)Emergency refuge housing is crucial for women and children escaping family violence. But a shortage of space in emergency refuges is leaving many in the lurch, with nowhere else to go. "It's not a controlled way of leaving. Often, it's an escaping, and it's a going-into-hiding," journalist and domestic violence educator Jess Hill told News Breakfast. "For a long time now, I think refuges have been devalued, as sort of the ambulance waiting at the bottom of the cliff … but the fact is, when women and kids are fleeing, they need to go into a place that is safe." Women's shelters, or refuges, provide safe and secure accommodation for those fleeing domestic and family violence. They are also staffed to support victim-survivors through the next steps in fleeing an abusive situation and to help get them back on their feet.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-23/jess-hill-on-the-supply-c…
# Must read Australia, .Too many bedrooms, not enough homes
Peter Mares Inside Story (No paywall)When government MPs talk about tackling Australia’s housing crisis their mantra is “supply, supply, supply.” Michelle Ananda‑Rajah used the phrase when she was launching new homes in her electorate of Higgins. Backbenchers Graham Perrett and Peter Khalil deployed it in support of the government’s Help to Buy scheme in parliament. The slogan was on the prime minister’s lips as he spruiked new housing measures agreed at national cabinet on 10 May. But the link is not as straightforward as it appears.
https://insidestory.org.au/too-many-bedrooms-not-enough-homes/
# Hot topic Australia, .