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
'Death by 1,000 cuts': Environmental advocate calls for overhaul of Darwin's planning
Nicholas Hynes ABC (No paywall)On the northern edge of Darwin there is a line where the suburbs stop and nature begins. But the border between the tightly -packed houses of Muirhead and the coastal bushland of Lee Point will be blurred next month, as land sales begin on a major development which will eventually welcome 3,000 residents and a new tourist precinct. ... But there are growing concerns about the potential impacts on Darwin's coastal waterways. ... Environmental advocates say the proposed subdivisions could destroy key habitats and impede natural filtration and runoff of the waterways.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-26/land-demand-buoys-darwin-…
# Australia, Housing market, Planning and development.WestConnex substrata acquisition cheats residents out of receiving fair compensation
Kate Rafferty (No paywall)Permanent acquisition of underground land due to WestConnex construction has left property owners in the Inner West battling the government for compensation. (Inner West Independent)
https://cityhubsydney.com.au/2021/04/westconnex-substrata-acquis…
# NSW, Home ownership, Planning and development, State Government.How much does it cost to rent on the Gold or Sunshine Coast? More than Sydney, new data reveals
Sarah Webb Domain (No paywall)The tsunami-sized sea-change trend is sparking a rental crisis across two of Queensland’s top coastal cities, with weekly rents reaching record heights that rival parts of inner-city Sydney and Canberra. Some locals have been forced to squat or live in their cars.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/how-much-does-it-cost-to-rent-on-…
# Australia, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness, Housing market.Rising house prices could derail post-COVID economic recovery
Jennifer Duke The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Home prices in Sydney and Melbourne are continuing towards double-digit price rises this year, with huge jumps over the first quarter, and for some buyers this will mean a commensurate increase in the mortgages they need to service to put a roof over their heads. It could also mean more borrowers choosing to take on more debt as property investors. ... one of the concerns that should be front of mind is the effect on spending.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/rising-house-prices-coul…
# Australia, Housing market.Record price gaps between house and unit prices are driving buyers towards the apartment life
Sue Williams Domain (No paywall)With the median unit price now 66 per cent lower than the median house price – the biggest difference since Domain figures began – many more house-hunters are considering apartment life.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/record-pricve-gaps-between-houses…
# NSW, Strata, Housing market.Australian Residential Tenancies Law in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Considerations of Housing and Property Rights
Chris Martin (No paywall)In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Australian states and territories implemented eviction moratoriums and measures to vary rent obligations – a remarkable response for jurisdictions that have, for decades, regulated residential landlord-tenant relations on a model of mild consumer protection, market rents and ready termination. This article examines the COVID-19 emergency measures and their implications for tenants’ housing rights, and landlords’ property rights. After reviewing the Australian rental housing system’s structure and legislative framework, the article examines in detail the COVID-19 emergency measures regarding evictions and rents in each state and territory. These vary in form and content, mostly on a pattern of additional protection from eviction for a core ‘hardship’ group, and variation of rents by individual negotiation. The article considers problems in the emergency measures, and points on which enduring reforms may be built, as well as critically appraising the argument that property rights protections limit the scope for reform.
http://www.unswlawjournal.unsw.edu.au/article/australian-residen…
# Must read, Legal significance Australia, Eviction, Rent, Tribunal NCAT, Coronavirus COVID-19, State Government.Landlords use Gold Coast rental crisis to retaliate against tenants who deferred rent during COVID, agent says
Cathy Border and Tom Forbes ABC (No paywall)Gold Coast landlords are retaliating against tenants by not renewing leases for people who stopped paying or reduced the amount of their rent during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a real estate property manager. ... The CEO of Tenants Queensland, Penny Carr, said some tenants renegotiated their rents with landlords while others did not, fearing retaliatory action. ... "Some of those tenants had absolutely no choice but to pay a reduced rent and many of them are still battling accrued debts," she said. "Simply because they've followed the procedures that were available to them, those things that were set in place to protect people that were affected by COVID, they're now having retaliatory action."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-21/gold-coast-landlords-litt…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness, Housing market.The Government Can Build Quality Housing for Everyone
Alex North (No paywall)In Australia today, public housing is seen as an option of last resort for poor families only. But the South Australian Housing Authority spent decades building affordable, quality homes for all. We can do the same now. ... In the mid-twentieth century ... a state government led by South Australia’s Liberal and Country League (LCL) developed one of the world’s most remarkable public housing agencies, the South Australian Housing Trust (SAHT). (Jacobin)
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/04/public-housing-south-australia-ho…
# History Australia, Public and community housing, State Government.