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
Architect Philip Thalis paid the price for being outspoken. Now he’s won the profession’s gold medal
Julie Power The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)Australia’s newest gold medal winner for architecture, Sydney’s outspoken Philip Thalis, has called on fellow architects, engineers, urban planners and others who shape our cities to be braver, bolder and more vocal. He said architects were collegial and supportive, but a shortcoming of the profession was its failure to speak to society at large. “The conversation is dominated by others. You know, this is our day job. Architects have this incredible breadth of experience and knowledge of the city and of how to make buildings.” Thalis said others were often too scared to speak out, and he knows that being outspoken and criticising government can come at a price.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/architect-philip-thalis-paid…
# Hot topic NSW, .Liberal MP considers defying party to support Greens bill on no-grounds evictions
Michael McGowan The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A NSW Liberal Party MP is considering crossing the floor to support a Greens bill to ban no-grounds evictions, citing frustration with a lack of progress on a practice both major parties promised to end before the last election. Felicity Wilson, the Liberal MP for the seat of North Shore, is contemplating breaking with the Coalition to support a bill introduced by Greens MP Jenny Leong requiring landlords to give reasonable grounds before terminating fixed or periodic leases.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/liberal-mp-considers-defying…
# Hot topic NSW, Eviction, Rent.North Bondi tenant is facing eviction after asking for his rent to be cut following a ruling his balcony was unusable
John Rolfe Daily Telegraph (Paywall)Tenants of a Bondi apartment block claim they have been hit with “retaliatory eviction” for attempting to invoke a legal right to rent reduction when their balconies were ruled unusable after one collapsed. The accusation is made in documents filed with the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) after the balcony of businessman Pius Binder’s Brighton Boulevard unit came away from the wall in October last year. “Two people were on it the night before and could have been harmed,” Mr Binder said in the documents. “Thankfully nothing happened.” Prior to Christmas, restrictions were also placed on the use of that apartment’s other balcony and those of other units. In late December and early January, tenants in two apartments applied for a rent reduction under the Residential Tenancies Act. Mr Binder asked for a cut of 40 per cent, or $364 a week. He got $50 off.
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/north-bondi-tenant-is…
# Must read, Hot topic, TUNSW in the media NSW, Rent, Repairs.Budget 2024 targets cost of living, health, aged care and tertiary students
Cat Woods Law Society Journal (No paywall)Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ third federal budget reflects many of the same priorities as last year’s budget while also addressing global geopolitical concerns through increased defence spending. The budget, released on Tuesday 14 May, has committed to spending on protective and responsive measures for women victims of male violence that critics have noted fall short of supporting frontline domestic violence services. In the lead up to Budget night, the government made clear that its main concerns are the Stage 3 tax cuts, defence and tertiary education commitments. LSJ outlines key budget facts and seeks responses from experts on their effectiveness and rationale.
https://lsj.com.au/articles/budget-2024-targets-cost-of-living-h…
# Must read, Hot topic, Legal significance Australia, .Could landlords help solve bottlenecks in the family and domestic violence space? This service thinks so
Keane Bourke ABC (No paywall)Finding a home in the current market is hard enough at the moment, but imagine doing it while escaping family and domestic violence. The national housing crisis is piling even more pressure on already struggling refuges and safe houses, with support services saying it's bottlenecking systems needed to keep women safe. But the solution, as one organisation has found, didn't need to be complex. Instead, it's been driven by people like David and Joan Motta and dozens of others like them. They've chosen to lease the apartment they originally purchased for their daughter to a domestic violence survivor and her children.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-06/landlords-renting-to-fami…
# Must read Australia, Domestic violence, Rent.Landlords warned over 'double dipping' on deductibles and other tax errors that could cost government $1.2 billion
Geraden Cann ABC (No paywall)As Australia's tax season rolls around again, the national tax office has a familiar group in its sights: landlords. The Australian Tax Office (ATO) this week revealed Australians with rental properties were one of three groups under scrutiny, after findings that nine out of 10 landlords were making mistakes on their returns. The ATO estimates a recent trend of "double dipping" on expenses and other tax return errors could be costing Australia $1.2 billion in its tax take. So why are landlords falling foul of tax return rules so often?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-11/landlords-australian-tax-…
# Must read, TUNSW in the media Australia, .Community legal centres fear possible government funding cuts will put vulnerable people at risk
Greta Stonehouse ABC (No paywall)Forbidden from working, mother of two Raffat Fatima had no money or family to help come up with a plan to keep her children safe. Instead, she turned to legal aid, and a caseworker soon became her guardian angel. "We had nowhere to go so we ended up staying in her house for a month," she said. "I could never pay her enough for all of this, such a big help". After she immigrated from Pakistan with her husband, she says he stopped her working as a mechanical engineer, and tightly controlled her movements. Then she says the violence started. School teachers tried to intervene, but Ms Fatima felt trapped, and pretended all was fine, for the sake of their children.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-10/nsw-community-legal-centr…
# Must read Australia, Domestic violence, Rent, Security and safety.Landlords hike rents nearly 50 per cent since the lows of lockdown
Jemimah Clegg The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)Rents have increased at a booming rate since the lows reached during COVID-19 lockdowns, putting pressure on tenants who decided to move when housing costs were more affordable. Economists warn of the need for more housing construction to increase the supply of properties and take pressure off rents. Unit asking rental prices have soared by 48.9 per cent in Sydney from their post-March 2020 trough, and 48.6 per cent in Melbourne, Domain data shows, and have reached a weekly median of $700 and $550 respectively. The rise was even steeper in Brisbane (53.2 per cent) and Perth (71.9 per cent), while across the combined capitals, unit rents soared 46.3 per cent from March 2020 to reach a median $620 a week.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/landlords-hike-rents-nearly…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent.