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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See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
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Archive
Property site listings exclude renters on benefits
Maryam Ahmed and Alison Benjamin BBC (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... The majority of adverts on SpareRoom and OpenRent say people on benefits will not be considered as tenants. … [Yet] in July, a judge ruled that blanket bans on renting properties to benefits claimants are unlawful and discriminatory, breaking the 2010 Equality Act on grounds of sex and disability.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-55331081?__twitter_impression=…
# Legal significance International, Discrimination, Rent, Short-term holiday letting.Why we need a betterment levy in NSW: better late than never
Patrick Fensham and Tim Sneesby The Fifth Estate (No paywall)The NSW Productivity Commission in November released its final report on the Review of Infrastructure Contributions in NSW (PC Review). It controversially ruled out capturing a share of windfall gains made from rezonings or the granting of additional development, even though this is widely used in voluntary planning agreements (VPAs) and state infrastructure contributions (SIC).
https://www.thefifthestate.com.au/urbanism/planning/why-we-need-…
# Australia, Housing market, Tax.Hobart Council wants to stop Airbnbs popping up but some owners want the right to choose
Katri Uibu ABC (No paywall)Louise Elliot and her husband have three houses — one of which is listed on short-stay accommodation site Airbnb. And despite going for around $800 a night in high season, it has a "high occupancy rate".
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-18/plans-to-cap-airbnbs-to-c…
# Australia, Housing market, Short-term holiday letting.Sustainable cities after COVID-19: Are Barcelona-style green zones the answer?
Anupam Nanda The Conversation (No paywall)The lockdowns and restrictions introduced to control the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in huge changes to urban life. Previously bustling city centres remain empty, shunned in favour of suburban or rural areas where social distancing is easier and connections to the outdoors are abundant. The roll out of vaccines provides hope for a partial restoration of normality in cities. However, the impact of COVID-19 could last much longer.
https://theconversation.com/sustainable-cities-after-covid-19-ar…
# Must read Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Planning and development.Sydney's Darling Point records highest median home value for 2020 amid luxury homes market recovery
Nassim Khadem ABC (No paywall)Several of Sydney's eastern suburbs recorded the highest median housing values, according to CoreLogic data, which says Australia's $7.2 trillion residential real estate market has proved "remarkably resilient" despite the nation's largest economic downturn since the 1930's.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-17/corelogic-national-house-…
# Australia, Housing market.Thousands more people in desperate need of social housing
Felicity Caldwell The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The number of families and homeless people in desperate need of social housing in Queensland has surged, while thousands of bedrooms remain empty.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/queensland/thousands-more-people…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Homelessness.Melbourne's public housing lockdown breached human rights: Ombudsman
Rachel Eddie and Chloe Booker The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass has found the Victorian government's last-minute decision to place nine public housing towers into an immediate hard lockdown violated the human rights of about 3000 tenants.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/melbourne-s-public-hous…
# Must read, Hot topic, Legal significance Australia, Public and community housing, Coronavirus COVID-19.Mascot Towers given extension on repairs, retailers remain open over Christmas
AngusThompson The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Retailers at the base of Mascot Towers have been given a Christmas reprieve after SafeWork NSW granted an extension to repairs that would have seen the businesses close over the festive period. The harrowed building’s owners corporation has now been given to the end of January to put in safety measures due to an unstable facade and risks of falling bricks and rubble.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/mascot-towers-given-extensio…
# NSW, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.