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
Homeless services turn away 260 people daily due to lack of accommodation
Luke Henriques-Gomes The Guardian (No paywall)Almost 300,000 people sought help from a homelessness agency in past year, with over 55s the fastest growing cohort, new report shows.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/dec/11/homeless-…
# Australia, Homelessness, Older people.Homelessness and family and domestic violence
SBS (No paywall)A report has revealed 40 per cent of Australians helped by specialist homelessness agencies last financial year previously dealt with family and domestic violence.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/40-per-cent-of-those-helped-by-homel…
# Australia, Domestic violence, Homelessness.Home ownership and super are far more entwined than you might think
Deborah Ralston The Conversation (No paywall)When the government’s retirement incomes review of which I was a part examined superannuation, the age pension and voluntary savings, home ownership had a surprisingly important role. … Non-homeowners, on the other hand, are among those most likely to experience poverty in retirement. … Boosting rent assistance would help, but it is only part of the solution. Other parts of the solution include increasing the supply and affordability of housing, creating a market in longer-term rental contracts, and boosting access to public housing …
https://theconversation.com/home-ownership-and-super-are-far-mor…
# Australia, Rent, Federal Government, Home ownership, Older people.Retirement housing on wheels: Is it as affordable as it says in the marketing brochure?
Lois Towart and Kristian Ruming The Fifth Estate (No paywall)Life in a manufactured home estate – a more permanent iteration of a caravan park where residents live in relocatable homes – is sold as an affordable way to retire among people in the same age bracket. But new research shows it may not be all it’s cracked up to be.
https://www.thefifthestate.com.au/innovation/residential-2/retir…
# Australia, Land lease communities, Affordable housing, Older people.The housing have-nots and is cash dead?
ABC (No paywall)Australia’s ongoing housing inequalities are explored in new research on the financial stresses facing renters over 50 with an annual household income of less than $31,000. Plus, is cash dead? And the ups and downs of a rising Aussie dollar. Listen to ABC Radio National
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/themoney/the-housi…
# Research alert Australia, Rent, Housing affordability.COVID-19 and the rental market
Hilary Harper ABC (No paywall)The COVID-19 pandemic has seen former short-stay apartments being added to the private rental market, while relocating city-dwellers have added pressure to tightly-held regional areas. Largely, what those changes look like and how they impact you depend on where you live. So, how have renters fared during the crisis? And what state could Australia's rental markets be in after JobKeeper and JobSeeker end next year? Listen to ABC Life Matters.
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/covid-…
# Audio Australia, Rent, Housing market, Regional NSW, Short-term holiday letting.“Impossible”: Mascot Towers stores given seven days to leave over safety fears
Angus Thompson and Pallavi Singhal The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Businesses at the base of Sydney's harrowed Mascot Towers have been caught between the directives of a government minister and the building's owners corporation, which has given them a week's notice to vacate over safety issues.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/impossible-mascot-towers-stores-…
# Legal significance NSW, Security and safety, Minimum habitability standards.New lease of life for the mansions of the inner west
Caitlin Fitzsimmons The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)While the natural habitat of the grand 19th century house is the eastern suburbs, there are many dotted throughout suburbs such as Stanmore, Petersham and Ashfield. In many cases, the houses have served as blocks of flats - housing two, four or even eight families rather than one - for decades. Now with the market for small apartments in the doldrums, these houses are hitting the market and many are being reclaimed as single-family homes.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/new-lease-of-life-for-the-ma…
# NSW, Home ownership, Housing market.