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
Interest-free loans part of $1b program to fix NSW's cladding crisis
Matt O'Sullivan The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Apartment owners forced to replace flammable cladding on high-risk buildings across NSW will be able to access interest-free loans as part of a $1 billion government program over the next three years aimed at helping to resolve the crisis.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/interest-free-loans-part-of-…
# NSW, Asbestos, lead, hazardous materials.Tax reform key to resurrecting post-pandemic NSW budget
Alexandra Smith The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet will stake the state's economic recovery on debt-funded spending and sweeping tax reform, including the ambitious task of abolishing stamp duty.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/tax-reform-key-to-the-resurr…
# New policy announcement NSW, Coronavirus COVID-19, Tax.Stamp duty vs property tax and what the proposed change could mean for you
Cecilia Connell ABC (No paywall)The NSW Treasurer has proposed a massive overhaul of the way houses are taxed, with oppressive stamp duties to be potentially scrapped. ... "Stamp duty is a tax from a bygone era," Mr Perrottet said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-18/property-tax-vs-stamp-dut…
# NSW, Tax.NSW budget: government announces plans to phase out stamp duty
Kate Burke Domain (Paywall)The state government’s plans to phase out stamp duty would save house hunters tens of thousands of dollars in upfront costs and boost market activity, but experts warn it could also put upward pressure on property prices.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/nsw-budget-government-announces-p…
# New policy announcement NSW, Tax.Bipartisan support for Perrottet's stamp duty tax reform
Lucy McCormack The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet's push to phase out stamp duty will have bipartisan support from Labor, paving the way for ambitious tax reform to pass Parliament.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/bipartisan-support-for-perro…
# New policy announcement NSW, Tax.NSW property tax: what are the proposed changes to stamp duty and how would they affect you?
Martin Farrer The Guardian (No paywall)NSW government hopes proposed changes would free up the housing market and provide a long-term revenue stream
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/nov/19/nsw-prope…
# New policy announcement NSW, Tax.Abolition of stamp duty in NSW is a bold and welcome policy
Jessica Irvine The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)I honestly did not expect to see it happen in my lifetime. This week’s bold move by NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet to initiate the abolition of stamp duty in NSW and replace it with a broad-based land tax is as historic a tax reform as they come. Not since Howard and Costello’s goods and services tax or Keating’s fringe benefit and capital gains taxes have we seen the likes.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/abolition-of-stamp-d…
# Must read, New policy announcement NSW, Tax.Michael Pascoe: NSW has a cunning plan to abolish stamp duty. But it’s far from simple
Michael Pascoe The New Daily (No paywall)NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet has achieved a land tax double – a proposal that Baldrick would call “a cunning plan” and Sir Humphrey would describe as “very brave”. Mr Perrottet has suggested a method of replacing real estate stamp duty with annual land tax that is indeed cunning – and might just succeed when other means have failed to jump the political pain threshold. But it could still prove “very brave” when electors start feeling the end cost and vested interests start dealing with the complications of a two-tier property market.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2020/11/18/michael-pascoe-stamp-…
# New policy announcement NSW, Tax.