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
Experts have said for years we need more social and affordable housing. So where is it?
Evan Young ABC (No paywall)Children living in tents in the bush. Single mums sliding into homelessness after rent increases. Pensioners sleeping in vans after working all their lives. We've all seen stories of the many Australians engulfed by the housing crisis, as well as the fierce debate about how to best go about correcting course. For years there's been one solution most experts have raised over and over again: building more social and affordable housing.
But it doesn't seem to have happened yet.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-28/where-is-the-social-and-a…
# Hot topic, Research alert Australia, Public and community housing.State of Victoria sued over plans to pull down public housing towers
Rachael Dexter and Royce Millar The Age (No paywall)The Victorian government’s plans to demolish Melbourne’s 44 public housing towers is facing a legal challenge, with a class action filed in the Supreme Court on Wednesday arguing the redevelopment adversely affects the human rights of thousands of tenants. Announced as a key part of the state’s landmark housing package in September, then-premier Daniel Andrews promised that all the towers dotted across inner Melbourne would be razed and rebuilt to fit three times as many residents over the next 30 years.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/state-of-victoria-su…
# Hot topic Australia, Public and community housing.‘Unliveable’: Real Estate Agent Wanted $2500 A Month To Rent A House So Messy You’ll Literally Gag
Lachlan Hodson Pedestrian (No paywall)Messiah of the renting population Jordan van den Berg, known online as Purple Pingers, closed off his 2023 with a final post to his socials flagging a property he had discovered was up for rent in regional Victoria, charging $2500 a month. Which given the area — Mangalore, a town two hours north of Melbourne — sounds like it isn’t too expensive… until you see the photos of the “home”.
I swear, no matter how ready you think you are, you aren’t.
https://www.pedestrian.tv/news/purple-pingers-2500-month-messy-h…
# Must read, Hot topic, Video Australia, Rent, Security and safety.Perth's rental crisis is hitting young people hard as they seek alternate accommodation
Rhiannon Shine ABC (No paywall)Cody, her mum, siblings, friends, five cats and a dog, are all living at her grandmother's house. Eight people living under one roof with a single toilet is less than ideal. But amid a rental crisis, Cody considers herself lucky. Scrolling real estate on her phone alongside her sister Holly, Cody is trying to find the light side. "It says 'uniquely designed'," she laughs, pointing at what is on offer in their price range. "It says 'filled with character'!
"That's when you know they're just trickin' ya."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-31/west-australian-rental-cr…
# Must read Australia, Rent.Young mother says Adelaide rent prices forcing family out
The Age (No paywall)A young South Australian mum says rising rent prices is forcing her family out of their home. For Lisa Watts and her two young daughters, home is their happy place. But just last week, Lisa received a call from her real estate agent to say that the rent on that Moana home was going up by a whopping $120 a week.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/young-mother-says-adelaide-re…
# Hot topic, Video Australia, Eviction, Rent.Home options dwindle for pet owners
Taylor Troeth news.com.au (No paywall)Senior Aussies are embracing the benefits of pet ownership, but their furry friends are causing huge challenges when it comes to securing a home. For The Love of Pets Report released Sunday by Australian Seniors, showed over half of Australian senior pet owners owned more than two pets and a further 32 per cent planned to get another one in the future. However, their love of pets has caused increased challenges when it came to finding a home for seniors, with one in seven senior pet owners revealing they struggled to find a suitable rental property.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/renting/seniors-with…
# Must read Australia, Rent.Number of tenants challenging rent increases skyrockets again
Rachel Eddie The Age (Paywall)The number of tenants challenging increases to their rent this year is on track to surpass last year’s record by 54 per cent, as advocates warn thousands of Victorians could be paying too much because of invalid notices provided by real estate agents. Consumer Affairs data provided to The Age shows 4206 tenants asked the regulator to investigate whether their rental increase was excessive in the six months to December 31 – nearly double the entire 2021-22 financial year.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/number-of-tenants-ch…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Tribunal NCAT.Written Off: The high cost of Australia’s unfair tax system
Everybody's Home (No paywall)Written Off contrasts the impact of federal government housing policy over the last forty years and unpacks why prioritising tax breaks for investors over expanding social housing has fuelled Australia’s housing crisis.
# Must read, Research alert Australia, Public and community housing, Rent.