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
'Extremely worrying': rental vacancy hits record low
Benn Dorrington realestate.com.au (No paywall)It’s never been tougher for renters looking for a new home, as the national rental vacancy rate falls to a record low amid Australia’s housing crisis. New PropTrack data showed that the national vacancy rate declined 0.12 percentage points (ppt) to 1.07% in February. The crisis has worsened significantly since the pandemic, with national levels of available rental homes plummeting 60% since March 2020. PropTrack senior economist Paul Ryan said rental markets were proving extremely challenging for renters, with very limited availability across most of the country.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/extremely-worrying-rental-vac…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media NSW, .Kim thought she’d found the perfect rental. Then an ‘awful smell’ led to her daughter getting sick
Rhiannon Lewin 7 News (No paywall)The mother said she checked their air-conditioning unit, which wasn’t working, and soon found what was causing the horrible smell. She discovered thick black mould inside the air conditioning unit, and inside the walls of the property. McMahon notified her property manager of the dangerous problem, who sent out a handyman. “We could see it coming through the paint and I emailed the property manager directly, and I said you can’t just paint over mould and expect it not to grow through,” she said. A handyman came out to the property, but it was too little too late, the mother said.
https://7news.com.au/news/kim-thought-shed-finally-found-the-per…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent, Repairs.Parts of western Sydney are resembling ghost towns despite a record number of residents
7 News 7 News (No paywall)Parts of western Sydney are resembling ghost towns despite a record number of residents crying out for housing help. Thousands of properties are sitting empty tonight, with many people taking desperate measures to put a roof over their head.
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media NSW, Rent.Future of homelessness accommodation program left in lurch as funding yet to be renewed
Sarah Gerathy ABC (No paywall)For more than a decade, 30-year-old Tyler Byrnes lurched between homeless shelters, crisis accommodation and sleeping rough. "I got by sleeping rough wherever I could or saving up by getting work here or there to pay for hotel rooms for a night here and there," he said. "Doing anything I basically could to stay dry and safe, whether it be a hotel or under a bridge." But now he calls a one bedroom flat in Sydney's inner west home and rides his scooter to his job at a cafe in a neighbouring suburb.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-18/nsw-together-home-program…
# Must read NSW, Discrimination.Sydney Faces Growing Pains as Its Housing Crisis Deepens
Swati Pandey and Emma Partis Bloomberg (No paywall)Australia is grappling with a deepening housing crisis. Yet when it comes to the most obvious solution — constructing more apartments — city dwellers are pushing back against taller buildings. Placards reading “Save Sydney’s Lungs” and “Wrecking Ball Coming to You” were waved by residents and councilors this week protesting a proposal from the New South Wales state government to boost density by allowing six-story apartment blocks to be built around suburban train stations. That will cause social problems, be destructive to the environment and the city’s heritage, opponents argue.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-13/sydney-faces-…
# NSW, Rent.Build homes over rail lines, starting with Newtown and Burwood
Philip Vivian The Sydney Morning Herald (Soft Paywall)Federal and state governments now acknowledge housing affordability as one of the most pressing issues faced by Australian cities. It is also certain to be a key election concern, with the Greens firing the opening shot with a controversial $12 billion housing policy. But the urgency to find solutions is leaving good options out of the discussion. NSW Premier Chris Minns has declared our state’s investment in Sydney Metro should be used to increase density and affordable housing by announcing eight metro stations and 31 heavy rail stations for targeted density increases.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/build-homes-over-rail-lines-…
# Hot topic NSW, Public and community housing.Airbnb and Stayz accept tourism levy for all holiday rentals
Michael Koziol The Sydney Morning Herald (Soft Paywall)The two market leaders in short-term holiday rentals have accepted that guests should pay a levy to fund social and affordable housing in NSW, but want the tax applied to all tourism accommodation, including hotels. Meanwhile, the state government has been urged to cap the number of homes that can be used as holiday rentals in any given area, with housing advocates Shelter NSW pointing to certain regions where the number of dwellings used as Airbnbs has grown by more than 50 per cent in five years.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/airbnb-and-stayz-accept-tour…
# Hot topic NSW, .VIDEO: Greens MP warns 'political class' is set for reckoning with 'screwed over' renters
National Press Club | ABC The Guardian (No paywall)VIDEO: Speaking about the rental crisis at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday, Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather described himself as 'one of the only renters in parliament'. He said his generation has been told it will be 'thrown to the wolves' when it comes to tax handouts and adjusting housing policies. 'This is such a serious crisis and all we are doing is tinkering around the edges,' Chandler-Mather said, after explaining it would cost 20 times the average wage to buy a home in Marrickville in Sydney's inner west. 'I know that the prime minster was able to buy a home in Marrickville for $146,000, about five times the average wage,' he said.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/video/2024/mar/06/gre…
# Hot topic, Video Australia, .