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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
Prioritising housing as a health priority: Aboriginal Housing NT and Menzies School of Health Research sign MoU
Dechlan Brennan National Indigenous Times (No paywall)Aboriginal Housing Northern Territory have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding with the Menzies School of Health Research. The MoU will formalise the collaborative partnership to improve the quality of remote housing in the NT and comes after the federal and Territory governments committed to a ten-year remote housing funding package. Negotiations to enable the MoU were led by AHNT chief executive officer Skye Thompson and Menzies Senior Research Fellow Dr Liam Grealy, with a vision to find solutions to support and enable Aboriginal self-determination over remote housing in the NT. "Aboriginal Housing NT is proud to formalise our relationship with Menzies School of Health Research," Ms Thompson said.
https://nit.com.au/16-10-2024/14289/prioritising-housing-as-a-he…
# Hot topic Australia, Aboriginal renters.The ‘simple solution’ to the public housing towers knock-down that could save taxpayers millions
By Rachael Dexter The Age (No paywall)
Public housing towers in Melbourne’s north could be refurbished and expanded without uprooting hundreds of residents and saving taxpayers more than $300 million, according to a new study criticising the state government’s controversial demolition plans. But the Allan government is unapologetically pursuing its agenda to raze the blocks and rebuild estates in conjunction with the private sector. It faces a two-day class action trial in the Supreme Court this month brought by residents.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/the-simple-solution-…
# Hot topic Australia, Public and community housing.When the RBA cuts interest rates, housing affordability relief may only be temporary for first home buyers
Ian Verrender ABC (No paywall)Housing is about to become more affordable. That's the good news. It could be as early as next month and won't be any later than early in the new year. But before you break out the bubbly, a word of caution. If you are a first home buyer, it most likely will be a fleeting, and possibly minuscule, improvement. Rate cuts are in the wind and, while they'll certainly improve housing affordability, the downside for new entrants is that housing affordability is at an all-time low. And if we've learned anything from the past four decades, cheaper loans have only helped drive prices higher.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-15/rba-to-cut-interest-rates…
# Hot topic Australia, .Historic rental reforms before NSW parliament
Christopher Kelly Government News (No paywall)Landlords in NSW will no longer be able to evict tenants for no reason. The rental reform – one which advocates have been waiting decades for – is among one of many changes that have been introduced to the NSW parliament this week through the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill. “It’s really important and a big reform that we have been waiting 50 years for,” Jemima Mowbray – policy and advocacy manager at the Tenants’ Union of New South Wales – told Government News. “It’s getting rid of the ability to end a tenancy for no grounds and putting in some requirement for landlords to provide a reason to tenants when they’re ending the tenancy.”
https://www.governmentnews.com.au/historic-rental-reforms-before…
# Must read, TUNSW in the media, Legal significance, New policy announcement NSW, Eviction, Rent.Standing Together for Housing Justice
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)Last week in Parramatta on Dharug Country, Tenant Advocates came together to stand for housing justice and celebrate 30 years of the Tenants Advice and Advocacy Program (TAAP). TAAP is the main source of funding for the 15 generalist Tenants Advice and Advocacy Services (TAASs) and the four specialist Aboriginal TAASs across New South Wales. The TAAS network responds to approximately 30,000 requests annually for tenancy advice and provides ongoing assistance to approximately 10,000 tenants every year.
https://www.tenants.org.au/news/standing-together-housing-justice
# TUNSW in the media, History NSW, Rent.Do Housing Investors Pass-through Changes in Their Interest Costs to Rents?
Declan Twohig, Anirudh Yadav and Jonathan Hambur Reserve Bank of Australia (No paywall)Understanding the impact of interest rates on rents is important for the RBA. Rent is the second largest component of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), and so how rents respond when interest rates change will have a large mechanical bearing on the overall inflation response. Around one-third of Australian households rent their home. In 2022, the median renter spent 25 per cent of their disposable income on rent, with low-income households tending to have the highest rent-to-income ratios (Agarwal, Gao and Garner 2023). As such, changes in rents have significant implications for households’ spending power and financial wellbeing. A view that is often put forward is that higher interest rates push up rents in the short term by raising costs for indebted housing investors, which they, in turn, will pass on to tenants.
https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2024/oct/do-housing…
# Hot topic Australia, .Minns weighs new powers to bypass councils on major housing approvals
Michael McGowan The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The Minns government is weighing up major planning changes that would increase the state’s power to intervene on significant residential housing developments, and which could see councils bypassed on major projects. Premier Chris Minns confirmed this week that his government will in coming weeks announce a further tranche of reforms to the planning system as Labor struggles with an anemic pipeline of housing approvals. The premier made housing supply the centrepiece of his first term in office but has become frustrated at the dismal turnaround in new housing approvals.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/minns-weighs-new-powers-to-b…
# Must read NSW, .Taxpayer bill for Albo’s $4.3m home revealed
Aidan Devine realestate.com.au (No paywall)Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s recent $4.3m home purchase would deliver him a tax savings bonanza if he chose to rent the property out, economic modelling shows. It’s a move the Prime Minister has been rumoured to be considering after he made it clear to reporters Tuesday that he was not planning retirement any time soon. He also confirmed that he wanted to stay in his “current job for a very long period of time”. 2GB’s Ben Fordham revealed the sale earlier this week and claimed the PM exchanged contracts in September, with settlement expected before the end of October. Mr Albanese snapped up the clifftop home in Central Coast suburb Copacabana for about $300,000 below the advertised price.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/taxpayer-bill-for-albos-43m-h…
# Hot topic NSW, .