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
Four ways to bring down rent and build homes faster than Labor's $10 billion housing fund
Peter Martin ABC (No paywall)Treasurer Jim Chalmers is the first in decades to declare war on what he calls the "pain of rising rents".
His first budget, in October, and his second, this month, contained a suite of measures designed to stop rents going "through the roof". By far the biggest of those — the blockbuster — was a $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund to finance social and affordable housing.
If you think the idea of building a fund rather than building houses sounds odd, you probably think the same way about the Medical Research Future Fund, the Future Drought Fund, the Disaster Ready Fund or the $250 billion Future Fund itself, which was set up to pay public service and defence pensions.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-17/four-ways-reduce-rent-bui…
# Must read, Hot topic Australia, Campaigns and law reform, Federal Government, Planning and development.Apartment blocks reserved for renters. Will build-to-rent help solve the housing crisis?
Edwina Storie SBS (No paywall)Imagine renting a flat where you have a three-year lease and aren't charged through the roof.
In the midst of a rental crisis, the idea of an apartment block designed entirely for renters, and that offers long(ish) leases, almost sounds utopian. But that's what build-to-rent ideally offers.
And it may be coming to a neighbourhood near you over the next few years. So why?
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/article/will-build-to-rent-…
# Hot topic Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market, Planning and development.Queensland government to reform residential parks as peak body says they are taking advantage of pensioners with rent increases
Rachel Riga ABC (No paywall)The state government is considering implementing a rent cap in residential parks as the Queensland peak body for residents says people are experiencing housing stress due to unfair business practices.
The parks are usually marketed as living communities for people over 50 and as an affordable alternative to retirement villages where residents can buy their own home but rent the land from a park owner.
There are more than 200 residential parks across the state which contain more than 23,000 homes.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-15/queensland-residential-pa…
# Hot topic Australia, Land lease communities, Housing affordability, Older people.Jenai quit her Melbourne flat because the mould was so bad – then it was relisted for $60 a week more
Cait Kelly The Guardian (No paywall)After Jenai Ellen Tomlinson moved into her Melbourne flat last year, she discovered it had a serious mould problem.
When the mould began spreading across the walls in June, she emailed her property manager. After the power cut out, her property manager sent an electrician, who found water in the main switch box.
It took until October for the mould to be treated professionally, after multiple emails between the tenant, the agent, the body corporate and the mould treatment company.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/16/jenai-qui…
# Hot topic Australia, Health, Housing market, Mould.Push for university tutors and educators to house international students
Virginia Trioli ABC (No paywall)A Melbourne homestay network says the government should be encouraging university tutors and educators to house international students as a potential solution to the rental crisis.
The Monash Student Association has made the appeal amid concerns it would discourage students from studying in Australia.
Founder of the Australian Homestay Network David Bycroft has backed the call and says there is need to protect vulnerable students from homelessness and scams.
https://www.abc.net.au/melbourne/programs/mornings/homestay-netw…
# Hot topic Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market, Students.Economists say rental price caps are a 'viable' short-term solution to the housing crisis, but some fear it could backfire
Kate Ainsworth and Emilia Terzon ABC (No paywall)There is a growing push for rental caps — or even a freeze on increases entirely — as the housing crunch continues, however, despite it being a "viable" short-term solution, some analysts fear the policy could negatively affect both investors and tenants.
On Tuesday night, the federal government announced a 15 per cent increase to the maximum rate of the Commonwealth Rent Assistance program — up to $31 a fortnight — from September as part of its budget.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-12/rental-freeze-cap-policy-…
# Hot topic International, Campaigns and law reform, Housing affordability, Housing market.No-fault evictions to be banned in reform of rental sector
Alex Forsyth, Joshua Nevett and Alex Partridge BBC (No paywall)Landlords would be banned from evicting tenants with no justification as part of a long-promised overhaul of the private rental sector in England.
A new law tabled in Parliament would abolish no-fault evictions and end bans on tenants claiming benefits.
The bill would also make it easier for landlords to repossess properties from anti-social tenants.
Housing campaigners said the bill was a "huge opportunity" but warned it risked creating loopholes for evicti
‘A Daily Game of Russian Roulette’: Homeless in San Diego
Eli Saslow The New York Times (No paywall)Laine Goettsch packed her emergency medical bag and drove into downtown San Diego to look for her favorite patient, afraid of what she might find. Sometimes, she saw Abdul Curry cleaning the sidewalks near his tent and dancing to a playlist of Ed Sheeran songs. Other times, she found him hypothermic in a wet sleeping bag and surrounded by people smoking fentanyl. And then there were the days when she couldn’t find him at all, and she continued searching for hours as she braced for a call from the hospital, the police or the medical examiner.
Now she drove into a homeless encampment and saw three people huddled near a camping stove and sharing a bottle of vodka. “Anyone heard from Abdul?” she asked, but they shook their heads and turned back to the fire.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/13/us/san-diego-homelessness.htm…
# Must read, Hot topic International, Homelessness, Housing affordability, International.