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
National Cabinet tasks states with boosting renters' rights
Alison Xiao ABC (No paywall)The Prime Minister says housing and planning ministers have been asked to develop proposals to strengthen renters' rights and increase the housing supply.
Housing experts are sceptical much needed help will eventuate.
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/pm/national-cabinet-tasks-…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media, Audio Australia, Federal Government, Housing affordability, Housing market.Greens announce plans to introduce bill to federal parliament to freeze rents and interest rates before budget announcement
Stephanie Dalzell ABC (No paywall)The federal Greens will introduce a bill to federal parliament next month that would freeze rent prices across the country for two years and give the government power to stop the Reserve Bank from raising interest rates.
The Greens' proposal aims to give renters and home owners fighting spiralling costs some reprieve, and would see the federal government work with the states and territories to freeze rent increases nationwide.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-29/greens-rent-freeze-federa…
# Must read, Hot topic, New policy announcement Australia, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, Housing affordability.‘An Australian-made problem’: Government should ‘step in’ with housing crisis
Staff Sky News (No paywall)Tenants’ Union of NSW Policy Lead Leo Patterson Ross says the government should “step in” with the housing crisis by buying building companies which are going under to help meet demand and preserve jobs.
“We saw rents rising, particularly in regional areas … this is really an Australian-made problem, it preexists COVID-19 and it certainly is not driven by migration, the number of people looking for homes obviously impacts the type of experience people are going to have,” Mr Patterson Ross told Sky News Australia.
https://www.skynews.com.au/business/real-estate/an-australianmad…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media, Video Australia, Affordable housing, Housing affordability, Planning and development.'They don't stand a chance': Australia's worst-affected as rental affordability hits new low
Rashida Yosufzai SBS (No paywall)At the lowest point of her search for a roof over her head, Victorian resident Mary* says looking for a rental drove her to unimaginable depths.
“I thought you know, this is all too hard. It would just be easier to say goodbye,” the 50-year-old told SBS News.
A decade ago, Mary was forced to make a difficult decision: stay with an abusive partner, or flee the home she’d spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on in order to save her life.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/anglicare-report-shows-renta…
# Must read, Hot topic Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market, Welfare.Rent in Australian capital cities climbs record 11.7% in 12 months
Mostafa Rachwani The Guardian (No paywall)
Rent in Australian capital cities climbs record 11.7% in 12 months
Increase equivalent to $3,200 a year for tenants, with relief ‘unlikely’ in the short term as demand continues to outstrip supply
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Mostafa Rachwani
@Rachwani91
Wed 3 May 2023 01.00 AEST
Renters in Australian capital cities have suffered the highest increase for a 12-month period since records began in 2007 as the nation’s housing crisis shows no sign of slowing down.
The combined capitals’ rental rate increased 11.7% over the past year, far above the average increase of 3.5%.
The record increase is equivalent to about $63 a week, or $3,200 a year in rent.
In the past three months alone rent in capital cities increased by 2.8%, and with vacancy rates remaining well below the average rate of 3% to 5%, rental rates are expected to continue increasing.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/03/rent-in-a…
# TUNSW in the media Australia, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market.Can Labor solve the housing affordability crisis while lucrative property tax breaks exist?
Nassim Khadem ABC (No paywall)Norma Wannell never imagined she would be homeless.
It was more than a decade ago when Ms Wannell, now 71, had been working in a hospital in community welfare but, after an accident, was forced to go onto the disability pension.
She had been renting a home in Sydney for almost 16 years but had to move out when the landlord decided to sell the property.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-01/solving-the-housing-affor…
# Must read, Hot topic Australia, Campaigns and law reform, Federal Government, Housing affordability.Opinion: Better Renting’s solutions for the ACT’s housing crisis
Staff Canberra Weekly (No paywall)Joel Dignam, executive director of advocacy group Better Renting, shares his views on Anglicare’s Rental Affordability Snapshot, published last week. Once again, the Snapshot showed that housing in the national capital is unaffordable for many, particularly for people on welfare – and is getting worse, even though the ACT has some of the most protective rental legislation in the country.
https://canberraweekly.com.au/opinion-better-rentings-solutions-…
# Hot topic Australia, Campaigns and law reform, Housing affordability, Housing market.Mould, rats, bedbugs: These are some of the issues I’ve encountered during my 21 rentals
Rachel Clun The Guardian (No paywall)I have had the misfortune to have lived in three places where my bedroom developed some sort of internal water feature if it rained a bit too hard.
I’ve lived in a lightly converted office above a busy city road. A house where I needed pliers to turn the stove on. There have been roach infestations, rat problems, bedbugs, mould.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/mould-rats-bedbugs-t…
# Hot topic Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market, Personal stories.