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
A new study says the housing market is largely to blame for Portland’s homeless crisis
Blair Best KGW8 (No paywall)ORTLAND, Ore. — A new study by a pair of researchers tried to find the root cause of homelessness in cities across the U.S. It revealed how Portland's housing market plays a much bigger part in the crisis than many might think.
The urban study called “Homelessness is a Housing Problem” found that the biggest factors in the homeless crisis are not necessarily addiction or mental health but rather a combination of high rent prices and a lack of affordable housing.
More info about the study https://homelessnesshousingproblem.com/
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/homeless/new-study-housin…
# Research alert, Video International, Public and community housing, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market.‘I’ve been on the waiting list for over 20 years’: why social housing suitable for people with disabilities is desperately needed
Alan Morris and Jan Idle The Conversation (No paywall)One of the most common reasons people apply for social housing is because they or their immediate family members have a disability and they are unable to work. They need an affordable alternative to private rental housing that’s suitable for their disability-related needs.
https://theconversation.com/ive-been-on-the-waiting-list-for-ove…
# Research alert NSW, Public and community housing, Disability, Personal stories.How legendary chef’s widow ended up in affordable housing
Caitlin Fitzsimmons The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)When Amanda Bilson was raising her children in Bellevue Hill together with her late husband, the famed Sydney chef and restaurateur Tony Bilson, she never thought she would face homelessness.
But that’s what happened when the Bilson restaurant empire collapsed in 2011 and then her beloved Tony became sick with bladder cancer in 2015.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/how-legendary-chef-s-widow-e…
# NSW, Affordable housing, Housing affordability, Older people.Coffs Harbour public housing tenant says walls leak, Mission Australia denies 'major' water damage
Nick Parmeter ABC (No paywall)Anne sits amid her possessions, crammed into the small lounge room of her social housing home in Coffs Harbour.
Anne, who did not want to use her real name, said she was embarrassed by her living conditions but felt she had no choice.
She said she is crammed everything into that room because the walls in the rest of the house became wet every time it rained, which lately had been a lot.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-20/mission-australia-social-…
# TUNSW in the media NSW, Public and community housing, Repairs.Regional rental boom peters out as rents slump
Nila Sweeney Financial Review (Paywall)Asking rents have fallen sharply in some of the country’s most popular hot spots during the pandemic, in an early sign that the regional rental boom could be coming to an end, data from SQM Research shows.
The decline in rents comes as an increasing number of townships and regions post a rise in vacancies after their pandemic lows, according to SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher.
But asking rents in the capital cities continued to soar as vacancies fall to multi-year lows.
https://www.afr.com/property/residential/regional-rental-boom-pe…
# NSW, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market.NSW Government keeps 'independent' review of Wagga public housing debacle secret
Olivier Jacques About Regional (No paywall)The NSW Government has refused to release any information on a supposed “independent” review of its handling of a Wagga government housing project that has left tradies tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket.
Oasis Scaffolding and Bricklaying ($90,000), Plaster Pros Wagga ($55,000), Wagga Glass and Aluminium ($42,000) and New-Crete Concreting ($28,000) have told Region they are still owed large sums of money for the work they did on the now complete government housing block at 16 Spring Street.
https://aboutregional.com.au/nsw-government-keeps-independent-re…
# NSW, Public and community housing.Mirvac, Lendlease, Stockland, Frasers in race for $4b Waterloo South
Michael Bleby Financial Review (Paywall)Four of Australia’s largest developers are pitted against each other in the shortlist for Sydney’s $4.4 billion Waterloo Estate housing project, described by one close observer as “the most complex property deal done by government in recent times”.
Mirvac, Lendlease, Frasers and Stockland are each leading a consortium that will go into a request for proposal stage early next year before two finalists are chosen in mid-2023 and the contract awarded by year-end.
https://www.afr.com/property/commercial/mirvac-lendlease-stockla…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Planning and development.Remaking our suburbs’ 1960s apartment blocks: a subtle and greener way to increase housing density
Guillermo Fernández-Abascal and Urtzi Grau The Conversation (No paywall)As cities grow, new buildings gradually replace the older ones. Ideally, the new buildings are higher quality, more sustainable and better suited to today’s needs. But there’s a risk current approaches to urban renewal will produce poorer amenities and buildings that are less flexible and more environmentally damaging than those they replace.
https://theconversation.com/remaking-our-suburbs-1960s-apartment…
# NSW, Affordable housing, Housing affordability, Housing market, Planning and development.