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.
Our main email newsletter, Tenant News is sent once every two months. You can subscribe or update your subscription preferences for any of our email newsletters here.
See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
We love sharing the news and hope you find it informative! We're very happy to deliver it for free, but if you find it valuable, can you help cover the extra costs incurred by making a donation?
Archive
Local councils in England spent a total of £1.6bn on temporary accommodation last year – a 4% increase from the previous year.
Marino Donati Inside Housing (Paywall)Housing charity Shelter said that government figures on temporary accommodation for homeless households in England during 2021-22 showed councils spent £1.6bn between April 2021 and March 2022. This was an increase of 61% compared with five years ago. Of the total bill, a quarter (£407m) was spent on emergency B&Bs and hostels, with spending on B&Bs alone increasing by 20% in the past five years. ... Recent research from thinktank Centre for London found there were almost 75,000 children currently living in temporary accommodation in London. These were part of the 56,6500 households that currently live in this type of housing in the capital. ... Commenting on Shelter’s research, chief executive Polly Neate said: “It defies all logic to shell out over £1.6bn on grim B&Bs and grotty flats, instead of helping people to keep hold of their home in the first place.”
She added: “Allowing homelessness to rise unchecked during the cost of living crisis will only cost more in the long run. The government must unfreeze housing benefit now so people can pay their rent. And to end homelessness altogether, it needs to build decent, truly affordable social homes.”
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/temporary-accommodatio…
# International, Homelessness.Variety of views on NSW opt-in land tax
(No paywall)Dominic Perrottet's pet policy aimed at kickstarting stamp-duty reform is being examined after passing through the first chamber of NSW parliament. The premier wants to begin a trial in January of an optional land tax for first-home buyers who want to avoid the high up-front costs of stamp duty. The opposition says that's too close to the state election and voters should get to decide. ... The NSW Tenants Union supports land taxes, although CEO Leo Patterson Ross does not expect the trial to bring down house prices or rents for tenants. "We have supported a broad-based land tax for many years, we see it as fair and efficient," he said. "It discourages behaviour such as land-banking and leaving properties vacant." ... McKell Institute chief executive Michael Buckland said there was initially great hope for the move to land tax. "It's been walked back, probably so much so that it does not achieve a lot of the benefits it was originally intended to receive," Mr Buckland said. (yahoo!news)
https://au.news.yahoo.com/nsw-opt-land-tax-inquiry-015748686.html
# TUNSW in the media NSW, Housing market, Tax.Childcare, leave, housing: Where women won in Labor’s first budget
Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Here’s where women won – the new and already-known initiatives – in Labor’s first budget. ... Repeated Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) surveys identify that women bear the brunt of the housing crisis. For all, there is a new housing accord between the government and industry, with the Commonwealth committing $350 million for new affordable dwellings over five years, from 2024. It is hoped investment from superannuation funds and institutions will supply one million more social and affordable houses in the coming years. But the Women’s Budget Statement says: “Unaffordable housing disproportionately impacts women as they on average have lower incomes and wealth and are significantly more likely to be driven from their homes by violence.”
https://www.smh.com.au/money/planning-and-budgeting/childcare-le…
# Australia, Domestic violence, Public and community housing, Affordable housing, Home ownership, Women.The one Sydney summer exhibition you shouldn’t miss
Rob Harris The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)One of Korea’s most prominent artists, he has made his name with large, distinctive fabric works that depict where he has lived, sometimes at their original scale, as well as household appliances including stoves, toilets and radiators.
https://www.smh.com.au/culture/art-and-design/do-ho-suh-brings-l…
# NSW, Home.Most older Australians aren’t in aged care. Policy blind spots mean they live in communities that aren’t age-friendly
Edgar Liu, Bruce Judd and Mariana T Atkin The Conversation (No paywall)In response to the horror stories of abuse and neglect from the Royal Commission into Aged Care, the new federal Labor government has made legislative changes. Prior to this, Australia’s most recent aged-care reforms were enacted a decade ago. The focus, however, is still largely on residential care homes, so what about older Australians in the broader community? More older Australians are still living in their own homes. How do our policies and cities support them? We have published an analysis comparing 85 policy documents across all three levels of Australian governments against World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on age-friendly cities. We found these policies reflect outdated views of old age. They neglect many important aspects that contribute to happy and fulfilling lives in older age. The policy focus is overwhelmingly on care and support services. There are decreasing levels of attention to housing, transport, walkability and, least of all, cultural diversity.
https://theconversation.com/most-older-australians-arent-in-aged…
# Australia, Housing market, Older people, Planning and development.In pictures: Homeless families march on Downing Street to demand council homes
Liam Geraghty (No paywall)Hundreds of families living in temporary accommodation and overcrowded housing marched on Downing Street calling for ministers to deliver more affordable homes. As Rishi Sunak tackled his first Prime Minister’s Questions in the Commons, parents and children from London campaign groups Housing Action Southwark and Lambeth (HASL), Haringey Housing Action Group, Focus E15, and English for Action marched from Parliament Square to Number 10. (Big Issue)
https://www.bigissue.com/news/housing/in-pictures-homeless-famil…
# International, Affordable housing, Campaigns and law reform, Homelessness.First home owners would save money for 60 years with property tax, says NSW government
Alexandra Smith The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A first home buyer who opts to pay property tax rather than stamp duty could be ahead financially for 60 years, according to NSW Treasury analysis released before the government’s final push to implement the Premier’s pet policy before the election. NSW Treasury modelling shows if a first home buyer opted for an annual property fee on a $1.5 million apartment, it would take 63 years before you reach the value of stamp duty that would have been paid in today’s dollars using the upfront fee. For a unit purchased for $1.25 million, it would take 52 years.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/first-home-owners-would-save…
# NSW, Home ownership, Housing market, State Government, Tax.WA aged care provider's workers' housing plans in danger as federal budget axes funding scheme
Georgia Loney ABC (No paywall)A WA aged care provider's plans to build a permanent workers' village to address the housing shortage could be jeopardised after the federal government scrapped a major regional development fund. Workers' villages are usually associated with north-west mining towns, but Bethanie Housing is planning to build the village on the site of its new aged care home in Bunbury, 200 kilometres south of Perth. It's been hailed as a potential solution to the housing shortage in regional WA, which is so bad that many workers further south are sleeping in tents. ... The housing project was approved by the WA government's Joint Development Assessment Panel this week. However, Bethanie had sought $8 million through the Building Betters Regions Fund for the project from the previous government. The money, which is awaiting approval, is now in doubt after Labor federal government cut the funding stream as part of Tuesday night's budget.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-27/wa-bethanie-aged-care-wor…
# Australia, Housing market, Work, employment.