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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
‘Don’t buy lemons any more’: Three top property developers win gold star ratings
Sue Williams Domain (No paywall)People who buy a defect-ridden apartment in future will only have themselves to blame, NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler has declared while revealing the first three developers to be awarded gold stars under his new rating system. And would-be developers with little more than a $2 company, a ute and a mobile phone will no longer be able to gamble with millions of dollars of buyers’ money.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/don-t-buy-lemons-any-more-t…
# NSW, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Minimum habitability standards.The home buyers with a pathway to cut energy bills by 20 per cent
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Many homeowners would like to make sustainable upgrades to their property, but even simple sounding switches can become complex and costly when they have not been planned for. It will be a different story for residents of a new hybrid development on Sydney’s north shore, though, where infrastructure is being put in place to make sustainable swaps simpler as demand for electric living grows.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/the-home-buyers-with-a-path…
# NSW, Utilities electricity water gas, Minimum habitability standards.How to fast-track strata conflict resolution
Jimmy Thomson (No paywall)It is generally accepted that our states’ strata dispute systems are slow, frustrating and expensive – but isn’t there a way to provide instant answers before issues become serious problems. ... Recently in the Flat Chat podcast we suggested a fast-track, first stage dispute resolution system for strata owners and residents. We’re calling it the Strata Panel. It might look like a mixture of speed dating and Judge Judy but it’s a serious suggestion based on the idea of letting people who have lived in or worked in strata communities, and who understand strata law, decide how disputes should be resolved.
# Australia, Strata, Tribunal NCAT.Residential rental listings plunge as landlords sell up
Nila Sweeney (Paywall)Property investors Peter Meek and Joanna Meek are selling two of their Queensland rental properties to avoid the new land tax rule. "With all the tenancy reforms happening in Queensland and with the land tax rule, it has become very difficult to be a landlord,” he said.
https://www.afr.com/property/residential/residential-rental-list…
# Australia, Rent, Landlords and agents, Tax.Why would anyone bother being a landlord?
The Australian (Paywall)Opinion: Various levels of government, local councils, banks and insurers have slugged property investors with ever higher level of fees while portraying them as greedy and immoral.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/why-would-anyone-bothe…
# Australia, Landlords and agents.Large tracts of Perth land to be released, but do little to alleviate housing crisis in short term, experts say
Tabarak Al Jrood ABC (No paywall)Large tracts of land primarily in Perth's outer suburbs will be released in a bid to alleviate housing shortages, but experts want greater focus on smart infill models that don't exacerbate urban sprawl. WA's current rental vacancy rate is at its lowest level in more than a decade, with rates for houses and units in the greater Perth region dipping to 0.6 per cent and 1 per cent respectively. To help ease this, the WA government has released 13 planning sites to build new homes in, as part of its "Perth to Peel @ 3.5 million" framework. ... Anglicare WA's CEO Mark Glasson welcomed the announcement but said other measures were needed to support disadvantaged people in the meantime. "Until that land gets released, we'd be calling for rent assistance [because] we need to support people to stay in their housing where they are." He said the government should also be looking at setting aside some of the land for social housing.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-27/perth-land-being-released…
# Australia, Affordable housing, Housing market, State Government.Density is not a dirty word – unless you’re protecting your privileged patch
Philip Bull The Fifth Estate (No paywall)Like ego, density is not a dirty word, or is it? If you follow some of the recent density debates in this town you might think it is the dirtiest of words. The impending density nightmare in Sydney’s Inner West (thanks for that headline BTW SMH) might have you confused. The nightmare isn’t the housing crisis in this city but the mental anguish the settled and privileged suffer when the thought of the mere possibility of using their land more efficiently to house others is raised. First world problems.
https://thefifthestate.com.au/columns/spinifex/density-is-not-a-…
# NSW, Housing market, Local Government, Planning and development, Sydney.Flood-affected Northern Rivers residents say trauma compounded by lack of government plans
Leah White ABC (No paywall)Like thousands of Northern Rivers residents, Crystal Lenane and her family are living in limbo. It has been seven months since the family lost everything in the record-breaking February flood. Despite having their East Lismore house raised to a height of three metres a month earlier, floodwater still reached the height of the window sills. "We've been in limbo-land since that day in terms of what to do next and where to go from here," Ms Lenane said. In the wake of the disaster, the family purchased a caravan to live in at a cost of $80,000. Ms Lenane said it was more than they would have liked to spend, but a supply shortage left few options.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-27/flood-affected-nsw-reside…
# NSW, Housing market, Regional NSW.