ADVICE OVER THE HOLIDAY PERIOD

Tenants Advice & Advocacy Services have limited availability over the holiday period. The Tenants' Union will operate a Tenancy Advice Hotline from Wednesday 18/12/2024 until Wednesday 8/1/2025 (excluding weekends and public holidays). The hours of operation are 10am-1pm and 2-5pm.

Get advice on: (02) 8117 3750 or 1800 251 101

ABOUT

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

Publish date
Key topics

COVID lockdowns spur interest in house history — so how do you uncover your home's secrets?

Rosemary Bolger
ABC (No paywall)

Australians have spent more time than ever at home in the last two-and-a-half years, so it is little wonder some have become curious about what has gone on within their own four walls. Also, check out the article by Rosemary Bolger and Cassie McCullagh entitled: 'Tony Parker's mid-century furniture designs remain popular with collectors' on ABC at: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-22/tony-parker-furniture-mid-century-design-collectors/101457604].

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-21/house-history-post-covid-…

# History NSW, Coronavirus COVID-19, Home.
 

King Charles’s endless meddling in architectural politics has accomplished nothing

Phineas Harper
The Guardian (No paywall)

As Prince of Wales, Charles campaigned for sustainable townscapes. But good intentions are no match for the UK’s profit-driven system

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/21/king-charl…

# International, Housing market.
 

History and church object to radical rental plan

Jimmy Thomson
(No paywall)

Check out the latest issue of 'Flat Chat' which includes a number of stories on build-to-rent.

https://us19.campaign-archive.com/?e=cf977d5bb4&u=6df9c7bf24bfee…

# NSW, Rent, Strata, Affordable housing.
 

A House Is Not a Home: the self-portraits of Brooke DiDonato – in pictures


The Guardian (No paywall)

Brooke DiDonato is a photographic artist based in Austin, Texas. Her latest body of work, A House is Not a Home, is a series of self-portraits that call into question the boundaries of reality and the psychological mindset. She draws on early work positioning her and other people’s bodies in familiar domestic settings – straddling the line between the mundane and the absurd

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2022/sep/18/a-h…

# International, Home.
 

High Court agrees to hear First Nations renters’ case for compensation from NT Government for dilapidated housing


(No paywall)

The High Court will decide whether compensation is available for distress or disappointment suffered by First Nations people living in remote dilapidated housing, in a case that could have ramifications for all Australian renters. The High Court’s decision this afternoon to grant special leave is one of the last steps in a journey for justice started in 2016 for Enid Young, an elderly Eastern Arrernte woman from Ltyentye Apurte (Santa Teresa) in the remote NT. Now her case has made it to the High Court, Ms Young’s fight will be one that could provide greater legal protection for renters across the country when landlords break their obligations, especially when calculating compensation caused by that breach. (GRATA Fund)

https://www.gratafund.org.au/santa_teresa_special_leave

# Legal significance Australia, Aboriginal renters, Public and community housing, Repairs, Tribunal NCAT, Health, Minimum habitability standards, State Government.
 

Sydney's rental crisis, calls to change NSW rental laws


(No paywall)

Sydney's rental crisis has gone from bad to worse with prices soaring by hundreds of dollars a week, right across the city. There are now calls to change state laws to give more power to tenants who in many cases have been pushed to breaking point. (7 News) Also, watch 'Tenants see dramatic increases in weekly rents as supply shortage hits' on the ABC at: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8zCZ2yCpi0&t=2s&ab_channel=ABCNews%28Australia%29]. Whilst in Tasmania, 'Tim's rent is more than doubling, but he says there's nowhere else to go' on ABC News at: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUZuLEIKVh4&ab_channel=ABCNews%28Australia%29].

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmJPoDcjXhE&ab_channel=7NEWSAust…

# TUNSW in the media, Video NSW, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Federal Government, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market, No-grounds evictions, State Government, Sydney.
 

September 2022 News

Shelter NSW
(No paywall)

In this month's edition:
40 years old is not old, right? - Redevelopment of Wentworth Park Rd public housing estate
North Eveleigh ‘Paint Shop’ Precinct - we see your 30% social/affordable/diverse housing Minister Stokes and raise you 30%
Hey MPs, we’ve had a real decrease in social housing stock in the regions!
'Arrival' of new National Aboriginal Peak Housing Body
Riverwood Housing Estate – NSW Government proposal to re-develop for just 30% social housing in return
Cold and Costly sounds about right – Winter Renter Researcher Report 2022
Aftershock - how the waves of domestic and family violence continue to hurt women and children
How well does Willoughby do Affordable Housing? - a check in
Regional Plan Reviews to 2041 – Submissions, submissions, submissions
Australia’s future – a few 10 million person megacities or something more balanced?
People living with disability left to fend for themselves
Exceptional speakers. Committed conversations. Fist bumps for all.
- NCOSS Conference - Vision, Voice, Value

https://mailchi.mp/shelternsw/shelter-nsw-september-2022-ebullet…

# NSW, Aboriginal renters, Domestic violence, Public and community housing, Utilities electricity water gas, Affordable housing, Disability, Estate renewal, Planning and development.
 

Social housing temperatures in NSW exceed health and safety limits

Ben Knight
(No paywall)

Many residents in social housing in New South Wales can experience alarming levels of winter underheating and summer overheating in their homes that do not meet standards for comfort and health, according to UNSW Sydney-led research funded by the Department of Planning and Environment and CRC for Low Carbon Living. (Medical Xpress)

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-09-social-housing-temperatur…

# NSW, Public and community housing, Utilities electricity water gas, Climate change, Health, Minimum habitability standards.
 

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