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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.
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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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See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
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Archive
Huntly Lions Park homeless with 'nowhere to go' after Bendigo council camping ban
Shannon Schubert and Fiona Parker ABC (No paywall)It has been two weeks since homeless people living in a northern Bendigo park were handed council notices telling them camping was no longer allowed, but three are no closer to finding homes. Lee-Anne Gray has been living at the Huntly Lions Park since January and is among the few still living at the site. Ms Gray said she had applied for dozens of rental properties. "There's never anything available … you cannot get a rental property in Bendigo. It's impossible."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-12/bendigo-council-homeless-…
# Australia, Land lease communities, Homelessness, Local Government.Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announces summit to address housing crisis
ABC (No paywall)Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will stage a summit to address the state's growing housing crisis, with a push to have every Queenslander in a home by 2032. An initial roundtable will take place on Friday, ahead of the Queensland Housing Summit to be held in October. "Nothing is more important than having a roof over your head — it's a basic need – and the stories of people without secure housing are heartbreaking," Ms Palaszczuk said. Ms Palaszczuk said the state would consider "all options" raised during the roundtable and summit. "I want Queenslanders to understand I recognise that this is an issue," Ms Palaszczuk said. "There will be key actions that come out of it. "It is a shock to see people living out of their cars or not being housed but this is a big job. ... The roundtable will bring together the Premier, Deputy Premier as well as the Public Works, Communities and Housing ministers with the Brisbane Lord Mayor and the Local Government Association of Queensland. It will also involve key non-government stakeholders including QShelter, QCOSS, the REIQ, Property Council of Australia, Master Builders and the Planning Institute of Australia among others. It will address critical issues including unlocking land and housing supply and fast-tracking social housing. Also read Matt Dennien's article entitled: 'Federal migration lift will add to housing "pressure cooker": Palaszczuk' in 'The Sydney Morning Herald' at" [https://www.smh.com.au/politics/queensland/federal-migration-lift-will-add-to-housing-pressure-cooker-palaszczuk-20220913-p5bhno.html].
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-13/qld-summit-housing-crisis…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market, Local Government, Planning and development, State Government.Property investors hit by land tax change plan to sell or pass on costs to renters
Tawar Razaghi Domain (No paywall)Property investors affected by a change to Queensland’s land tax are considering selling out of the market or passing on the extra cost to renters, industry groups say. Anyone who owns investment property in Queensland will soon have the total value of their Australian investment land assessed for land tax purposes. The move to include interstate holdings will start from June 30 next year, a move the state opposition branded “unworkable”. ... Property investors affected by a change to Queensland’s land tax are considering selling out of the market or passing on the extra cost to renters, industry groups say. Anyone who owns investment property in Queensland will soon have the total value of their Australian investment land assessed for land tax purposes. The move to include interstate holdings will start from June 30 next year, a move the state opposition branded “unworkable”.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/property-investors-hit-by-l…
# Australia, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Tax.Rent is skyrocketing in Australia. Is Airbnb responsible for driving up prices?
Josh Nicholas The Guardian (No paywall)Rental prices in many parts of Australia are growing 10% or even 20% year on year, leaving people in parts of the country struggling to find housing, especially in regions hit by natural disasters. This has in turn led to questions over the almost 1m dwellings vacant on census night around Australia, and the role of short-term rentals in driving up rents, such as those leased on platforms like Airbnb. Here, we take a look at where the highest concentration of Airbnb properties are, where rents have spiked the most, and which areas had the highest amount of vacant properties on census night, and if any of these three are correlated.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2022/sep/12/australias…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market, Short-term holiday letting.Melbourne real estate agency fined $7,000 for locking students out of apartment
Australian Associated Press The Guardian (No paywall)A Melbourne real estate agency that locked international students out of their apartment building during the pandemic has been convicted and fined $7,000. Waterdale Estate Agents was found guilty in Melbourne magistrates court of making a fraudulent misrepresentation to renters by serving a notice to vacate, in breach of Covid-19 renting laws.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/sep/12/melbourne…
# Australia, Eviction, Landlords and agents.Perth rental market tightens further as experts tip moderate house price growth
Kate Christian ABC (No paywall)Western Australia's rental vacancy rate has dropped to its lowest level in more than a decade, as experts warn of more pain ahead for those struggling to get a roof over their heads. ... Shannon Hubble has lost count of the number of properties she has viewed over the past nine months in an effort to find a rental for her family. [Read on]
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-12/perth-rental-market-tight…
# Australia, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market.Talkback — what would it take for people to downsize?
Greg Muller ABC (No paywall)Part of Australia's housing affordability problem is a mismatch between need and supply. Australia is experiencing a housing crisis and at the same time, one in ten houses are vacant and there are 13 million spare bedrooms. This week the government will introduce more legislation to encourage people to downsize, or 'rightsize'. But with tax advantages encouraging the opposite, government policies are creating both push and pull factors. (ABC Radio National)
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/talkba…
# Audio Australia, Families, Housing affordability, Housing market, Tax.Tenants angered as Brisbane building owner seeks to turn all units into Airbnb accommodation
Eden Gillespie and Ben Smee The Guardian (No paywall)Tenants at a South Brisbane unit block say they are feeling angry and disappointed after receiving notices to leave so that all of the building’s apartments can be listed on Airbnb. One tenant said she was only recently told of the move by the building’s owner to turn all nine apartments into short-term rentals, describing it as “unfair” amid the city’s housing crisis. “All of the tenants are long-term renters who have lived in the building for years. There are families living downstairs,” she told Guardian Australia. She said she was concerned she would struggle to find another affordable apartment to live in, with rents rising at the fastest rate in 14 years.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/sep/07/tenants-a…
# Australia, Rent, Short-term holiday letting.