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
Is it time to talk about rent control in Australia?
Ben Knight City Futures (No paywall)The rising cost of everyday essentials has most people feeling the pinch. But if you’re a renter and haven’t already been hit with a rent increase, there’s a good chance you’re especially worried. Property data sources like CoreLogic show rents in Australia are climbing across capital cities and the regions. Meanwhile, vacancy rates are also at record lows – below 1 per cent in some areas – as the demand for rental housing continues to drive up prices. While landlords have benefited from these stunning rent increases, the real impact is felt by households – many on low incomes – relying on rental housing, says Dr Chris Martin, Senior Research Fellow from the UNSW City Futures Research Centre. ... “Proper rent control hasn’t been discussed for a while in Australia, but it’s something that should be on the research and policy agenda,” Dr Martin says.
https://blogs.unsw.edu.au/cityfutures/blog/2022/08/is-it-time-to…
# Australia, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market.Home advantage: federal politicians’ hefty property portfolios revealed in register of interests
Paul Karp and Josh Butler The Guardian (No paywall)Federal MPs and senators have impressive property portfolios, owning or having an interest in almost two properties each on average. Of our 151 MPs and 76 senators, 38 have property in the nation’s capital, Canberra, or in nearby Queanbeyan, for which they are entitled to claim a $299 a night travel allowance for parliamentary business. A survey of the register of interests reveals MPs and senators own 237 houses or apartments, including their primary and Canberra residences, and have interests in 210 other properties including holiday homes, investment properties or agricultural land. These were often owned with spouses or partners.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/aug/31/home-adva…
# Australia, Federal Government, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Mould on My Mind
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)The Tenants' Union talks to Ned Cooke, Solicitor and Team Leader of the Inner Sydney Tenants' Advice and Advocacy Service, about mould in tenancy. Ned answers questions from tenants about mould in their rental homes.
# Video NSW, Rent, Mould, Tenants Advice and Advocacy Services.Project home with no air conditioning aims to inspire energy-efficient building in new Perth suburb
Emma Wynne ABC (No paywall)From the outside, this display home in Brabham, a newly developed suburb in Perth's outer east, looks a lot like the other project homes on the street with its freshly painted walls and new garden. But this three-bedroom house has been assessed as having an energy rating of 9.2 stars according to the CSIRO's Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS). That makes it the highest-rated two-storey house in the country, according to Mick Fabar, chief executive of Green Homes Australia, which built the house.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-28/project-home-with-no-air-…
# Australia, Utilities electricity water gas, Climate change, Minimum habitability standards.Queensland flood victims feeling forgotten six months after historic floods
Johanna Marie ABC (No paywall)What seemed unthinkable six months ago has become a reality from which Darryl and Mala Beames cannot escape. "We've been living with the rats, and the cold, the only place that's warm is in your bed," Mr Beames says. The Gympie couple and their two young children sleep in rooms without walls and shower in their garden. Everything they own has been donated. Six months on from record-breaking floods that swept through south-east Queensland, the Beames family are one of hundreds still living in limbo waiting for others to decide their future. "It looks like the floods are gone, but for all the flood victims we're still living it every day," Mr Beames says.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-28/wide-bay-flood-anniversar…
# Australia, Homelessness, State Government.NCC 2022 set to lift home energy efficiency
Australian Building Codes Board (No paywall)Building Ministers have agreed to lift the energy standards of new homes through the National Construction Code (NCC). As of NCC 2022, new homes and apartments will need to achieve the equivalent of “7 stars” NatHERS thermal performance. A new annual energy use budget has been introduced for the first time. The budget will apply to the home’s major appliances such as heating and cooling equipment, hot water systems, lighting, swimming pool pumps, and onsite renewable energy systems. This is a significant step towards achieving zero energy and zero carbon buildings in Australia.
https://mailchi.mp/abcb.gov.au/see-the-first-release-of-ncc-4945…
# Australia, Utilities electricity water gas, Climate change, Minimum habitability standards.Renters opt for booked-out caravan parks as regional housing crisis continues
Zilla Gordon ABC (No paywall)When Lauren Koplin requested repairs to her rental property in Adelaide, she says she and her special-needs son were given a notice to leave. She had requested work to address the mould in her kitchen, which had previously been water damaged. "It would have meant giving us a temporary kitchen while they did the work, but instead we got four weeks to pack up our lives," she told the Conversation Hour. After first staying at friends' houses and sleeping on their floors, Ms Koplin wanted a more stable environment for her son, Noah, so she opted to stay at a caravan park. "We took our bedding with us so it was more comfortable and like home and we just had our suitcases. ... Tenants Victoria chief executive Jennifer Beveridge said despite some creative solutions, not enough was being done to fix the housing crisis. She added that people moving into caravan parks often did not know their rights — those residing in a park for more than 60 days are subject to the Residential Tenancy Act. "That provides a lot more protection for people than those who are moving around," she said. But Ms Beveridge said often people were given orders to move on as they approached the 60-day mark. Also, read Sam Bold's article entitled: 'Grandparents move into a caravan in their driveway to help daughter's young family in rental crisis' on the ABC at: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-30/rental-crisis-in-wa-pushes-people-into-caravans/101375460]. Read Sian Gard's article entitled: 'Homeless people living in Victorian park face eviction after council has land rezoned' on the ABC at: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-29/homeless-people-living-in-park-to-be-evicted-after-rezoning/101382988].
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-30/housing-crisis-forces-ren…
# Australia, Eviction, Land lease communities, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market, No-grounds evictions.Robert Troy is a mere minnow among the sharks
Gene Kerrigan (Paywall)From Ireland ... The media labelled Robert Troy’s activities a “property scandal”. In truth, the TD is small fry. I can’t see how Mr Troy benefited from what he did or didn’t do. However, recent events revealed two things about Mr Troy. One: He’s a hustler who focused on accumulating properties during a housing crisis. Two: As a TD, he had a few forms to sign and he buggered it up. This doesn’t demonstrate qualities some of us would look for in a government minister — so, thank you Mr Troy, and goodbye. ... The most successful Irish scandal of recent times is the one that convinced us it’s not a scandal, it’s just the way things happened to turn out. I’m referring to a real property scandal — the housing crisis. ... The housing crisis isn’t just about homelessness — a social need is dominated by a market awash with adventurers. The result is outrageous rents and house prices, absurd doghouse ‘apartments’ offered at mad rents, young people having to live with their parents, damaging effects on mobility and personal choice: people used to be able to take jobs in other areas, knowing there would be somewhere to rent. (Independent) Also, read the article entitled:'Irish minister resigns over property interests' on the BBC at: [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd1d1l33gdgo]
https://www.independent.ie/opinion/comment/robert-troy-is-a-mere…
# International, Rent, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Work, employment, Young people.