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
American Real Estate Was a Money Launderer’s Dream. That’s Changing.
Farah Stockman The New York Times (Paywall)CLEVELAND — When a young man from Florida barely old enough to enter a bar began buying up office buildings in downtown Cleveland, many in the real estate industry here were eager to do business with him. Even though Chaim Schochet wasn’t forthcoming about who his financial backers were or the particulars of his employer, Optima, he had deep pockets, and his company apparently was able to pay in cash. ... But things that seem too good to be true often are. In 2019, a Ukrainian bank filed a lawsuit in Delaware alleging that Optima was a front for two Ukrainian oligarchs who used it to launder hundreds of millions of dollars of stolen money. The Federal Bureau of Investigation raided Optima’s offices the following year. In 2021, the State Department issued sanctions against one of the oligarchs, Ihor Kolomoisky. Cleveland has now become a poster child for the need for more transparency in the U.S. real estate industry.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/28/opinion/ukraine-oligarch-clev…
# International, Landlords and agents.The rental crisis means Mia is stuck living with her ex
Kellie Scott ABC (No paywall)Mia broke up with her long-term boyfriend months ago but hasn't been able to move on. Not because she's still in love with him, but because they're still living together. Australia is in the grip of a rental crisis, with the national vacancy rate falling to its lowest level on record. In regional Queensland, where Mia is based, there is a critical shortage. Shelters are full and the average weekly rent has increased by more than 35 per cent in the past year. In many case across the state, vacancy rates are below 1 per cent. The young mum of three, who also works part-time, has been applying for homes since April. "They just consistently email me saying, 'your application didn't make it'," Mia says. "I think with so many people applying, they have the pick of whoever they want, and being a single mum with three kids, and a dog — it's hard."
https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/rental-crisis-has-left-mia-livin…
# Australia, Homelessness, Housing market, Pets.Cost of living crisis and rising private rents put 125,000 London households at risk of homelessness
Stephen Delahunty Inside Housing (Paywall)London Councils has made a stark warning about a spike in homelessness across the capital as skyrocketing inflation and energy bills look set to worsen the cost of living crisis.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/cost-of-living-crisis-…
# International, Utilities electricity water gas, Homelessness.Senior NSW council staff face random conflict of interest checks
(No paywall)Senior NSW local government staff and councillors will be subject to random checks to ensure they’re complying with requirements to declare any conflicts of interest. ... “Councillors and council staff, including general managers and administrators, are required to declare their interests, including any property they own or interests they have in companies, and whether they are a property developer or associate of a property developer,” [Local government minister] Wendy Tuckerman said. (Government News)
https://www.governmentnews.com.au/senior-nsw-council-staff-face-…
# NSW, Landlords and agents, Local Government.Cathedral ceilings and local tales: in praise of country church do-overs
Maddie Thomas The Guardian (No paywall)For people seeking a slice of history, church do-over projects are an increasing source of fascination. Renovated into homes, accommodation and workspaces, these buildings have been restored and put to a new purpose – a process which can bring to light old tales from a time when they were the centre of the community.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/aug/14/cathedral…
# Australia, Heritage listings, Housing market.Buying a house is not that much more affordable – except in a few affluent pockets
Tawar Razaghi Domain (No paywall)Housing affordability has barely improved despite the property market downturn, although a handful of affluent areas are the exceptions, new research reveals. House prices are still sky-high in many neighbourhoods, and regional Australians and renters are still bearing the brunt of the recent property boom.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/buying-a-house-is-not-that-…
# Australia, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market.Regional cities offer solutions to crowded Capitals, but they need development support
Andrew Beer, Laura Crommelin, Akshay Vij, Jago Dodson, Stefanie Dühr and Simon Pinnegar AHURI (No paywall)People living in regional cities enjoy lower housing costs compared with capital cities but have lower incomes and reduced career prospects, according to new AHURI research.
https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/news/regional-cities-offer-sol…
# Australia, Planning and development, Regional NSW.Nowhere to go: NSW caravan park residents in the dark about proposed ban of permanent stays
Tamsin Rose The Guardian (No paywall)A call to stop flood-prone parks from allowing long-term rentals will be considered by a new agency. ... If he couldn’t keep living in the Hibiscus Gardens caravan park, in the shadow of Ballina’s famous Big Prawn, Johnny Tierney would be staying in his car or a tent. He’s rented a caravan at the park in the New South Wales northern rivers for 17 years. Tierney’s been flooded twice this year, and can’t afford to rent elsewhere if that was no longer an option. “I would be living in the back of my truck or in a tent in my daughter’s back yard,” he says. ... Tierney is among thousands who could be affected if the government acts on an independent inquiry’s recommendation to stop flood-prone caravan parks from allowing long term rentals.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/aug/25/nowhere-t…
# NSW, Land lease communities, Homelessness, State Government.