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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
Billions in CBA mortgages exposed to extreme weather risks, climate analysis finds
Simone Fox Koob The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)More than $31 billion of Commonwealth Bank home loans are in areas exposed to increasing extreme weather events and another $14 billion in mortgages are in communities economically reliant on demand for coal, climate analysis has found. Also, read the article by the same journalist entitled: '"We’re comparing apples, oranges and bananas": Climate disclosure by banks under microscope' in 'The Sydney Morning Herald' at: [https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/we-re-comparing-apples-oranges-and-bananas-calls-for-standardised-approach-to-banks-climate-disclosure-20220822-p5bbuc.html]
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/32-billion-o…
# Australia, Climate change, Housing market.‘Bad news for renters’: Landlords chasing big dollars with AirBnB
Sezen Bakan The New Daily (No paywall)National rental listings have plunged to a record low as landlords shift focus to short-term leases in the name of maximising profits. SQM Research data shows national residential rent listings sat at a touch more than 55,000 in the second week of August – a slight recovery from the 40,061 listings seen in April. These numbers represent an 11-year low in Australian rent listings. Meanwhile, AirBnB saw listings on its website explode this year, with a 30 per cent rise in new ‘Hosts’ between April and the end of June. Chris Pettit, director at the University of New South Wales City Futures Research Centre, said the increase in landlord appetite for the short-term rental market comes down to two major factors – profitability and the rising popularity of domestic tourism. “We’ve got the ongoing issue of taking out long-term rental stock and putting it into short-term rental,” Dr Pettit said.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2022/08/21/landlords-rental-a…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market, Short-term holiday letting.What happens if I can’t pay my mortgage and what are my options?
Andrew Grant The Conversation (No paywall)With rising costs of living, including interest rate rises, many people are really worried about their mortgage. So, what actually happens if you can’t pay your mortgage – and what are your options? Here’s what you need to know.
https://theconversation.com/what-happens-if-i-cant-pay-my-mortga…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.New inner-Sydney development to provide safe haven for victim-survivors
(No paywall)Work is set to commence on a new inner-Sydney development that will provide additional housing for women and children escaping domestic and family violence as part of a partnership between the NSW Government and City West Housing. The new development in Waterloo will include 74 apartments, of which up to 24 will be for women and children experiencing DFV, including 8 social housing tenants. (Minister for Families and Communities, Minister for Women's Safety and the Prevention of Domestic and Sexual Violence Media release)
https://www.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/domestic-violence-housing
# NSW, Domestic violence, Public and community housing, State Government.Should the government freeze rents for two years? The Greens think it is a no-brainer, but economists are less certain
Claudia Long ABC (No paywall)The federal Greens are calling for a nationwide two-year freeze on rent increases as part of a plan to ease pressure on tenants. The minor party are also pitching an end to no-grounds eviction, ongoing rent caps of up to 2 per cent every 24 months, expanding tenant rights and national minimum standards for rental properties. But economists are warning the freeze may not be the right solution to Australia's housing crisis. ... [Nevertheless] Mr Coates is not entirely against the Greens' plan and said an end to no-grounds eviction would be a good move. "Being evicted without cause is incredibly costly for many people… we're in a world now where as home ownership is falling, more people are renting for longer, including when they've got families and they need the stability and security as they build their lives around where their childcare centre is, where their school is and ultimately where they work," he said. "So ending no grounds evictions is a no-brainer and pushing for better rental tenancy conditions that basically allow people to make the house their home is a really good idea. It's something that we've needed for a long time and if we saw that happen with federal government leadership, that would be fantastic."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-25/should-the-government-fre…
# Australia, Rent, Home, Landlords and agents, No-grounds evictions.Landlord reveals he owns almost 300 properties in talkback radio call
Amelia Hurst 9 News (No paywall)A caller to Sydney's 2GB has revealed he owns almost 300 rental properties as he argued against a political call to freeze rents for two years amid Australia's current cost-of-living crisis. Speaking to Ben Fordham on Sydney's 2GB this morning, a caller known only as "David" said the he owns 283 rental properties, but defended himself saying he bought his first one when he was just 17. "I've worked hard for that," he said. ... The conversation was sparked after Queensland greens member for Griffith, Max Chandler-Mather called on the government to introduce a "emergency rent freeze" to ease pressure for tenants. "We've got families sleeping in their cars, workers unable to afford a home near where they work, people being evicted from their homes because they can't afford 20% rent increases and the governments just sitting on their hands when they have the capacity to intervene and stop the worst of this crisis," Mr Chandler-Mather said.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/2gb-caller-reveals-investment-…
# Australia, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Housing own goal worsens our inflation problem
Ross Gittens The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A key part of the economic response to the pandemic was to rev up the housing industry. It’s boomed and now it’s busting. What’s been achieved? Mainly, a big, self-inflicted addition to our inflation problem. That, and a lot of recent first-home buyers now getting their fingers burnt. Well done, guys. ... What trouble the econocrats get us into when they use housing as a macro managers’ plaything.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/housing-own-goal-wor…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.Dig-up date looms in WA council’s war of the roses with great-grandfather
Ezra Holt and Cameron Myles The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A 92-year-old great-grandfather has until the end of the month to remove his award-winning roses from the verge outside his house or face the wrath of the City of Rockingham council. Trevor Coster was told in May he had to rip up or relocate the roses he started planting more than a decade ago because the thorny bushes apparently posed a threat to passersby.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/dig-up-date-lo…
# Australia, Local Government, Neighbours.