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
Coastal councils target more ‘ghost houses’ to ease housing crisis
Catherine Naylor The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)“Ghost house” owners on the NSW south coast could find themselves facing higher rates if they keep their properties empty as councils attempt to address the regional housing crisis.
It comes after Eurobodalla mayor Mathew Hatcher sent letters to owners of unoccupied houses last month, which he said had identified dozens of possible homes that could ease the region’s housing crisis, but local real estate agents say the initiative has not made a noticeable difference to the rental market. Shoalhaven mayor Amanda Findley said ... the council was also considering other urgent ways to make more housing available, including by possibly increasing council rates for empty houses, to make investing in short-term accommodation less attractive. She said there were 4,000 properties in the Shoalhaven listed for short-term accommodation.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/coastal-councils-target-more…
# NSW, Rent, Regional NSW, Short-term holiday letting.Debunking stereotypes about mobile homes could make them a new face of affordable housing
Zachary Lamb, Jason Spicer and Linda Shi The Conversation (No paywall)When you hear the words “trailer park” or “mobile home park,” what comes to mind? Crime? Poverty? Vulnerability to natural disasters? These negative images reflect the stigma, reinforced by popular culture, that many U.S. residents assign to manufactured home parks – the official name for these dwellings under federal standards adopted in 1976. Over 20 million Americans live in manufactured housing – more than in public housing and federally subsidized rental housing combined. Yet many people, including urban planners and affordable housing researchers, see manufactured housing parks as problems. In contrast, we see them as part of the solution to housing crises.
https://theconversation.com/debunking-stereotypes-about-mobile-h…
# International, Land lease communities, Affordable housing, Planning and development.How many in a crowd? Assessing overcrowding measures in Australian housing
Michael Dockery, Megan Moskos, Linda Isherwood and Mark Harris AHURI (No paywall)AHURI News ... This study assess the measurement of overcrowding in Australia and explores the relationships between various household density measures and the wellbeing of occupants. Indicators of the incidence or severity of household crowding in Australia actually measure occupant density—the ratio of occupants to available space—rather than crowding, which relates to a psychological response to the sense of excessive density. How overcrowding is defined and measured has important implications for funding requirements, the appropriate mix of housing stock given household structures and rules for allocating families to public and community housing.
# Research alert Australia, Public and community housing, Health, Housing market.First Take: Mortgage Stress July 2022
Arthur North (No paywall)This is a first take on the latest results from our models, which shows a further rise in mortgage and rental stress (defined in cash flow terms) across Australia. We examine the high-level results by state, segment and post code, and also present the latest stress heat maps, which highlight the growth of pressure in the newly developed zones across the country, as well as in some regional communities. Stress has risen thanks to rising costs of living, increasing mortgage and rents, while real incomes continue to fall. (Digital Finance Analytics Blog)
https://digitalfinanceanalytics.com/blog/first-take-mortgage-str…
# Australia, Rent, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.A snapshot of poverty in Summer 2022
(No paywall)New Bevan Foundation research reveals majority of people in Wales cutting back on essential items. The Bevan Foundation’s Snapshot of poverty series has established itself as a vital tool for anyone who wants to understand how the pandemic and more recently the cost-of-living crisis are affecting Wales. This is the fourth report published as part of our series and is unquestionably the report that paints the most disturbing picture.
With rising costs dominating the headlines our latest Snapshot report has a slightly different focus to our previous reports. Instead of looking at what is happening to costs and incomes, our latest survey focuses on the impact of surging costs, and sluggish income growth on households. The findings are incredibly concerning. ... 11 per cent of people are worried about the prospect of losing their home over the next three months. This rises to a quarter of private rental sector tenants and 17 per cent of social housing tenants. (Sefydliad Bevan Foundation)
https://www.bevanfoundation.org/resources/a-snapshot-of-poverty-…
# Research alert International, Families, Housing market.Taking stock: how has 10 years of Airbnb changed Australia?
Bronwyn Adcock The Guardian (No paywall)Airbnb arrived in Australia in 2012, and, since then, millions of international and domestic travellers have booked stays through the platform. It has brought with it a series of profound shifts; from a new willingness to do business with strangers over the internet and sleep in someone else’s bed, to giving anyone the ability to live like a local in someone else’s town. But it has also raised questions about the benefits of booming short-term accommodation, when locals have nowhere to live.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jul/30/taking-st…
# Australia, Rent, Human rights, International, Landlords and agents, Short-term holiday letting.Australian house prices fall at 'fastest rate' since 2008 financial crisis
David Chau ABC (No paywall)House prices in Australia are dropping at their fastest pace since the global financial crisis — and market conditions are "likely to worsen" as interest rates continue to rise, according to property analytics firm CoreLogic. ... Renters are also disadvantaged in the current property market. As their landlords' mortgage repayments increase (and more foreign workers and students) return to Australia, rents have surged rapidly. Also, read Shane Wright's article entitled: 'House values tumble and could drop faster as rates set to rise' in 'The Sydney Morning Herald' at: [https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/house-values-tumble-and-could-drop-faster-as-rates-set-to-rise-20220731-p5b5yv.html] Read Peter Hannam's article entitled: 'Australian property prices tumble at rates not seen since GFC' in 'The Guardian' at: [https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/aug/01/australian-property-prices-tumble-at-rates-not-seen-since-gfc]
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-01/house-prices-dive-july-co…
# Australia, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market.Renters’ rights in mouldy homes: can you get a rent reduction, or compensation for damages?
Kate Cunningham The Guardian (No paywall)What are your rights when it comes to mould – and how can you actually enforce them? Here’s a quick guide for renters in NSW, Queensland and Victoria. ... In NSW, Ned Cooke, a solicitor from the Tenants’ Advice and Advocacy Service at Sydney’s Redfern Legal Centre ... says, “if it really turns into a fight, then it might be a matter of getting … Fair Trading to send an inspector out to the property”.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/aug/01/mould-renta…
# NSW, Rent, Tribunal NCAT, Mould.