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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
Social housing tenants warned of ‘play ban’ for children in London site’s shared spaces
Harriet Grant The Guardian (No paywall)Children living in social housing flats in a multimillion-pound riverside development in London have been warned off playing in shared spaces on the site by their landlords. Parents received letters from City of London council telling them that children playing in the corridors had been recorded on a “noise nuisance app” by a neighbour, and that the games were “a breach of tenancy agreements”. Families have argued there is nowhere else for the children to play and Southwark council – which owns the land – said it was investigating whether the developer, Berkeley Homes, failed to provide play space promised in the original planning permission.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/02/poorer-child…
# International, Public and community housing, Neighbours, Planning and development.Household Resilience Program to help Queenslanders protect homes from wild weather
Sally Rafferty ABC (No paywall)Could your home withstand a wild weather event? If you are feeling nervous about the next wet season, a $20 million state government scheme could help allay those fears. ... The Household Resilience Program was first introduced in 2018 to help homes in flood and cyclone risk areas north of Bundaberg. The initiative is targeted at low-income households to replace roofs and doors, reinforce windows and tie down external structures. The government will provide up to $11,250, with owners required to stump up 25 per cent of the total cost.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-09/household-resilience-quee…
# Australia, Housing market, State Government.Budgets pushed to the brink as fixed interest loans roll off
Jessica Irvine The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)One of the first things you learn in economics is that all individuals face a “budget constraint”, under which they must balance their unlimited desires against their limited resources of both time and money. ... For many households juggling rising interest rates, it’s likely to be a bumpy transition. ... Fortunately, my home loan is fixed until the middle of next year at 1.84 per cent. The downside, however, is that when my fixed interest rate expires and I roll onto a variable interest rate, I – like many other mortgage holders – am in for a fairly significant cash-flow shock.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/borrowers-face-king-…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.Tourism groups urge action on short-stay properties
Benjamin Preiss The Age (Paywall)Tourism industry groups are asking the Victorian government to limit the number of days that properties can be listed on short-stay sites such as Airbnb to help tackle long-term rental shortages in regional areas. Towns across regional Victoria, including those popular with tourists, have struggled to attract employees as the cost of rental properties soared during the pandemic. The Victorian Tourism Industry Council and Accommodation Association of Australia argue Airbnb-style letting has reduced the number of houses available to long-term tenants and is hampering the economic recovery of businesses, some of which have been forced to limit operating hours because of staff shortages. They want Victoria to follow other states, including NSW, that are encouraging owners to put their properties on the long-term rental market by imposing limits on the number of days they can be listed on short-stay sites throughout the year.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/tourism-groups-urge-…
# Australia, Rent, Short-term holiday letting.Real estate agency sprung ‘bragging’ about a $225 per week price hike
Emily Power Domain (No paywall)A property company has been exposed celebrating a $225 per week rental price rise as an “achievement”. A renter shared a screenshot of an email update from national real estate management firm Ironfish, sharing its numbers for June. “Achievement in June: Biggest rent increase – $225 per week,” the flyer said.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/real-estate-agency-sprung-b…
# Australia, Rent, Landlords and agents.Action in August
Housing for the Aged Action Group (No paywall)We have a huge line up of events for August and October - remember to save the dates. With the recent surge in covid cases, some events have been moved online. However everything is still going ahead, rain hail or shine! [Read on]
https://mailchi.mp/0bbea303edde/older-tenants-voice-summer-editi…
# Australia, Land lease communities, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, Older people.$70m that renters unknowingly owed to NT government is 'quietly' waived
Samantha Jonscher ABC (No paywall)Legal advocates say the Northern Territory government has "quietly" wiped $70 million worth of rental debt allegedly owed by remote residents who didn't know the debt existed. The existence of the alleged debt came to light when the Santa Teresa community sued the NT Department of Housing for providing uninhabitable housing stock. In 2016 the government announced it would countersue the residents taking legal action against them, claiming individual households owed up to $21,000 to the department in unpaid rent. Australian Lawyers for Remote Aboriginal Rights solicitor Dan Kelly represents the Santa Teresa community and said this alleged debt came "out of nowhere" for residents. "It was obviously very worrying and distressing," he said. They were under the impression they had been paying their rent as instructed through direct debits." Freedom-of-information requests revealed the Territory government alleged the community owed a total of $2 million in unpaid rent but had never pursued the debts. Also, read a similar article in 'The Guardian' at: [https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/aug/10/nt-government-cancels-70m-in-rental-debt-for-remote-indigenous-community]
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-09/millions-in-rent-owed-to-…
# Australia, Aboriginal renters, Public and community housing, State Government.The suburbs bearing the brunt of the Reserve Bank’s war on inflation
Shane Wright The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Outer suburbs filled with first-home buyers and some of the nation’s most established suburbs are likely to bear the brunt of the Reserve Bank’s war on inflation as new data shows higher interest rates have driven consumer confidence down to the depths of pandemic’s national lockdown.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-suburbs-bearing-the-…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market, Regional NSW.