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
'Unprecedented growth in house prices': OECD calls for cap on housing tax breaks benefiting the rich
Nassim Khadem ABC (No paywall)Capping tax breaks for housing could help reduce house prices and ensure that property is not concentrated in the hands of older and wealthier Australians, according to a new report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The report suggests that capital gains tax exemptions can disproportionately benefit higher-income and wealthier households and drain government budgets. In Australia, there is no capital gains tax on a person's principal place of residence and the tax levied when someone sells an investment property is heavily discounted. One of the OECD's recommendations to governments, including Australia's, is to "consider capping the capital gains tax exemption … to ensure that the highest-value gains are taxed". It suggests this could "reduce some of the upward pressure on house prices". The estimated cost of the capital gains tax exemption for main residences was $64 billion in 2021. Also, read Shane Wright's and Rachel Clun's article entitled: 'Poorer young Australians suffer world-leading hit to housing: OECD' in 'The Sydney Morning Herald' at: [https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/poorer-young-australians-suffer-world-leading-hit-to-housing-oecd-20220721-p5b3cf.html]
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-21/cap-capital-gains-tax-dis…
# Must read, Video Australia, Climate change, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market, International, Older people, Tax, Young people.Laws allowing pet ban in rentals to be reviewed in Tasmania amid housing crisis and surrenders
Liz Gwynn ABC (No paywall)Every day RSPCA Tasmania receives a call from someone who is homeless, or is about to be homeless, with their pet. The situation has been bad for several years, but with the cost of rent rising, and vacancy rates at a record low, more animals are also becoming victims of the state's housing crisis. ... Around 15 per cent of dogs that are surrendered to us are solely because their owner has not able to find a rental property," Dogs Home of Tasmania CEO Michael Sertori said. "Luckily we are here to find a forever home for that dog, but it's still unfair and ridiculous in this modern day and age". ... Consumer Affairs Minister Elise Archer said on Sunday it was now willing to review the laws "straight away".
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-24/fresh-calls-to-change-law…
# Australia, Rent, Pets, State Government.Woman who faced homelessness reveals devastating impacts for NSW inquiry
Emma Siossian ABC (No paywall)Beth Fuller was living a secure life in regional New South Wales with her husband when her marriage unexpectedly ended. It threw her world into turmoil and left her financially vulnerable. "I moved from home ownership, where I was very comfortable and we had a very good lifestyle and plans for the future," she said. "Then I was homeless. I was not financially comfortable. In fact, I was insecure." Ms Fuller, now aged 62, said she left her marriage with very little superannuation, having focused more on her relationship and family over the years. ... Ms Fuller's experience compelled her to make a submission to a current NSW Upper House inquiry into homelessness among older people aged over 55. ... Housing for the Aged Action Group (HAAG) executive officer Fiona York said older women were particularly vulnerable to housing affordability and increasing rents. ... The final hearing wrapped up this week, with findings due by late September. "The committee will examine opportunities for change and improvement, including around early intervention, services to support older people experiencing or at risk of homelessness," committee chairperson Scott Barrett said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-24/older-women-and-homelessn…
# NSW, Homelessness, Older people, Women.Better emergency preparedness can protect older adults from climate change
Atiya Mahmood, Gracen Bookmyer, Rachelle Patille and Shreemouna Gurung The Conversation (No paywall)Last summer brought scorching hot temperatures and record-breaking heatwaves to British Columbia. Unfortunately, the heat was not the only record that skyrocketed — what followed was a chain of extreme weather events. British Columbia saw unprecedented rainfall and flooding that forced nearly 20,000 people from their homes, blocked essential highways and impeded necessary travel and resource distribution. All of this is a result of climate change, which hasn’t impacted everyone equally. Older adults experiencing homelessness and housing insecurities are some of those most impacted.
https://theconversation.com/better-emergency-preparedness-can-pr…
# International, Climate change, Homelessness, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards, Older people.Wealth boom masks big gaps between haves and have-nots
Clancy Yeates The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)When COVID-19 smashed into the world economy a little over two years ago, who would have thought we’d end up with a massive boom in household wealth? That, however, is what we got, thanks to a bonanza in housing and sharemarkets, underpinned by ultra-cheap debt and government stimulus. ... A new report from the Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS) and the UNSW Sydney Poverty and Inequality Partnership ... points out that despite the early 2020 hiccup, average household wealth subsequently surged by 12 per cent to December 2020, and a massive 26 per cent to December 2021. No prizes for guessing the biggest cause of this surge: housing, which drove 69 per cent of the overall increase in wealth during these three years. Most of this came from owner-occupied housing, which contributed 55 per cent of the increase, and investment property contributing 14 per cent. Superannuation contributed 16 per cent of the increase in wealth. You will find a link to the full report at: [https://povertyandinequality.acoss.org.au/news/new-acoss-and-unsw-sydney-report-shows-how-poverty-and-inequality-were-dramatically-reduced-in-2020-but-have-increased-ever-since/]
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/wealth-boom-…
# Research alert Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Families, Home ownership, Housing market.Jacob is looking for his next home, but worries he’ll have to compromise more than most
Melissa Heagney Domain (No paywall)Like many young people in Sydney, Jacob Darkin is on the hunt for a rental property after being told the home he now leases is for sale. While he’s looking for a property in Parramatta to be close to work and family, the 25-year-old who uses a wheelchair fears he may not be able to find anything accessible in the suburb. ... Changes to the building code would not only help those with a physical disability to access housing, but would also make it easier for those heading into older age, or even new parents with prams trying to get up and down stairs, she said. National Shelter Vice Chairperson John Engeler said it was not just an issue of adopting the new code, but also retrofitting existing homes. “We’ve got so many existing properties, and given 1 per cent of NSW homes are built every year, it would take 100 years before any real change comes,” Engeler said. “People with a disability shouldn’t miss out on the amenities everyone else gets.”
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/jacob-is-looking-for-his-ne…
# NSW, Privacy and access, Rent, Disability, Minimum habitability standards, State Government.Communal living is growing in Australia. Residents say it can create community and reduce cost of living
Ashleigh Barraclough ABC (No paywall)In a country where many don't know their neighbours, Laxmi and Dinesh Sanders want to do things differently. Ms Sanders is from a small village in Nepal, and wanted to raise her kids in a similar environment where neighbours lend each other a hand. "I want my children to have those sort of experiences, like going to neighbours and having meals together," she said. So when Mr Sanders's cousin told the couple about the Urban Coup, a co-housing project taking up an eight-storey apartment building in Brunswick in Melbourne's inner north, they leapt at the chance to buy in. "Different people have different experiences in their life, and each one is able to give that experience to the kids," Mr Sanders said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-22/communal-living-reduce-co…
# Video Australia, Public and community housing, Share houses, Families, Housing market, Older people.The not-for-profit real estate agents of last resort aiming to disrupt a troubled housing market
Joe Hinchliffe The Guardian (No paywall)A new model of agency has emerged to assist lower-income earners and vulnerable people. ... Samantha Gatherum-Goss drives a Hyundai and lives in the outer suburbs of Melbourne. On the Sunshine Coast, Lindell Gittoes doesn’t own a car at all. They don’t live in penthouses or have luxurious lifestyles, but their success in business is not measured by the pay packets they take home. Gatherum-Goss and Gittoes manage not-for-profit real estate agencies. Theirs is a success measured by a different set of numbers – the amount of lower-income earners and vulnerable people they help shelter, the women and children whose escape from domestic violence they help fund.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jul/23/the-not-f…
# Australia, Housing market, Landlords and agents.