ADVICE OVER THE HOLIDAY PERIOD
Tenants Advice & Advocacy Services have limited availability over the holiday period. The Tenants' Union will operate a Tenancy Advice Hotline from Wednesday 18/12/2024 until Wednesday 8/1/2025 (excluding weekends and public holidays). The hours of operation are 10am-1pm and 2-5pm.
Get advice on: (02) 8117 3750 or 1800 251 101
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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See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
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Archive
How to winter-proof a rental property to save money during an energy crisis
Hsin-Yi Lo and Tania Lee SBS (No paywall)With energy prices for households going up by up to 8.2 per cent, homeowners are privileged over renters in that they can invest in solar panels to cut long-term energy costs. SBS Chinese spoke to savvy renters who shared how they stayed warm during the winter months without driving up their bills.
https://www.sbs.com.au/chinese/english/how-to-winter-proof-a-ren…
# Australia, Rent, Utilities electricity water gas, Fixtures - lights, aircon etc, Minimum habitability standards.Flood victims in NSW Northern Rivers living in limbo waiting for government advice, action ABC North Coast / By Leah White
Leah White ABC (No paywall)For the past three months, Denise Lowe and her 15-year-old son, Josh Byrne, have been living in limbo, sharing a 3x3-metre room in a youth camp on the NSW Far North Coast. The mother and son have been moved between evacuation centres and emergency accommodation since the February flood swallowed their Coraki rental property. It left them with few belongings and nowhere to live. Ms Lowe said the managers of the Evans Head youth camp had worked tirelessly for months to provide shelter for many of the region's flood victims, but the facilities were never built for extended stays. "It's emergency accommodation and it's very hard to rebuild your life from here," she said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-14/northern-rivers-flood-vic…
# NSW, Rent, Families, Homelessness, Regional NSW, State Government.Being poor in the UK is an expensive business
Francisco Garcia The Guardian (No paywall)The cost of living crisis is nothing new for millions of people who have lived in fear of hunger and homelessness for 12 years.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/12/being-poor…
# International, Homelessness.Not just ramps and doorways – disability housing is about choosing where, how and who you live with
Robert Cameron, Daniel Jan Martin and Emily Van Eyk The Conversation (No paywall)Home ownership among young people is falling sharply, while renters face worrying insecurity. Nowhere is this more pronounced than for the 4.4 million Australians living with a disability and, in particular, the 660,000 plus Australians with an intellectual disability. For the majority of these people, owning a home is impossible without financial support from their families. With the loss of this support, they can find themselves in precarious or even abusive situations. Stuck in a cycle of temporary accommodation or forced into group homes (or even nursing homes) with little control over where and who they live with. f the entire premise of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is to give people more choice and autonomy over their lives, then that must extend to people’s fundamental needs for appropriate housing. To uphold the access and inclusion rights of people with a disability, their housing needs must be a priority. One alternative gaining traction in Australia is the co-design, co-living model which could offer a range of benefits for people living with a disability.
https://theconversation.com/not-just-ramps-and-doorways-disabili…
# Australia, Share houses, Disability, Housing market.‘Just like The Castle’: The apartment owners under siege in their own buildings
Sue Williams Domain (No paywall)Apartment owners claim they’re under siege from telcos determined to install broadband services in their buildings – whether residents want them or not. And they say they’re being forced to hire lawyers to try to stop them and protect their common property from potential damage caused by subcontractors when companies bully their way in. Also, read Jimmy Thomson's blog entitled: 'How Telcos can bully their way into unit blocks' on 'Flat Chat' at: [https://www.flatchat.com.au/telco-bullies/]
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/just-like-the-castle-the-ap…
# NSW, Strata, Utilities electricity water gas.Finding a way through our urban housing dilemma
Ben van Bruggen (No paywall)From New Zealand ... Our councils are under pressure to respond to the requirements of the Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021, the law change designed to increase housing supply by allowing higher housing density in key urban areas. As debate within the Auckland Council has demonstrated, this issue has led to polarised views. Some are demanding new compact homes in accessible locations, and others fear that this means the destruction of character villas with their much-loved aesthetic. (Stuff)
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/129245701/finding-a-way-through-…
# International, Housing market, Local Government, Planning and development.Single mother facing homelessness implores government to address housing crisis
Antonia O'Flaherty ABC (No paywall)Single mother of two Monique will be homeless on Friday because she has to leave her rental home, has been priced out of the area, and has not been able to find another home. She is one of more than 50,000 people, or 31,000 households, on Queensland's social housing register. ... The Queensland Audit Office (QAO) released a report yesterday saying the state government was failing to properly monitor the social housing register, to build enough new social housing, and to model future housing demand. It found that as "the private rental market becomes more competitive, many Queenslanders will struggle to access secure and affordable housing".
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-13/mother-facing-homelessnes…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Rent, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market, Women.Bunbury is WA's regional centre for people living alone, as mental health issues laid bare in census
Alastair Kirkby ABC (No paywall)More than one in three homes in Western Australia's second-biggest city is occupied by just one person, as the region struggles with housing affordability and a mental health crisis. The latest census revealed 34 per cent of homes in Bunbury, a port city about 170 kilometres south of the state's capital, were one-person households on the night of the census, easily eclipsing the national and state averages. Psychologists believe there is a strong link between social isolation and poor mental and physical health outcomes, with social connection crucial for those who live alone.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-10/bunbury-people-living-alo…
# Australia, Health, Housing market.