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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.
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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
Fall in New Zealand house prices offers insight into what might happen in Australia
Tawar Razaghi Domain (No paywall)Australian house prices are not expected to plummet below pre-COVID levels with experts saying the local property market can look to the “soft landing” being experienced in New Zealand as a guide. While Australians are only beginning to feel the pinch when it comes to increased mortgage repayments from rising rates that began in May, New Zealand saw its first rate rise in October 2021 when its Reserve Bank increased the cash rate by 25 basis points.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/fall-in-new-zealand-house-p…
# Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market, International.New ‘safe and secure’ housing project for Indigenous elders
Abbey Halter (No paywall)Ningulangu’ is now officially open and ready to house Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander elders, providing safe and secure housing for older Canberrans to age peacefully in place. First Nations elders were welcomed to the third public housing project, opened today, Monday 21 Feburary, with its name meaning ‘belonging to; home, place’. ... “It’s been great to see the collaboration between the ACT Government and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body to design a culturally appropriate development that meets the needs of tenants.” (Canberra Weekly)
https://canberraweekly.com.au/new-safe-secure-housing-indigenous…
# Australia, Aboriginal renters, Public and community housing, Affordable housing.Towers up to 36 storeys planned for Hornsby as residential population forecast to explode
Andrew Taylor The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Towers up to 36 storeys high will be built in Hornsby under a redevelopment plan that the local council says will create a “thriving town centre that reflects its bushland setting”. ... The Hornsby Town Centre masterplan includes 4500 new homes built mainly around the Hornsby train station. Hornsby Shire mayor and former Howard government minister Phillip Ruddock declined to answer questions ahead of a council vote on the plan, but a council spokeswoman said the plan included around 470 affordable homes.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/36-storey-towers-planned-for-hor…
# NSW, Affordable housing, Housing market, Local Government, Planning and development.Mascot Towers owners settle with developer as founder buys $20 million Vaucluse home
Lucy Macken Domain (No paywall)Residents of Sydney’s damaged Mascot Towers have reached an out-of-court settlement with the developer of the building next door they allege caused catastrophic damage to their homes. The confidential settlement with Aland Developments has been reached three years after the residents were forced to evacuate due to serious structural cracks in the south Sydney building.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/mascot-towers-owners-settle…
# NSW, Strata, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.Single mothers especially vulnerable in competitive Gippsland rental market
Natasha Schapova ABC (No paywall)Gippsland single mothers are living in housing that is insecure and in poor condition as new data shows the rental vacancy rate remains low in the region. Anglicare Gippsland's family services program manager Josie Stubbe said single mothers were most vulnerable to housing insecurity due to their low incomes. "Because of their lower income, they don't meet the threshold for rental properties, so when they apply for them, they're not even being shortlisted," Ms Stubbe said. "Once they're living with family or friends, they're no longer considered a high priority for housing, so they find themselves stuck in a situation living with others that's often not desirable."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-13/single-mothers-vulnerable…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Rent, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market, Mould, Women, Work, employment.‘Aged care is in crisis’: battling to keep community nursing homes in the bush
Clare McCabe The Guardian (No paywall)Two months before Garry Kadwell and the Crookwell Taralga Aged Care (CTAC) board opted for a merger to ensure the survival of the rural community-owned, not-for-profit aged care facility, he spoke to local stakeholders in stark terms. “If you ever want the hardest decision to make, make one for your community, make one on behalf of someone else,” he says. “Because everyone in this community is counting on that decision to be right.” The aged care provider in the New South Wales southern tablelands had been edging closer to insolvency, according to Kadwell. On 1 July, it merged with Uniting Care to retain 68 beds across two facilities and its home care services. A facility that had largely been built on community contributions was no longer in community hands.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jul/10/aged-care…
# NSW, Housing market, Older people.‘They got rid of our oak doors!’ – the story of Britain’s national property obsession in one housing chain
'They got rid of our oak doors!’ – the story of Britain’s national property obsession in one housing chain The Guardian (No paywall)Four families, three houses, one bathtub in the skip … moving up the ladder throws you at the mercy of a group of strangers. Can the links in one chain trust each other to seal the deal?
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/jul/09/story-britains-nat…
# International, Families, Housing market.Single mum-of-two forced to sleep in car and motels after landlord decides to sell
Warren Barnsley (Paywall)A Queensland single mum says she and her two sons have been left homeless after their landlord evicted them to renovate their rental with a view to selling it - only for it to lay vacant following their departure. Danni Cox, from the Beenleigh area south of Brisbane, and her teenage sons have fallen victim to a desperate housing situation in Queensland, where more than 30,000 people are on the state’s social housing register. ... “I’m still homeless, still staying with friends, staying in my car sometimes and staying in motels when we can afford (to),” she said. “We’re just struggling at the moment to find a place just to stay. (7 News)
https://7news.com.au/news/social/single-mum-of-two-forced-to-sle…
# Australia, Eviction, Homelessness, State Government, Women.