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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
Sydney’s census lesson: Bold action needed to tackle housing affordability
Editorial The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The 2021 census, released last week, showed a prosperous, growing Sydney. The city’s median family income reached $123,450 a year, about $20,000 more than when the last census was taken in 2016. New arrivals from across the world helped lift Sydney’s population by 400,000 since the last headcount. Our city’s diverse, expanding population is a major economic asset. But the census also drew attention to some worrying trends stemming from the high cost of housing. Despite favourable conditions for borrowers recently, and generous programs to support first-time buyers, the rate of home ownership in Sydney continued to decline. ... The census revealed another more immediate housing-related challenge – a surprisingly high proportion of Sydney households experiencing mortgage and rental stress. ... Both major parties, at the state and federal levels, acknowledge housing affordability is a major problem. But this must now result in bold policies that deliver tangible improvements. Recent proposals to make housing more affordable have been far too timid.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/sydney-s-census-less…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Rent, Affordable housing, Families, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market, State Government.Rents are on the rise. What are your rights if your landlord wants to increase yours?
Biwa Kwan and David Aidone SBS (No paywall)For mother-of-two Amanda Elsner, the issue of stable housing for her family is something that keeps her awake at night. In five months, her rental agreement is due to be renewed and the prospect of a steep price rise is something that worries her. "We are a low-income household. With the rising cost of living, there is very little extra funds to spare," she told SBS News from Port Adelaide. ... The Tenants' Union of NSW has fielded double the number of inquiries, from an average of 3 per cent of its caseload in late 2020-early 2021 to 6 per cent in three months to March this year. CEO Leo Patterson Ross said that number continues to grow, driven mostly by tenants in regional parts of NSW. "People are really facing a lot of increases, and that might be during their tenancies, or it might be because they've been evicted or forced to move, and they are now trying to find a new home and they're all much more expensive than their previous homes," Mr Ross said.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/rents-are-on-the-rise-what-a…
# TUNSW in the media Australia, Rent, Families, Housing affordability, Housing market.Enough lies from the real estate lobby
Better Renting (No paywall)It seems like every time anyone proposes doing anything to make things the slightest bit for renters, the real estate lobby comes out opposing the proposal — not because it would reduce landlord profits, no, but because it would lead to higher rents. [Read on]
# Australia, Rent, Landlords and agents.Advocates call for stronger regulation on short stays like Airbnb, as rental vacancy plummets
David Weber ABC (No paywall)There are calls for greater restrictions on homes being made available via Airbnb and similar platforms as vacancy rates in Perth plummet. The debate has fired up as Australian cities grapple with tight rental markets, and try to balance tourist demand for short stays with increasing demand for somewhere to live and call home. ... Welfare advocates, like Shelter WA CEO Michelle Mackenzie, say short-stay accommodation was being established at the expense of long-term rental properties. Also, read Damian Kassabgi's Article entitled: 'Will Byron become the Malibu of the antipodes?' in the 'Echo' at: [https://www.echo.net.au/2022/07/will-byron-become-the-malibu-of-the-antipodes/?fbclid=IwAR0PgFFmbjSxhfPNm1A7x-MXXzOVNQcTM1VJbZ-w5q7Y6QvRNZmiA-2mYBI]
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-07/stronger-regulation-short…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market, Local Government, Short-term holiday letting.More rented, more mortgaged, less owned: what the census tells us about housing
Rachel Ong ViforJ The Conversation (No paywall)On the surface, the latest census tells us home ownership has changed little over the past five years. Between the 2016 census and this census in 2021, the share of Australians owning their homes remained steady at about 66%. The proportion renting also changed little, climbing from 30% to 30.6%. But a closer look reveals bigger long-term changes. While the proportion owning has slipped only two percentage points from 68% to 66% between 1996 and 2021, the proportion owning outright (without a mortgage) has plummeted from 42% to 31%. The proportion mortgaged is nine percentage points higher. The proportion renting is four percentage points higher.
https://theconversation.com/more-rented-more-mortgaged-less-owne…
# Australia, Rent, Families, Home ownership, Housing market.Ballarat mum begs landlords to be 'compassionate' after nine months in caravan with children
Lexcie Jeuniewic ABC (No paywall)New census data has revealed almost 60,000 Australians call a caravan home. Mother-of-six, Ajay*, is one of them. Last year, the 40-year-old had to leave her rental home in Golden Plains Shire, in western Victoria, when the owners decided to sell the property. Despite applying for numerous rental properties, Ajay was unable to find a new home. "There were hundreds of families applying for the same home," she said. "It was very difficult." Left with no other option, Ajay made the decision to move into her father's caravan. The caravan was initially located at a caravan park in Ballarat, which Ajay said was filled with other families in a similar situation to her own. .. Nine months later, the 40-year-old is still living in the same caravan, but it's now parked in her father's backyard.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-03/permanent-caravan-living-…
# Australia, Eviction, Land lease communities, Families, Homelessness.Homeless in Wagga Wagga's Wilks Park call for more help after eviction notices from council
Shannon Corvo and Sally Bryant ABC (No paywall)As the housing crisis tightens its grip on the nation, the reality for some is just trying to keep warm in a tent. Homeless man Matt Costello has been doing just that for the past 10 months. "There were a lot of bad decisions before I ended up homeless — I got kicked out of my flat, I went to a refuge [and] basically it was no good in there, so I bought a tent and come here," he said. ... Mr Costello is one of around 30 residents living at Wagga Wagga's Wilks Park in southern New South Wales, including a family who need housing to get their son back. He said Wagga Wagga City Council visited the park a few days ago with a police escort and eviction notices. They have less than a month to vacate.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-05/wilks-park-homeless-call-…
# NSW, Homelessness, Local Government, Regional NSW.Climate expert says NSW government should buy Sydney homes left 'uninhabitable' by floods
Harriet Tatham and Maryanne Taouk ABC (No paywall)Flood waters have inundated Judy White's home in north-west Sydney three times in four months. The Nepean River, which peaked at 16.61 metres on Sunday, rose past the top of her front door in Londonderry on Sunday. "I've had this place for 12 months ... I didn't even make it to nine months. People don't understand unless they've been through it," she said. "Where do you start? Mentally, physically, financially, it destroys you ... It's been three months later. I'm still cleaning up and it's happened again." Ms White is not alone. ... "This is a problem that New South Wales governments have known about for over two centuries," [Climate expert James Pittock, a professor in environment and society at the Australian National University's Fenner School] said. "They've simply failed to put in place the land-use planning to prevent people being put in harm's way."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-05/nsw-hawkesbury-nepean-flo…
# NSW, Climate change, Planning and development, State Government.