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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
Renovate, don’t demolish: Bid to save Ascot Vale housing estate ‘could save millions’
Luke Lay and Clay Lucas The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)For five years, public-housing resident Clare Hanson has fought a losing battle against the Andrews government and its multimillion-dollar plan to redevelop the Ascot Vale housing estate in Melbourne’s north-west. ... “They’re double brick,” she says of the units in the estate she has lived in since 2010. “They’re so well built they would last another 100 years with proper care.” Not-for-profit research group OFFICE agrees. There are plans to demolish and rebuild hundreds of dwellings – including Hanson’s – across the 15-hectare estate, but the group argues that better results would be achieved by renovating. A report released recently by OFFICE found the government could make huge savings by just repairing existing buildings.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/victoria/renovate-don-t-demolish…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Estate renewal, State Government.July News and Events
Housing for the Aged Action Group Bulletin (No paywall)Lots of news ... Check out 'older tenants voice'.
https://mailchi.mp/33ef92609ca5/older-tenants-voice-summer-editi…
# Australia, Campaigns and law reform, Older people.Renters call for better housing outcomes from political parties
Michael Atkin ABC (No paywall)According to the latest census, there are a million empty dwellings across the country. Despite that staggering figure, the number of rental properties on the market is at an historic low, while rents are soaring. With houses becoming harder to buy, it could make renters a growing force at elections. (7.30 Report)
https://www.abc.net.au/7.30/renters-call-for-better-housing-outc…
# Video Australia, Public and community housing, Rent, Affordable housing, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market, State Government, Welfare, Young people.Keen to retrofit your home to lower its carbon footprint and save energy? Consider these 3 things
The Green List The Fifth Estate (No paywall)If you’re anything like us, you’re increasingly working from home, one that was built before energy efficiency measures were introduced in Australia.
https://thefifthestate.com.au/innovation/residential-2/keen-to-r…
# Australia, Utilities electricity water gas, Climate change, Housing market.A critical moment in the housing crisis
Lenore Taylor The Guardian (No paywall)As house and rental prices skyrocket, Australians are struggling to keep a roof over their heads. Families across Australia are moving into caravan parks and campgrounds, while little is being done to meet their housing needs. (Full story) [Runs for just over 16 minutes, but an excellent summary of issues.]
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/audio/2022/jul/01/a-c…
# Must read, Audio Australia, Land lease communities, Public and community housing, Rent, Affordable housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Federal Government, Home ownership, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Local Government, Personal stories, Regional NSW, Short-term holiday letting, State Government, Tax, Welfare, Work, employment.Shop around, switch things off and seal the gaps: a renter’s guide to energy efficiency
Caitlin Cassidy The Guardian (No paywall)For renters, who can’t make big changes such as solar installations, there are still lots of ways to reduce your energy bill and stay warm. These are great practical tips - but one that's missing is making sure rented homes are safe, healthy and energy efficient to begin with. We need politicians at state and federal levels to work to ensure the standard of rented homes, both new and existing is lifted to a safe and habitable state. Getting involved with Healthy Homes for Renters is one way to achieve this! Check out: [https://www.healthyhomes.org.au/]
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jul/02/shop-arou…
# Australia, Rent, Utilities electricity water gas, Campaigns and law reform, Health, Minimum habitability standards.Growing number of reliable tenants find themselves homeless in rental squeeze
Rebecca Turner ABC (No paywall)Perth law student Diane Palmer never expected to become homeless at the age of 52. But that's how she found herself earlier this year, after she was evicted from her home of two-and-a-half years. One would think that, if you pay your rent, you take care of the property, how can you be evicted?" she asked rhetorically, "because you don't agree to an unlawful condition and [you] stand up for your rights." Ms Palmer said this condition was a request in a new lease contract by her landlord to access her property several times a week, for an unspecified period of time, and with little or no notice. ... Overseas and around Australia, some governments have already done away with no-grounds terminations — or signalled their intention to do so — to give greater long-term housing security to tenants. For example, such provisions have been outlawed in Germany and Scotland, while the UK government last month announced it intended to abolish them in England. ... After six months of trying to find a new home, [Diane] said she was feeling good about her future after positive negotiations with her new landlord. "I feel like a respected human being," she said. "I did not feel respected at all in my previous relationship with the landlord."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-03/growing-number-of-reliabl…
# Australia, Eviction, Rent, Landlords and agents, No-grounds evictions, Women.‘I’m willing to take on absolutely everyone!’ Kwajo Tweneboa on fighting for Britain’s poorest tenants
Daniel Lavelle The Guardian (No paywall)Kwajo Tweneboa adored his father. They were very similar: they both enjoyed a laugh, had an interest in current affairs and made sacrifices to care for others. Then, in January 2020, Tweneboa watched his father, who suddenly became terminally ill with cancer, die. All the while, cockroaches, mice and flies infested their dilapidated housing association flat on the Eastfields estate in Mitcham, south London. Tweneboa, a 23-year-old student, shared the flat with his two sisters, 24 and 21. He says he asked the housing association, Clarion, to make repairs for more than a year, with little success, before deciding to take further action. Since then, he has become a champion for his neighbours and all those living in similarly squalid conditions, forcing landlords and housing associations to acknowledge their responsibilities and make urgent, necessary repairs. ... A year after his father died, Tweneboa took matters into his own hands. In May, he decided to shame the housing association on Twitter, posting a collection of photos showing his family’s living conditions. He wrote: “Clarion Housing has to be one of the worst council housing in London. Since my dad passed away in 2020 they’ve left me in a property which has been described as ‘unliveable’ and when I’ve called to chase a leak which I reported 5 days ago they’ve told me they’re busy.” The tweets went viral ...
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jan/19/im-willing-to-ta…
# International, Public and community housing, Rent, Repairs, Campaigns and law reform, Housing market, Personal stories.