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
Rental crisis: What the Labor Government can do to fix it
Poppy Johnston (No paywall)Housing experts are holding out hope for much-needed reforms under the recently elected Labor Government to solve the housing-affordability crisis as rental prices soar. Millions of Australians are facing rental stress, according to a recent survey by Savvy, with 2.72 million people spending as much as 30 per cent of their income on rent. ... While Labor’s policies to help first home buyers access the property market featured prominently during the election campaign, the party also floated several other ideas that may improve affordability for renters too. This included the development of a National Housing and Homelessness Plan, which was something the Tenants' Union of NSW chief executive officer, Leo Patterson Ross, was cautiously optimistic about. While Patterson Ross recognised that fixing the housing crisis was not something the Federal Government could do on its own, and that state and territory governments were responsible for tenancy legislation, he said the Commonwealth could play a more instrumental role in housing policy than it had in the past. Top of his list is reforming the funding model that underpins social housing, which has seen chronic underinvestment from both state and federal governments. [Read on] (yahoo!finance)
https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/rental-crisis-what-the-labor-g…
# TUNSW in the media Australia, Public and community housing, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market.Michael Gove promises long-awaited white paper on Section 21 this week
Tim Clark Inside Housing (Paywall)The government is set to publish its white paper outlining plans to abolish Section 21 evictions this week, Michael Gove said. Speaking to the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee yesterday, the housing secretary promised that the white paper would be followed by new legislation in parliament which would make the changes law. Asked when the government would fulfil its commitment to abolish Section 21 no-fault evictions, Mr Gove said: “I hope we will publish a white paper later this week and this will be followed hot on its heels by legislation.” Mr Gove later noted that the white paper would be published on Thursday, 16 June. Measures to reform the rental sector were initially promised by Theresa May, the prime minister at the time, in April 2019. Charities have consistently stated that Section 21, known as no-fault evictions, have a detrimental impact on the rental sector and fail to give renters any form of certainty over their long-term housing options.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/michael-gove-promises-…
# International, Rent, No-grounds evictions.The Prince Rupert Hotel for the Homeless by Christina Lamb review – bed, breakfast and respect
Hephzibah Anderson The Guardian (No paywall)This insightful account of a four-star establishment taking in rough sleepers amid the pandemic finds grounds for real if slender hope. ... As Lamb writes of the Prince Rupert staff, the experience transformed them: “All would look at the homeless differently now, having learned how so many had been made to feel like throwaway children, beaten, abused and left to think themselves worthless.”
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jun/13/the-prince-rupert-…
# Must read International, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness.Dominic Perrottet says he needs federal help to scrap stamp duty in NSW
Ruby Cornish ABC (No paywall)NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet says his party wants to scrap stamp duty for property purchasers but cannot act without the support of the federal government. Mr Perrottet has long supported phasing out the one-off government fee in favour of an annual broad-based land tax. In a government proposal published in June last year, the then-treasurer wrote that the move would stimulate home ownership, grow the economy and boost the annual incomes of NSW residents "by more than $10 billion". "I believe stamp duty is the worst tax that any government can have," Mr Perrottet said. "It is a massive impediment for people getting into the housing market." Also, read Tom Rabe's article entitled: 'Perrottet says NSW stamp duty overhaul dependent on federal support' in 'The Sydney Morning Herald' at: [https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/perrottet-says-nsw-stamp-duty-overhaul-dependent-on-federal-support-20220613-p5atbo.html]. Read Michael McGowan's and Tamsin Rose's article entitled: 'Dominic Perrottet to seek federal backing to scrap NSW stamp duty' in 'The Guardian' at: [https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/13/dominic-perrottet-to-seek-federal-backing-to-scrap-nsw-stamp-duty]. Read Rachel Clun's article entitled: 'Stamp duty move puts pressure on other states' in 'The Sydney Morning Herald' at: [https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/stamp-duty-move-puts-pressure-on-other-states-20220613-p5ataj.html]. And, read the Editorial entitled: 'Good riddance to stamp duty: now for an optimal switch to a land tax' in 'The Sydney Morning Herald' at: [https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/good-riddance-to-stamp-duty-now-for-an-optimal-switch-to-a-land-tax-20220613-p5atch.html]
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-13/dominic-perrottet-keen-to…
# NSW, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market, Tax.Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe warns it is unclear how high interest rates will go
Leigh Sales and James Glenday ABC (No paywall)The Reserve Bank governor has warned Australians they need to be prepared for substantial interest rate rises over the rest of this year, conceding he is not sure how high they might go. ... How fast we get to 2.5 per cent, indeed whether we get to 2.5 per cent, is going to be determined by events." Under such a scenario, a family with a million-dollar mortgage would likely have to pay more than $1,000 a month more than they were a few weeks ago.
The RBA governor conceded some families were already struggling to make ends meet and would find the increase in repayments tough. Also, read Colin Brinsden's article entitled: 'Expect higher interest rates, says RBA’s Lowe' in 'The New daily' at: [https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2022/06/14/decisive-rate-rise-needed-rba-lowe/]
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-14/rba-governor-warns-it-is-…
# Australia, Families, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.Brisbane to charge Airbnb hosts higher council rates to tackle housing availability
Eden Gillespie The Guardian (No paywall)Brisbane homeowners who list their properties as short-term accommodation on sites like Airbnb will be slugged with a 50% rates hike amid a chronic shortage of rental properties.
Handing down the city’s $4bn budget on Wednesday, the LNP lord mayor, Adrian Schrinner, said a new “transitory accommodation” category will help tackle housing availability and affordability in Australia’s fastest growing capital city. Schrinner said the 50% rate increase would mean a property on Brisbane’s minimum rating category would pay $600 extra a year, providing an incentive to landlords to rent their property to longer term tenants. ... The executive director of Q Shelter, Fiona Caniglia, welcomed the rate increase. “We need to incentivise the return of these properties to the private rental market so more people can find a home,” she said. “It is a great example of local government demonstrating commitment and practical solutions to the housing crisis.” Also, read Alicia Nally's and Lucy Stone's article entitled: 'Brisbane City Council Airbnb rate hike draws mixed responses during housing crisis' on the ABC at: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-16/brisbane-city-council-airbnb-rates-increase-housing-crisis-react/101156696]
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/15/brisbane-…
# New policy announcement Australia, Rent, Local Government, Short-term holiday letting, Tax.$400 million to empower Aboriginal communities and deliver outcomes
NSW Government Media Release (No paywall)The NSW Government has announced $401 million in additional funding over four years in the 2022-23 Budget, to prioritise Closing the Gap and other projects that improve outcomes for Aboriginal people across the state. ... [Premier Dominic Perrottet said:] “These initiatives span areas like improving cancer care pathways for Aboriginal people, boosting the Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation sector to support empowerment, and support for Aboriginal community housing providers.”
https://www.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/400-million-to-empower-abo…
# NSW, Aboriginal renters, Public and community housing, Health, Race and ethnicity.A merry-go-round of buck-passing’: inside the four-year Grenfell inquiry
Robert Booth The Guardian (No paywall)Five years after the fire that killed 72, the inquiry is nearing a close. Over 300 days of evidence, what have we learned about the failings that led to disaster? Also, read Lucie heath's article entitled: 'The Grenfell inquiry revealed shocking failures – five years on, they are far from fixed' in 'The Guardian' at: [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jun/14/grenfell-inquiry-five-years-72-lives-change]
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jun/14/a-merry-go-round…
# International, Public and community housing, Asbestos, lead, hazardous materials, Minimum habitability standards.