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
Thousands still waiting for rental relief after floods destroyed paperwork
Tom Rabe The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Less than 10 per cent of a $250 million rental support fund has been distributed to NSW flood victims months after the natural disaster swept through the state’s north. A parliamentary inquiry into the deadly February flooding disaster heard more than 3000 people are still waiting for the rental support payment despite the program set to end in less than two weeks. Opposition environment spokeswoman Penny Sharpe said many flood victims were unable to produce key documentation required to access the government cash because their possessions were swept away by floodwaters.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/thousands-still-waiting-for-…
# NSW, Rent, State Government.Twenty-five years after The Castle the Australian dream is well and truly dead
Gareth Bryant The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Twenty-five years ago, a low-budget film shot in less than a fortnight captured the hearts and imaginations of Australia. With its sympathetic portrayal of suburban family life, a classic David v Goliath narrative of justice prevailing over corporate greed, and plenty of ever-quotable one-liners, The Castle has maintained a timeless “vibe”. In 2010, the film was voted as the best expression of Australian identity, which makes sense when you consider The Castle is a love letter to the Australian dream of home ownership. ... Two years after the release of The Castle, the Howard government established Australia’s pro-property investor tax regime, which helped lock future Darryls and Sals out of home ownership. The introduction of a 50 per cent discount on capital gains tax combined with negative gearing to supercharge Australian house prices.
https://www.smh.com.au/culture/movies/twenty-five-years-after-th…
# Australia, History, Home ownership, Tax.What tenants can do if their landlord hikes the rent
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Renters are spending more money to keep a roof over their head, with strong competition for fewer available homes pushing prices to new heights. Tenants are increasingly facing rental hikes both during and between leases, with rents at record highs in many regions and vacancy rates at crisis-level lows. Add rising mortgage rates for landlords and reopened borders into the mix, and there are fears they could be set to rise further. “People are facing rent increases at a magnitude that we have not been seeing before,” says Joel Dignam, executive director of tenant advocacy group Better Renting. ... Tenants should research rental prices for similar properties in their area, says Tenants’ Union of NSW chief executive Leo Patterson Ross. While market rents are rising fast, some landlords’ price hopes are rising faster, he says.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/living/what-tenants-can-do-if-th…
# TUNSW in the media Australia, Rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Perth council headed to tribunal after homeless centre rejection
Peter de Kruijff The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A planning decision by the City of Perth’s council to reject the relocation of an existing drop-in centre for people experiencing homelessness to a site 200 metres around the corner is going to the State Administrative Tribunal.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/western-australia/homeless-servi…
# Australia, Tribunal NCAT, Homelessness, Planning and development.Council takes owner of gutted Sydney boarding house to court over concerns for safety of passersby
Tamsin Rose The Guardian (No paywall)The owner of a Sydney boarding house where three people died in a blaze is being taken to court by the local council after allegedly failing to make the gutted property – currently listed for sale – safe for passersby. The Newtown block was recently put on the market, amid calls for a portion of the sale to go to the residents who survived the blaze and an overhaul of the regulatory system overseeing properties of its type. The Probert Street building was reportedly showing signs of structural failure after the March inferno, prompting the council to issue an emergency order to owner Albert Wong to put in place safety measures. Despite issuing a short extension to account for bad weather, the Inner West council claimed Wong had not complied with the orders, and said it had been forced to step in and do the work itself. ... Shelter NSW’s chief executive, John Engeler, said it would be good to see a portion of the sale of the property go to the residents who survived the fire and were displaced. “It demonstrates good faith and demonstrates what’s gone on here – it’s a bigger issue than a pure legal narrow framework,” Engeler said. “That would send the right message.”
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/13/council-t…
# NSW, Boarders and lodgers, Local Government.Calls for more social housing as homeless youth cycle through system up to 10 times
Rosanne Maloney ABC (No paywall)Nahla Dichak was 15 years old when family breakdown left her homeless and scrambling to find her next place to sleep. For two years she couch surfed with distant family and friends around Melbourne, sometimes sleeping at McDonalds or outside youth homelessness services.
"It was just traumatising," she said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-14/calls-for-more-social-hou…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Homelessness, Young people.First-home buyers, experts welcome plans to phase out stamp duty
Tawar Razaghi Domain (No paywall)The NSW government proposal to replace stamp duty with an annual land tax has been welcomed by first-home buyers and experts who say it would make buying property easier with only a modest impact on prices.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/first-home-buyers-experts-w…
# NSW, Housing market, State Government.Adams Announces Plan to Fix New York City’s Growing Housing Crisis
The New York Times (Paywall)Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday unveiled a multiyear plan to address New York City's growing housing crisis, pledging to make rentals and homeownership more affordable, to help homeless people find permanent housing and to invest in the New York City Housing Authority, the largest public housing entity in the United States. If you hit a paywall, for the same story, check the link at: [https://abc7ny.com/eric-adams-nyc-housing-plan-nycha-authority/11958692/]
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/14/nyregion/eric-adams-housing-c…
# International, Public and community housing, Rent, Affordable housing, Homelessness, Local Government.