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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
Stamp duty catch: what happens when it’s time to sell?
Elizabeth Redman Domain (No paywall)Stamp duty changes in NSW could help first home buyers get into the market sooner but its limited availability lacks the benefits of a broader overhaul, experts say. Stamp duty has long been disliked by economists as it is a tax on moving house. The NSW government had hoped to offer all buyers the choice between upfront stamp duty or a smaller annual land tax, making it easier for home owners to upgrade to a bigger home, downsize to a smaller one, or move closer to a new job. But losing stamp duty revenue would be a short-term hit to the state budget and instead the government opted for a more modest change that allows only first home buyers to opt out of stamp duty ... [Grattan Institute economic policy program director Brendan Coates said: “It looks less like a tax reform and more like just another support for first home buyers, because it doesn’t actually really start the transition ...” Also, read Phoebe Bowden's article entitled: 'The NSW government's land tax announcement explained — is this the beginning of the end of stamp duty?' in the ABC at: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-22/nsw-government-stamp-duty-land-tax-reform-explained/101171810]. Read Josh Taylor's article entitled: 'What is stamp duty, why is NSW getting rid of it and what will replace it?' in 'The Guardian' at: [https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/21/what-is-stamp-duty-why-is-nsw-getting-rid-of-it-and-what-will-replace-it]. Read Kate Burke's article entitled: '"Weight off our shoulders": First home buyers welcome property tax' in 'Domain' at: [https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/weight-off-our-shoulders-first-home-buyers-welcome-property-tax-20220621-p5avg9.html].
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/stamp-duty-catch-what-happe…
# NSW, Home ownership, Housing market, Tax.Renters with disability face severe shortage of accessible homes
Kate McIntyre (No paywall)Disabled and elderly tenants have been forced to live in unsuitable homes where they can’t shower or access bedrooms as Sydney grapples with one of the worst rental housing shortages in years. ... PDCN CEO Hayley Stone said tenants were forced to restrict the use of their properties if they couldn’t afford to fund modifications or access the NDIS. “We’re hearing stories of people having to make do with washing through alternative means, or having to manage staircases by getting out of their wheelchair and getting their way up,” Ms Stone said. (realestate.com.au)
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/renters-with-disability-face-…
# NSW, Rent, Disability, Older people.Labor scare campaign against stamp duty reform is cynical politics
Editorial The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Australia has a long history of tearing itself apart over tax reform going back to the GST and the carbon tax. ... Unfortunately, NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns seems to be playing that very game by opposing the Perrottet government’s tentative but historic shift away from a stamp duty on property transactions to a broad-based annual land tax.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/labor-scare-campaign-against…
# NSW, Housing market, State Government, Tax.Homeless man's friendship with Sydney CEO prompts lifelong advocacy work
Justin Huntsdale and Melinda James ABC (No paywall)When Debbie Organ saw an advertisement for a missing dog in Sydney's CBD appear on her phone, she recognised it straight away. It belonged to a homeless man she had seen countless times outside Myer in Pitt Street. Being an animal lover, she used her own social network to track down the dog and return it to its owner, John.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-22/illawarra-sleep-out-homel…
# NSW, Homelessness, Pets.Australia’s borders were closed and population growth stalled – so why are houses so expensive?
Josh Nicholas The Guardian (No paywall)House prices in some areas of Australia are more than 20% above pre-pandemic levels, and several cities have seen greater than 8% annual rent rises, even as the nation’s population growth stalled amid two years of border closures. Experts say the situation is the result of several contributing factors, many of which predate the pandemic, such as a lack of investment in social and affordable housing and an increase in shorter-term rentals.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2022/jun/22/australias…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Rent, Affordable housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.How the slow-burning housing crisis is driving hunger in Canada
Charlotte Spring and Audrey Tung The Conversation (No paywall)Canada’s housing crisis is constantly in the news: sky-high prices, mixed with high levels of inflation and household debt, is a recipe for disaster. Inflation is also impacting food prices, and as wages remain stagnant food insecurity appears to be on the rise. While both housing affordability and food insecurity are spoken about often, we rarely hear about whether, and how, they are connected.
https://theconversation.com/how-the-slow-burning-housing-crisis-…
# International, Families, Housing affordability.Dozens of tiny homes proposed for Sunshine Coast as housing crisis worsens
Amy Sheehan ABC (No paywall)A builder leading a social housing project in the Sunshine Coast hinterland has described the region's accommodation crisis as "scary" and says there needs to be more action on the ground. Greg Phipps has been building modular homes since 2007. Now Noosa Council has accepted his application to build 34 small modular houses on a six-acre block at Cooroy as part of a private social housing endeavour. Mr Phipps said he took action after seeing how bad the housing crisis had become in the region.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-21/dozens-of-tiny-homes-prop…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Affordable housing, Housing market, Planning and development.The Stats Guy: We need (much) more public housing in Australia
Simon Kuestenmacher Simon Kuestenmacher The New Daily (No paywall)I don’t know what you’ve done this week, but I sure was busy looking for new statistics. This time I’ve unearthed for you a wonderful long-term dataset about housing occupancy from the ABS. ... You’ve probably seen headlines or read reports showing that more than 150,000 households – or over 430,000 people – are currently on the waiting list for social housing. A few hundred new units per year do nothing to ease the pressure. We need to think big and we need to act now. ... Yes, adding more public housing is expensive. Not adding more public housing is more expensive, though. How come? The bottom quintile (the poorest 20 per cent) of renters on the private housing market use up more than 50 per cent of their household income to cover housing costs. This means saving for a rainy day, or even building wealth through investments or property, is forever out of reach.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/2022/06/18/the-stats-guy-public-…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Rent, Federal Government.