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
Whose ‘identity’ are we preserving in Auckland’s special character housing areas?
Carolyn Hill The Conversation (No paywall)A minor culture war has broken out over Auckland’s urban identity since Auckland Council responded to the government’s new housing rules: on one side, defenders of “special character” areas of historic housing; on the other, advocates for higher-density development with fewer constraints.
https://theconversation.com/whose-identity-are-we-preserving-in-…
# International, Affordable housing, Heritage listings, Local Government, Planning and development.Coastal towns where prices have doubled in five years but are still under $1m
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Property prices have reached new heights in many coastal towns as a surge in demand from sea-changers and holiday home buyers fuels the growth. Prices in some coastal hotspots have more than doubled over the past five years, sending median prices over the $1 million mark. But there are some sea-change suburbs that still offer a sub-seven-figure price tag.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/coastal-towns-where-prices-…
# Australia, Housing market.‘A win-win’: Parts of Northcote public golf course set aside for community use
Marta Pascual Juanola The Age (Paywall)A section of Northcote’s public golf course will be freed for community use in a small win for residents, who have been campaigning to reclaim the green space since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/a-win-win-parts-of-n…
# Australia, Local Government, Planning and development.What are the most affordable and liveable suburbs for first home buyers?
Elizabeth Redman Domain (No paywall)The most affordable and liveable suburbs for first home buyers have been revealed, in a new report that considers price growth, local amenities and attractiveness to investors. In Sydney, top picks were suburbs in the city’s south including Miranda, Peakhurst ...
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/what-are-the-most-affordabl…
# Australia, Affordable housing, Housing market.Australia's housing crisis could be tackled by taking inspiration from Scotland, industry leaders say
Joanna Woodburn ABC (No paywall)The next federal government is being urged to look to the northern hemisphere for possible solutions to Australia's housing and rental crises. ... University of New South Wales professor of housing research and policy Hal Pawson said longer-term solutions could be found in Scotland's housing policy. "Scotland's strategy [has] got a huge amount of substance, very much in contrast to its Australian equivalent." ... Scotland's policy aims to deliver more affordable housing, tackle high rents and decarbonise homes while creating jobs. "Housing to 2040" promises to build 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, with 70 per cent for social rent. They will be carbon neutral, have digital connectivity and will be built in tandem with local infrastructure so they create so-called "20-minute neighbourhoods", where local services are a short drive away.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-20/housing-crisis-australia-…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Utilities electricity water gas, Climate change, Housing market, International.Public housing waitlist in Victoria balloons by 55%: ‘I’d never get anything, so why bother?’
Stephanie Convery The Guardian (No paywall)Cheryl Hawkett applied to access public housing in 2015. She was living in the rural Victorian town of Moe, in a bedsit so small and cramped “you couldn’t really swing a cat in it”. Her doctor wrote a letter to accompany the application, arguing that her housing situation was detrimental to her health. She was grappling with serious anxiety and depression at the time, which culminated in a hospital stay under the care of a psychiatrist. Hawkett was 68 when she put in the application. She’s now 75, and only just this month moved into a public housing unit in Lang Lang. ... Hawkett is far from alone in enduring a multiyear wait for housing. The waitlist for public and community housing in Victoria has ballooned in the past five years, from 35,392 in June 2017 to 54,945 in March this year – an increase of 55%. The increase has been almost entirely in the area of priority need, with 18,574 households added to the priority list in that time. Of those on the priority list, 6,663 households, or 22%, joined since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/may/21/public-ho…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Health, Older people, Women.Tenant vs. Landlord: Who is responsible for mould outbreak in rental properties?
Hayley Taylor (No paywall)Mould outbreaks are ravaging humid Australian homes and damaging contents - but if you’re renting, who is responsible for cleaning it up? Experts say that depends on what caused the mould. But they recommend moving quickly against the health-threatening fungi. Also, read Dannielle Maguire's article entitled: 'Where you should be looking for mould and how long it takes to start growing' on the ABC at: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-20/where-to-look-for-mould-removal-treatment-prevention-wet-weather/101076264] Read Olivia Willis's article entitled: 'What are the health effects of mould, and how do you get rid of it?' on the ABC at: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2022-05-23/mould-health-effects-how-do-you-get-rid-of-it/101085258]
https://7news.com.au/business/housing/tenant-vs-landlord-who-is-…
# TUNSW in the media, Video Australia, Rent, Health, Housing market, Mould, No-grounds evictions.Bendigo mother Ebonie has applied for 380 rentals in a bid to escape homelessness
Shannon Schubert and Kimberley Price ABC (No paywall)Bendigo mother of four Ebonie has been looking for permanent housing for her family for a year. She's ambivalent about her situation. On the one hand, she's happy to have a roof over her head. On the other, the bedsit cabin supplied as crisis accommodation feels too small for her family and she struggles to understand why she can't secure a permanent home. ... Over the past 12 months, Ebonie has submitted more than 380 rental applications, but she believes most landlords have not considered her as the rent would be more than a third of her income.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-20/homeless-bendigo-mother-e…
# Australia, Rent, Homelessness, Housing affordability.