ADVICE OVER THE HOLIDAY PERIOD
Tenants Advice & Advocacy Services have limited availability over the holiday period. The Tenants' Union will operate a Tenancy Advice Hotline from Wednesday 18/12/2024 until Wednesday 8/1/2025 (excluding weekends and public holidays). The hours of operation are 10am-1pm and 2-5pm.
Get advice on: (02) 8117 3750 or 1800 251 101
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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See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
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Archive
‘Money was never going to be free forever’: Borrowers can withstand higher rates, says Westpac
Clancy Yeates The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Westpac’s chief executive of consumer and business banking, Chris de Bruin, says the vast majority of mortgage customers can manage a series of interest rate rises, though the bank is watching closely for weaker discretionary spending. Before Tuesday’s widely expected increase in official interest rates, de Bruin on Sunday played down the chances of widespread mortgage stress this year, saying consumers and businesses were prepared for rates lifting from abnormally low levels.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/money-was-ne…
# Australia, Housing market.They’re in between a house and a unit, and they’re going up everywhere
Tawar Razaghi The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Duplexes have exploded in popularity in Sydney thanks to priced-out house hunters and builders looking for better profit margins. Approvals for semi-detached dwellings, which include duplexes, terraces and townhouses, have increased by 24 per cent in NSW in the year to April, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/they-re-in-between-a-house-…
# NSW, Housing market, Planning and development.‘Dead place’: Rising property prices put Sydney’s creative sector at risk
Andrew Taylor The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Sydney risks losing its creative sector, as artists, musicians and performers are priced out of the city. Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore warned the city would turn into a “dead place to be” if its “creative spirits” could not afford places to live and work in the inner city.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/dead-place-rising-property-price…
# NSW, Affordable housing, Housing market, Local Government, Sydney.Tracking down birth certificates and ID a crucial step to finding housing for the homeless
Cecile O'Connor ABC (No paywall)In a Geraldton church, where people usually gather to worship, there is a buzz of talk at tables around the hall of more earthly matters. People who have been sleeping rough have arrived looking for help to track down birth certificates. Without that crucial paperwork, they become even more invisible. Organisers of the event, which brought together charities and government departments, said when that paperwork is missing homeless people can fall off the waiting list for housing without realising.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-04/homeless-in-geraldton-com…
# Australia, Homelessness.The suburbs bucking the trend of falling house prices
Justine Kearney ABC (No paywall)While Australian home owners may be feeling a tad nervous after hearing house prices have fallen for the first time in 20 months, buyers will be sitting up and taking notes. ... Despite the country's most populous city leading the trend for house price declines, there are still pockets where growth is happening.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-02/suburbs-bucking-trend-fal…
# Australia, Housing market.Buy back of flood-prone homes should happen now, NSW mayor says
Michael McGowan and Christine Tondorf The Guardian (No paywall)Mayors and residents in flood-affected parts of northern New South Wales have called on the state government to push ahead with voluntary land buybacks without waiting for recommendations from an inquiry into the disaster. The premier, Dominic Perrottet, said this week that he would adopt recommendations from the independent inquiry, including any proposals relating to the possible relocation of homes in flood-prone areas.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/03/buy-back-…
# NSW, Housing market.It’s down tools as NSW government backtracks on Sunday construction
Michael Koziol The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The NSW government has quietly backtracked on plans to permit Sunday construction just a month after telling builders and developers it was being examined as a means to alleviate pressures on the industry.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/it-s-down-tools-as-nsw-gover…
# NSW, Housing market.Rental crisis sees Dog Rescue Newcastle calling for more carers
Sarah Iuliano (No paywall)As people grapple with a housing crisis in the Hunter, man’s best friend is suffering too, with dozens of animals handed to welfare agencies in the past week. Dog rescue volunteers are calling for more foster carers, while tenants’ advocates want reform to prevent rental agreements banning pets. Listen to Nicole Grgas of Hunter Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service. Runs for 1:50 minutes. (NBN News)
https://www.nbnnews.com.au/2022/05/17/rental-crisis-sees-dog-res…
# Video NSW, Discrimination, Rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Pets.