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.
Our main email newsletter, Tenant News is sent once every two months. You can subscribe or update your subscription preferences for any of our email newsletters here.
See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
We love sharing the news and hope you find it informative! We're very happy to deliver it for free, but if you find it valuable, can you help cover the extra costs incurred by making a donation?
Archive
Gambling and homelessness in older age: hidden and overlooked, but preventable
Brian Vandenberg The Conversation (No paywall)Gambling and homelessness are clearly linked. Australians over 50 are particularly vulnerable. They have high rates of regular gambling, and are the fastest-growing age group of Australians experiencing homelessness.
https://theconversation.com/gambling-and-homelessness-in-older-a…
# Australia, Health, Homelessness.Coalition announces Super Home Buyer scheme at federal election campaign launch in Brisbane
Kathleen Calderwood ABC (No paywall)The Prime Minister has used the Liberal Party's campaign launch to announce a plan to allow first home buyers to use their superannuation to purchase a property. ... Super Home Buyer scheme, which — if the Coalition is re-elected on Saturday — would enable first home buyers to use up to 40 per cent of their super, up to $50,000, to put towards buying a home. ... Shadow Housing Minister Jason Clare described the policy as the "last desperate act of a dying government" and that people struggling the most to enter the housing market would not be helped because they typically had the lowest superannuation savings. He also said it would "add fuel to the fire" of house prices, and drive them up. Saul Eslake says the policy will only push house prices up and does nothing to address the root causes of housing affordability. Reported in Jess Davis's article entitled: 'Fears Coalition scheme allowing homebuyers to use super will raise prices, fail to address affordability' on the ABC at: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-16/coalition-superannuation-housing-policy-reaction/101068810] Read Shane Wright's article entitled: 'Superannuation housing "solution" will drive up prices' in The Sydney Morning Herald at: [https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/another-housing-solution-that-will-drive-up-prices-20220515-p5alha.html] Read David Crowe and Stephanie Peatling's article entitled: 'Paul Keating slams Coalition plan to allow first home buyers to dip into superannuation' in The Sydney Morning Herald at: [https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/first-home-buyers-could-use-superannuation-under-coalition-government-20220515-p5alh3.html]. Read Sarah Martin's article entitled: 'Scott Morrison uses Liberal party campaign launch to set up housing battle with Labor' in The Guardian at: [https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/may/15/scott-morrison-uses-liberal-party-campaign-launch-to-set-up-housing-battle-with-labor]. Read Paul Karp's article entitled: 'How does the Coalition’s super scheme for first-home buyers work and would it drive up prices?' in The Guardian at: [https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/may/15/how-does-the-coalitions-super-scheme-for-first-home-buyers-work-and-would-it-drive-up-prices].
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-15/coalition-election-campai…
# Australia, Affordable housing, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing market.Coalition unveils policy to encourage older Australians to move into smaller homes
Tom Lowrey ABC (No paywall)Pensioners, self-funded retirees and working older Australians are being offered new financial incentives to sell their family home earlier and downsize to something smaller. ... The Prime Minister will use today's Liberal campaign launch in Brisbane to unveil the new policy, aimed at freeing up larger homes in the property market for younger families. The policy has two key planks — the first is an extension of an existing tax break allowing up to $300,000 from the sale of a family home to be placed into superannuation without a penalty. The second is another tweak encouraging pensioners to sell by exempting the proceeds of the sale from the assets test for two years instead of one. ... Federal Labor has promised to match the policy, with Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese describing it as a "modest" policy. "This suggestion by the government is a practical one," Mr Albanese said. Also, read Paul Karp's article entitled: 'Coalition announces $300,000 super concession for over-55s who sell home' in The Guardian at: [https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/may/15/australian-federal-election-2022-scott-morrison-anthony-albanese-coalition-liberal-party-superannuation-housing-campaign-launch]
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-15/coalition-offers-incentiv…
# Australia, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing market, Older people.After 10 years of Airbnb and short-stay rentals, is Australia ready for regulation?
Lucy MacDonald ABC (No paywall)Experts — using figures from independent advocacy and data group InsideAirbnb — say for every vacant rental, there are about 30 short-stay rentals available on Airbnb. "Non-metropolitan Australia has … always had tight rental markets," urban planner and policy analyst Nicole Gurran said. "Even a small increase — and we've seen a significant increase — in demand for housing associated with the short-term tourism market is going to exacerbate those tight rental vacancy rates." ... An Oxford Economics report found Airbnb contributed more than $10 billion to Australia's economy in 2019. But a 2019 report by America's Economic Policy Institute found that Airbnb's economic benefits were outweighed by the cost to renters. Then in 2020, global tourism ground to a halt. "COVID really showed there's a connection between the short-term rental market and rents all across Australia, and indeed across the world." [Housing researcher, Professor Peter Phibbs said the evidence was clear: "You cannot have an unregulated short-term accommodation industry and a healthy long-term rental market. Those two things just can't co-exist."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-15/short-stay-rentals-airbnb…
# Australia, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market, International, Short-term holiday letting.The geometric beauty of Singapore’s social housing tables – in pictures
Sammy Gecsoyler and Jonathan Tan (Photographer) The Guardian (No paywall)Despite living in social housing all his life, Singapore-based photography hobbyist Jonathan Tan never took much notice of the geometric wonders in front of him. Then, for his 2020 project Lepak Downstairs, he used an iPhone and a selfie stick to capture the old, tiled concrete stools and tables found throughout Singapore’s housing estates. "Singaporeans are so used to these sights and we start taking them for granted, but it’s nice to see people appreciating everyday spots again,” he says. Almost 80% of Singapore residents live in public housing, which has instilled an expectation of quality shared spaces. “Singaporeans have a broader concept of what constitutes home. Beyond the four walls of our apartment, home is the neighbourhood, which includes our parks, exercise corners and communal spaces.”
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2022/may/14/the…
# History International, Public and community housing.Why is no-one talking about Aboriginal community housing in this election?
Aaron Fernandes and Kearyn Cox SBS (No paywall)At sixty-six years of age, Dulcie Nanala has lived virtually her entire life in the same house. There are mattresses sprawled through every room. Four generations of her family live here too, including her mother, who sleeps in the dining room. “My mother, my son and daughter and a partner, and two grandkids. Plus another son. Eight people,” she tells SBS News. ... Making the situation worse, the community is going through an outbreak of COVID-19, with most of the 450 residents needing to isolate at home in recent weeks. ... Australia hasn’t had a national strategy to address overcrowding in remote Aboriginal communities since 2018, when the last one was discontinued by the Liberal government under Malcolm Turnbull. ... Reducing overcrowding in remote Aboriginal communities used to be jointly funded by the federal and state governments, under a 10-year, $5.5bn program called the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing agreed to by the Council of Australian Governments in 2008.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/why-is-no-one-talking-about-…
# Australia, Aboriginal renters, Public and community housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Federal Government, Health, Minimum habitability standards.Cost of living: 'Rent rises mean I want my landlord to evict me'
Will Fyfe BBC (No paywall)The Welsh government said it will consult on proposals for rent controls for private lettings, to ensure they are "affordable". "We believe everyone has the right to a good quality, affordable home and that local people should be able to achieve this in their local area," said the Welsh government. "We will be consulting widely to produce a White Paper, which will include proposals for a right to adequate housing with a view to establishing a system of fair rents (rent control) in the private rental market which are affordable for local people and new approaches to making homes affordable for those on local incomes." [Meanwhile] Money is so tight for Amy Jones that she asked her private landlord to evict her and her son so she can be considered for social housing. The 29-year-old will risk homelessness after cutting back on food and heating to pay the deficit between her universal credit allowance and rent.
# New policy announcement International, Eviction, Public and community housing, Rent, Utilities electricity water gas, Housing affordability, Housing market.As Landlords Intensify Tenant Background Checks, Some Lawmakers Want New Limits On Screening
David Wagner (No paywall)In response to California’s broad protections for those unable to pay rent during the pandemic, landlords have intensified their screening of new tenants. It’s now common for L.A. landlords to demand that applicants show months of paystubs verifying high incomes, proof of timely rent payments during the pandemic and excellent credit scores. ... Arguing that the city has a duty to promote fair access to housing, three city council members have put forward a motion seeking to ban landlords from screening tenants based on credit scores, eviction records, applications for rent relief and failure to pay rent during the pandemic. The proposal would also prohibit the use of algorithmic screening tools.
https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/los-angeles-la-rente…
# International, Privacy and access, Rent, Landlords and agents, Personal stories.