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
Aged care head backs 25 per cent wage rise in fight for gender equality
Angus Thompson The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)UnitingCare Australia has become the country’s first major aged care network to explicitly back a 25 per cent wage rise for the embattled sector’s workers, calling it a historic opportunity to address the gender pay gap. Its national director, Claerwen Little, on Friday called for the next government to fund the increase being sought by the Health Services Union – which UnitingCare has previously estimated would cost $4 billion a year – as sections of the national workforce prepare to strike in the lead-up to the May 21 federal election.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/aged-care-head-backs-25-…
# Australia, Housing market, Older people, Work, employment.Rapid rehousing is a sign homelessness prevention has failed, says Welsh charity boss
Stephen Delahunty Inside Housing (Paywall)Rapid rehousing “has some distance to travel” and is a sign that measures to prevent homelessness have failed, says the chief executive of Shelter Cymru.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/home/home/rapid-rehousing-is-a-s…
# International, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness.Licensing scheme approved for all private rented homes in Oxford
(No paywall)Government approval of an Oxford City Council ‘selective licensing’ scheme means that all private rented homes in Oxford will need a licence from this September. Half (49.3%) of all Oxford’s homes are now privately rented. An independent review of housing conditions in 2020 found that a fifth (6,200) of the 30,500 homes in Oxford’s private rented sector could have a serious housing hazard. (Oxford City Council)
https://www.oxford.gov.uk/news/article/2166/licensing_scheme_app…
# International, Rent, Local Government, Minimum habitability standards.NSW flood victims kicked out of caravan parks to make way for tourists
Cait Kelly The Guardian (No paywall)Flood victims in New South Wales’ northern rivers say they are still struggling to find accommodation, as some are kicked out of caravan parks to make way for tourists. Linda Barney, 69, and her husband, Bob, lost everything in the floods. Their house in Coraki is destroyed and they are not sure when they will be able to return to it. The couple have been staying at the Big4 caravan park in Casino, but on Wednesday were given 24 hours’ notice that they had to leave.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/may/01/nsw-flood…
# NSW, Land lease communities, Homelessness, Regional NSW.Buying your first home with a 5 per cent deposit? It pays to know the risks
Nicola Field The New Daily (No paywall)From July 1, the First Home Guarantee will offer 35,000 first-time buyers the chance to break into the market with just a 5 per cent deposit. The scheme will help many buyers move into their first home faster than they otherwise would have done. But buying with a wafer-thin deposit can have significant downsides.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/your-budget/2022/04/26/first-…
# Australia, Affordable housing, Home ownership, Housing market.Does social housing asset management matter?
AHURI (No paywall)AHURI Brief ... A key element for state housing authorities (SHAs) or community housing providers (CHPs) to consider in providing social housing is to acquire and maintain a decent quality property portfolio.
https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/brief/does-social-housing-asse…
# Australia, Public and community housing.‘My daughter couldn’t start school’: Sydney family rejected for 35 rental homes despite $1,000-a-week budget
Caitlin Cassidy The Guardian (No paywall)Vivien Pailas has one piece of advice for anyone hunting for a rental property in Sydney: “Lower your expectations.” Pailas relocated back to Australia in February with her British husband, Simon Myall, and her five-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Georgia, after 15 years living in London. She didn’t expect it would take 35 house inspections and a rental agent to secure her family a home.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/apr/30/my-daught…
# NSW, Rent, Housing market, Personal stories, Short-term holiday letting.‘No housing crisis’, says John Howard
Paul Osborne The New Daily (No paywall)Ex-prime minister John Howard says he doesn’t accept there is a housing crisis in Australia. ... One Nation leader Pauline Hanson nominated the “housing crisis” as one of the reasons behind her preferencing against the Liberal Party in key seats.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2022/04/28/housing-c…
# Australia, Federal Government, Housing affordability, Housing market.