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
‘I always have trouble with forms’: homeless people on how poor literacy affects them – and what would help
Benjamin Hanckel, Alan Morris and Keiko Yasukawa The Conversation (No paywall)Homelessness remains a huge problem in Australia and an important contributing factor is low literacy levels. We interviewed 23 people who were homeless or had experienced homelessness to find out how they viewed literacy and participation in literacy classes. We wanted to know what would help or hinder them in attending literacy classes. Our report found low literacy levels affected homeless people’s lives in many ways. Our interviewees repeatedly emphasised the importance of having a literacy program suited to their needs.
https://theconversation.com/i-always-have-trouble-with-forms-hom…
# Research alert NSW, Homelessness, Work, employment.Human decency missing from government’s offshore asylum policy, says G15 landlord
Stephen DElahunty Inside Housing (Paywall)From the united Kingdom ... The government should reconsider its controversial policy to process asylum applications in Rwanda as it “fails on the basic principle of needing to treat people with human decency”, according to a G15 landlord. Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTVH) said it is deeply concerned by the government’s multimillion-pound immigration plan that will see asylum seekers who cross the Channel in small boats from France sent to Rwanda. ... A spokesperson for MTVH said that the association has a long history of providing homes and support to refugees and those seeking sanctuary in the UK. “For more than a decade our Migration Foundation has worked to support people arriving in this country and the communities they live in,” they said. “By giving people the tools and support they need to build a new life here – often after they have fled unimaginable suffering, persecution and war – people have the chance to live well and to contribute to society. At the heart of this approach is treating people decently and with humanity.”
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/human-decency-missing-…
# International, Public and community housing, Human rights, Race and ethnicity.How to fight the affordable housing and climate crises at once
Rachel M Cohen (No paywall)From the United States ... It's all about energy bills. ... The nation’s affordable housing crisis has gotten some semblance of attention — with journalists writing stories on the rising cost of rent, the scarce supply of new housing, the looming threat of eviction — but one aspect of the crisis has gone consistently overlooked. On top of the severe housing shortage that currently exists, nearly 6 million homes nationwide have moderate to serious home health hazards. They require repairs that, if left ignored, will make them uninhabitable, and eventually they’ll disappear from the market altogether. ... [And] as the stakes of the climate crisis have grown clearer, the last 10 years have marked a sea change for the energy efficiency movement. While in prior decades policymakers could ignore home upgrades when they deemed weatherization not “cost-effective,” today they have to wrestle with the fact that the low-income renters living in subsidized apartments are using even more energy than other households, typically because their units are older and built with less efficient tech. (Vox)
https://www.vox.com/23025378/energy-efficiency-utilities-repairs
# International, Rent, Repairs, Utilities electricity water gas, Climate change, Housing market.Young voters believe homeownership out of reach, name cost of living top priority
David Crowe The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)Surging property prices have ended the homeownership dreams of two-thirds of young Australians – an age group that names cost of living as its top priority in the election. Despite assurances from Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese about making housing more affordable, younger voters are giving up on the idea of ever getting on the property ladder, the latest results from the Herald’s Resolve Political Monitor reveal. The survey shows 67 per cent of voters aged 18 to 34 believe younger Australians who don’t already own their own home will never be able to do so in their area. ... Nicole Gurran, a Sydney University professor of urban planning whose research includes affordable housing, said the evidence shows owning your own home has become much more difficult. “Unless you have access to inherited wealth or an astronomically high income, you face hurdles that just didn’t exist even a decade ago. Neither side of politics has anything serious on the table at all that would correct the structural barriers to first-home ownership for moderate or even high-income earners.” ... [City Futures Research Centre’s Duncan Maclennan and Hal Pawson said:] “A system that raises housing costs for all Australians, that raises instability and lowers productivity does not serve the nation well”.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/young-voters-believe-hom…
# Australia, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing market, Young people.The latest rental report provides good news for investors but a blow to tenants
Sue Williams Domain (No paywall)The latest Domain Rental Report has revealed that prices have hit a record high throughout Australia, with the strongest annual growth in 13 years. ... While the dramatic rent increases are good news for investors, they’re too often proving disastrous for tenants, cleaving a wider gulf in Australia between the haves – who own property – and the have-nots, who are forced to fork out for the higher rents.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/the-latest-rent-report-provides-g…
# Australia, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Housing co-ops could solve Canada’s housing affordability crisis
Margaret Kohn The Conversation (No paywall)From Canada ... The housing affordability crisis seems impossible to solve. Policies intended to help people priced out of the market often serve to fan the flames and increase costs. ... To make housing truly affordable, governments need to take a different approach. The budget takes a small step in the right direction by allocating $500 million of direct funding and $1 billion in loans to create more non-profit housing co-operatives. Non-profit housing co-operatives are mixed-income, multi-unit projects that are jointly managed by residents. In the early years, seed funding came from unions and churches. But starting in the 1970s, the federal government provided financial support in the form of government-backed mortgages and subsidies to low-income tenants.
https://theconversation.com/housing-co-ops-could-solve-canadas-h…
# International, Public and community housing, Affordable housing, Housing market.Older Australians on the tough choices they face as energy costs set to increase
Ross Gordon The Conversation (No paywall)Australian aged care policy and programs are increasingly focused on what’s known as “successful ageing” – helping people feel satisfied, happier and healthier as they age. The goal is not just living longer, but also living better. An essential part of ageing successfully is having enough energy for cooking, heating, cooling, cleaning, and leisure activities.
https://theconversation.com/older-australians-on-the-tough-choic…
# Australia, Utilities electricity water gas, Older people.Strategies to combat mortgage interest-rate hikes
Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)No less than the Reserve Bank of Australia last week warned that mortgage repayments will go up and that property prices could consequently go down. Indeed, New Zealand just raised its official rates by more than it has done in 22 years. If you are an existing homeowner, falling property prices do not mean much, provided you can continue to meet mortgage repayments on your home and do not become a forced seller in a falling market. So, what are some of the best strategies to help combat looming rate hikes?
https://www.smh.com.au/money/borrowing/strategies-to-combat-mort…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.