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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.

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Archive

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Key topics

Higher rates to hit house prices and home buyers, Moody’s warns

Shane Wright and Rachel Clun
The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)

A leading ratings agency has warned property prices will fall and more home buyers will default on their mortgages as the Reserve Bank begins lifting interest rates as both major parties face calls to do more on housing.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/higher-rates-to-hit-hous…

# Australia, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing market.
 

More people caught in housing stress in WA as average rental costs continue to rise

Holly Thompson
The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)

Rental availability has nosedived since the pandemic began while the weekly cost of renting has climbed, with no affordable homes across Western Australia for those on JobSeeker or a disability pension, a new report has found. The Rental Affordability Snapshot 2022, released by Anglicare WA on Thursday, showed there were less than half as many private rentals available statewide than at the start of the pandemic.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/more-people-ca…

# Australia, Rent, Affordable housing, Housing affordability, Housing market, Welfare.
 

The NSW regional hotspots that have joined the million-dollar club

Kate Burke
The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)

Seven-figure price tags are becoming the norm in some parts of regional NSW as median prices surpass $1 million in a growing number of sea- and tree-change destinations. Once limited to Sydney’s blue-chip suburbs, the million-dollar club has expanded across the state. ... The Southern Highlands, Ballina and Wollongong are the latest regions to have joined the million-dollar club, with their median house price hitting the seven-figure mark over the year to March.

https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/the-nsw-regional-hotspots-t…

# NSW, Housing market.
 

Renting Matters, Episode 6 - Full house

Legal Aid NSW Community Legal Education
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)

Bridget from the Community Legal Education Branch speaks to guests about living in share houses or boarding house, the laws that apply and where to get help if you have a problem. Bridget speaks to Amanda, Solicitor in Redfern Legal Centre’s Tenancy and Housing Service. Bridget also speaks to Beverly [Baker], Chair of the Older Women’s Network, about whether these living arrangements work for older women. ... The interview with Beverly Baker (Older Womens Network) starts at 31:58. Beverly has plenty of fire and doesn't hold back when speaking about the impact neo-conservative housing policies have had (and are having) on older women. You can check out previous episodes at this link.

https://www.tenants.org.au/news/renting-matters

# Audio NSW, Boarders and lodgers, Rent, Share houses, Homelessness, Older people, Women.
 

Housing in Australia is a cruel disaster and getting worse!

First Dog on the Moon
The Guardian (No paywall)

How to fix the rental crisis ... Here is First Dog on the Moon’s solution to fix it (most of this is politically difficult but it’s not my job to care about that)

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/02/housing-in…

# Must read Australia, Rent, Housing market.
 

NATO Federal Election Questionnaire 2022: Policies and priorities for a fair and secure renting system


Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)

The National Association of Tenants' Organisations (NATO) recently wrote to all parties and independent candidates inviting them to respond to our Federal Election Questionnaire. We invited them to tell us about their position and policies on strengthening residential tenancy rights and increasing the supply of affordable social housing for the more than 2.1 million households across Australia who rent their homes.

https://www.tenants.org.au/news/nato-federal-election-questionna…

# NSW, Privacy and access, Public and community housing, Rent, Utilities electricity water gas, Campaigns and law reform, Federal Government, Landlords and agents, No-grounds evictions, Welfare.
 

The Making of Home review – Judith Flanders’s history of how our houses became homes

Ben Highmore
The Guardian (No paywall)

The Making of Home is filled with bold arguments and memorable details. Flanders has a knack of providing statistics that register the changes taking place: for instance, she tells us that “in New York City in 1800, less than 5% of men had a workplace outside the house; by 1820, it was 25%, and by 1840, it was 70%”. Her book demonstrates how architecture, furniture making, cooking and heating practices, as well as ideas about labour, children and gender, fashioned the home, making a compelling account of what was gained and lost in the quest for cosiness. You will find a second review by Michael Pye of 'The New York Times' at: [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/books/review/the-making-of-home-by-judith-flanders.html]

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/16/making-of-home-rev…

# History International, Home.
 

For first homebuyers, it’s Labor’s Help to Buy versus the Coalition’s New Home Guarantee. Which is better?

Rachel Ong ViforJ
The Conversation (No paywall)

Each side is offering something for first homebuyers this election, but the nature of the support is quite different. ... In truth, we can’t really hope to make a dent in the housing affordability crisis without hard policy choices such as reforming tax concessions that have pushed up house prices. Labor put forward such measures in 2019. It isn’t this time.

https://theconversation.com/for-first-homebuyers-its-labors-help…

# Australia, Federal Government, Housing affordability, Housing market, Tax.
 

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