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
Rent assistance: The ticking time bomb threatening future prime ministers
Jessica Irvine The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Sometimes, you just don’t know where to start. The Prime Minister’s comments on the Today Show when asked by journalist Allison Langdon what the recent budget does for renters were so problematic, it’s not hard to see why an entire generation is outraged. But outrage should be properly founded. ... A more accurate response to the entirely reasonable question of what this budget does for renters would have been: “Not much, sorry, Ally. We didn’t actually think much about that issue in this budget.” And Morrison would be far from alone in that. Indeed, governments of both political stripes have failed over multiple decades to address the issues confronting renters, particularly low-income renters. But rental relief is now sorely needed, particularly for low-income Australians. It’s a ticking time bomb for both for renters and the budget. Let me explain.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/rent-assistance-the-…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Federal Government.Outasite Lite
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)Residential Land Lease Communities following a disaster ... Our hearts go out to everyone suffering as a result of the flood disaster across the east coast. Many residential land lease communities have been hit hard by the recent floods – particularly those built on low-lying, flood-prone land. The Tenants' Union, together with Legal Aid NSW has released a special episode of our podcast: Residential Land Lease Communities following a disaster. In this episode, Bridget Barker (Legal Aid Community Legal Education, and Lismore resident) speaks to Paul Smyth (Tenants' Union Land Lease Communities Solicitor).
https://us3.campaign-archive.com/?u=29c79d2825cb376b3f0b06385&id…
# Audio NSW, Land lease communities, Climate change.Housing catastrophe worsens as Falinski failure exposed
Michael Pascoe The New Daily (No paywall)How badly did Jason Falinski maul and distort the housing inquiry he chaired at our expense? So badly the secretariat took their names off the final report. In Parliament House public-servant-speak, that’s about as strong a condemnation as you can get short of a career-ending burning of the document in the forecourt. In the various parliamentary committees’ reports, the secretariat – the people who do the mountain of work that goes into an inquiry and know the submissions better than anyone – are listed under “members” of the inquiry along with the politicians. Not for Mr Falinski’s perversion of the process along the ideologically pre-judged lines he was chosen to deliver. The secretariat didn’t want to be associated with it. I’m reporting their pointed silent protest as Australia’s housing catastrophe measurably worsens. ... And the rental market – the catastrophe – is worse and worsening.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2022/04/05/michael-pascoe-hou…
# Australia, Rent, Affordable housing, Federal Government, Housing market.‘We literally don’t have anywhere to live’: Why Sam and her daughter are living out of a suitcase
Megan Gorrey The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Sam Burns was craving a return to the country when she decided to uproot her life in Sydney’s eastern suburbs and move to the booming town of Orange in central-western NSW. But after a two-year search for a house, and a rental that fell through at the last minute, she’s spent the past eight weeks living in holiday accommodation with her three-year-old daughter, as she juggles remote work with an increasingly desperate search for a home. ... Housing Plus chief executive David Fisher said the housing shortage was fuelled by properties being used for short-term rental accommodation, the popularity of which had “accelerated exponentially” in recent years. “The economy in Orange is partly about tourism, for very good reasons. It’s a beautiful city that has a lot to offer tourists, but that has a detrimental effect on the housing market,” Mr Fisher said.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/we-literally-don-t-have-anyw…
# NSW, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market, Regional NSW.People left homeless by northern NSW floods say they have 'fallen through the cracks'
Elias Clure ABC (No paywall)It's been four weeks since Lauren De Groot's home in Lismore was flooded and deemed unlivable. In a hand-me-down caravan, she spends sleepless nights cuddled up to her three-year-old daughter, listening to the howling winds of the New South Wales north coast and the waves crashing on the nearby beach. ... Ms De Groot is one of many residents of the north coast area who have been left homeless by the recent floods. "We have nowhere to go, we have none of our possessions and we aren't getting anything from the government — all of these promises that aren't been followed through on," she said. The caravan Ms De Groot lives in has been lent to her by a friend for only six months, and she has to pay for it to be parked at a Ballina caravan park. ... North Coast Community Housing estimates 3,800 homes have been deemed unlivable as a result of the recent floods and believes thousands have nowhere to go.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-04/people-left-homeless-by-n…
# NSW, Homelessness.Time is ticking for Nicola's family to find a rental home — and they're running out of options
Elizabeth Wright and Celina Edmonds ABC (No paywall)Nicola Moorhouse has less than a fortnight to find a new home. For almost three months, the Newcastle single parent has been searching without any success. Affordable rental accommodation is not easy to find in the NSW Hunter region, especially for people with accessibility requirements. The 45-year-old is legally blind and has two autistic daughters. During the six years in their current rental, Nicola complained about the condition of the house, particularly the bathroom. ... The landlord has issued an eviction notice so that the three-bedroom home can be renovated. While the family has been told they can return after the work is complete, it will not be for the current price of $415 per week. "They're looking to put the rent up by over $250 a week," Nicola said. "I'm on a disability pension and I cannot afford that."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-07/finding-rentals-with-disa…
# NSW, Rent, Disability, Housing market, Regional NSW.Federal Budget 2022-2023
National Shelter Enews (No paywall)Check out National Shelter's Enews ... National Shelter's media release on the budget can be found at: [https://shelter.org.au/site/wp-content/uploads/20220329Media-Release-Federal-Budget-202223-1.0-1.pdf]
https://mailchi.mp/8fcb3edeaabe/enews-february-5334738?e=712b1f3…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Affordable housing, Campaigns and law reform, Federal Government, Home ownership.NSW to go it alone on flood funding after federal government refused
Alexandra Smith The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)NSW will go it alone on new cash handouts to help uninsured flood victims whose homes have been decimated and contents destroyed after the federal government refused to go halves in the cost. Also, read Tamsin Rose's article entitled: 'Uninsured flood victims can receive up to $20,000 payment under NSW scheme' in 'The Guardian' at: [https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/apr/04/uninsured-flood-victims-can-receive-up-to-20000-payment-under-nsw-scheme]
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/nsw-to-go-it-alone-on-flood-…
# NSW, Housing market, Regional NSW, State Government.