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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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
Sydney real estate agents arrested over ‘scandalous’ $2 million drug, fraud scheme
Sarah Keoghan The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Three Sydney real estate agents are among six people who allegedly used the names of members of the public to rent houses to grow $2 million worth of cannabis and receive COVID-19 rent relief payments.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sydney-real-estate-agents-ar…
# NSW, Landlords and agents.Where in Sydney are houses taking longer to sell – or being snapped up fast?
Kate Burke The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The time taken to sell a house in Sydney is on the rise as buyer urgency disappears amid the increase in homes for sale and cooling price growth.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/where-in-sydney-are-houses-…
# NSW, Housing market.First-home buyers share their tips and tricks for putting in an offer
Meg Watson ABC (No paywall)You've saved a deposit for your first home! Congrats. You've done the impossible. But, unfortunately, the hard work doesn't stop there. (ABC Everyday)
https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/three-first-home-buyers-on-what-…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.Older Tenants Voice - Autumn Newsletter
Housing for the Aged Action Group (No paywall)The Autumn Edition of our Newsletter Older Tenants Voice is hot off the press, packed with updates from our services, stories from members and clients, and messages to political candidates ahead of the federal election.
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?pli=1#inbox/WhctKKXPjnxGtDGxJz…
# Australia, Campaigns and law reform, Federal Government, Homelessness, LGBTIQ+, Older people, Women.Parliamentary inquiry homelessness amongst older people
(No paywall)A Parliamentary inquiry was established on 23 March 2022 to inquire into and report on homelessness amongst older people aged over 55 in New South Wales. Check our 'Terms of Reference' and so-on. (Parliament of New South Wales)
https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/committees/inquiries/Pages/inq…
# Hot topic NSW, Homelessness, Older people.Stability and security: the keys to closing the mental health gap between renters and home owners
Angi Li, Emma Baker and Rebecca Bentley The Conversation (No paywall)That renters have poorer mental health than home owners is well-documented. But how much of this is due to being in rental accommodation itself, rather than other factors such as lower incomes? Our research quantifies this, showing housing insecurity has a clear impost on renters’ mental health. The good news is our results show the gap between renters and home owners can be closed through longer rental tenure. ... One reform to give renters more security is to end no-grounds eviction – by which landlords can evict tenants on a fixed-term lease if they wish. The Victorian government did so in 2021. Queensland will do so in October. The other states and territories should follow suit.
https://theconversation.com/stability-and-security-the-keys-to-c…
# Research alert Australia, Rent, Health, Home ownership, Housing market, No-grounds evictions.Sydney now at the mercy of developers, and killer heat
Jeff Angel The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Have the developers now been put in charge of our urban future? The decision by the new NSW Minister for Planning, Anthony Roberts, to ditch ministerial planning principles begs that question. The principles were directed at making Sydney more climate ready and resilient, but now developers are confidently predicting that an essential set of design and place rules to protect and expand tree canopy, improve urban and building cooling and walkability, create more green spaces and achieve net zero will be dropped or massively amended.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sydney-now-at-the-mercy-of-d…
# NSW, Climate change, Planning and development, State Government.NSW Planning Minister scraps order to consider flood, fire risks before building
Julie Power The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)NSW Planning Minister Anthony Roberts scrapped a requirement to consider the risks of floods and fires before building new homes only two weeks after it came into effect and while the state was reeling from a deadly environmental disaster. Mr Roberts last week revoked a ministerial directive by his predecessor Robert Stokes outlining nine principles for sustainable development, including managing the risks of climate change, a decision top architects have branded “short-sighted” and hard to understand.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/nsw-planning-minister-scraps…
# NSW, Housing affordability, Housing market, Planning and development, State Government.