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
Could governments do more to help people buy a home without pumping or sinking house prices?
Michael Janda ABC (No paywall)They say desperate times call for desperate measures, and perhaps that's the situation Australian home ownership finds itself in. Once a dream, fulfilled by most, it's become a nightmare, unattainable for many. In 1981, more than 60 per cent of young Australians aged between 25-34 owned a home. The latest census figures from 2016 show that had dropped to just 45 per cent. The figures are far worse for the poorest 40 per cent of that age group, where ownership rates once barely lagged the general population, at 57 per cent, but have since more than halved to 28 per cent. In fact, ownership rates have declined for every income quintile in all age groups under 65, but the biggest declines have been amongst those who are younger and poorer, especially those who can't draw on the bank of mum and dad. ... Brendan Coates is proposing a somewhat radical solution. Instead of just giving grants or stamp duty concessions to first home buyers, which generally get soaked up in even higher prices, he wants the federal government to step in as a co-owner for lower-income Australians. ... [Grattan Institute's economic policy program director Brendan] Coates is proposing that the government's National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) would co-purchase up to 30 per cent of the home value. In return, NHFIC would get an equivalent share of the home's equity. Read Brendan Coates's opinion piece in 'The Sydney Morning Herald' at: [https://www.smh.com.au/national/federal-government-should-run-a-national-shared-equity-scheme-20220219-p59xvw.html] Read his blog at: [https://grattan.edu.au/news/levelling-the-playing-field-its-time-for-a-national-shared-equity-scheme/]
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-21/could-governments-do-more…
# Australia, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Young people.Unfortunately another landlord reference update ...
Tom Cashman (No paywall)Very unfortunate! Was this because of the reference request, or something unrelated? With our unregulated and untransparent system of tenancy applications, you just never know why you're unsuccessful in finding a home. We can do better!
https://www.tiktok.com/@tom.cashman/video/7065517898814491905?is…
# Video NSW, Rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Personal stories.From sleeping in the stairs to four showers a day, desperate public housing residents try to escape Melbourne's summer heat
Kristian Silva ABC (No paywall)A couple of years ago, the heat in David Kerry's apartment complex reached unbearable levels. It was the height of summer, meaning it was common for temperatures inside Mr Kerry's place to go beyond 40 degrees Celsius. But this time it was so bad he decided to grab some sheets, walk out the door, and sleep on the concrete stairwell connecting the 11th and 12th floors. He stayed there for more than a week. Mr Kerry isn't alone in taking extreme measures to stay cool in Melbourne's public housing towers, where air conditioning is a luxury few have access to. ... Research published in the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction last month found 354 Australians had died during heatwave conditions between 2001 and 2018, with most of those occurring indoors in older housing stock. Older age, socio-economic disadvantage, disabilities and the non-use of air conditioning were some of the factors that increased the risk of death, the study's authors wrote.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-17/air-con-rooms-shut-in-vic…
# Research alert Australia, Public and community housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Fixtures - lights, aircon etc, Health, Minimum habitability standards, Older people.More than half of social housing residents experience loneliness, survey finds
Grainne Cuffe Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... More than half of social housing residents were experiencing loneliness at the end of last year, according to a new survey from the Resident Voice Index. Based on responses from more than 4,100 social housing residents, the survey found that adults under the age of 35 were the loneliest overall and more likely to fall into “extreme” loneliness. A third of adults from this age group said they felt lonely often or always, compared to just 16% before the pandemic.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/more-than-half-of-soci…
# International, Public and community housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Families, Home.Khan puts pressure on social landlords to prevent ‘substandard housing’
Stephen Delahunty Inside Housing (Paywall)The mayor of London is bringing social landlords together for a roundtable discussion on housing quality after an analysis showed that more than 100,000 social homes in London failed to meet the Decent Homes Standard. oday, deputy mayor for housing Tom Copley will meet with social housing providers, including some of London’s largest housing associations, to share best practice and discuss how they can improve conditions for social tenants. Landlords will also be challenged to be proactive and do everything possible to ensure no social tenant lives in “substandard housing”, the mayor’s office said.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/home/home/khan-puts-pressure-on-…
# International, Public and community housing, Repairs, Minimum habitability standards.Why Victorian public aged care homes were spared the worst of coronavirus
Lucas Clay The Age (Paywall)Coronavirus has ripped through private aged care homes in Australia over the past two years, but the state’s publicly run homes have only been lightly touched by the pandemic. Aged care businesses, unions, lobby groups and industry experts said a number of factors had led to this: the 179 state-run homes in Victoria have more nursing staff, higher wages and are often located near other health facilities.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/why-victorian-public…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Health, Housing market, Older people.Sweltering mother from Sydney’s west puts son, 3, to sleep in car for the aircon
Nick O'Malley The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)At times it has been so hot in Gemma McMillan’s home at Ropes Crossing near Penrith that she has bundled up her little boy Oliver to sleep in the car for the airconditioning. ... According to the HeatWatch report it released with the Australia Institute on Thursday, Penrith could face nearly two months of extreme heat – days above 35 degrees – a year by the end of the century if carbon emissions remain high. Even by 2050, the number of extreme heat days could hit the one-month mark. ... Research shows heatwaves are already the most dangerous extreme weather phenomenon because they cannot be avoided and can linger for days.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/sweltering-mot…
# NSW, Rent, Climate change, Minimum habitability standards, Planning and development.‘Where would we live otherwise?’: the rise of house-sitting among older Australians
Sara Alidoust The Conversation (No paywall)The severe lack of affordable housing is hurting Australians right across the community – from young renters, to families seeking to buy and older people needing a stable home. The number of Australians over 55 who are homeless jumped by 28% between the 2011 and 2016 censuses. An increasing lack of affordable housing is forcing some older people to take unconventional approaches to finding a home. One of these is house-sitting. My new research published in Australian Geographer, looks at how this works – and how it doesn’t – for this often-vulnerable group.
https://theconversation.com/where-would-we-live-otherwise-the-ri…
# Research alert Australia, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market, Older people.