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
Power, hot water switched off in 'almost vigilante' attempt at eviction in Nelson
Amy Ridout (No paywall)From New Zealand ... Alyssa Lennon and her 12-year-old daughter lived without hot water for three weeks and without power for 10 days while their landlords attempted an “almost vigilante attempt at eviction”. The Tenancy Tribunal has awarded Alyssa Lennon $6940 after an ordeal of several weeks during which her landlords, Megan and Bruce Gordon, forced their way into her home to make what the tribunal called a “Dickensian attempt at an eviction”, leaving her so distressed she sawed off a slat from her bed to create a barrier for the door. (Stuff)
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/127861853/power-hot-water-switc…
# International, Eviction, Privacy and access, Tribunal NCAT, Utilities electricity water gas.Tasmania to build 10,000 affordable homes in 10 years but thousands of people sit on public housing waitlist
Alexandra Alvaro and Selina Ross ABC (No paywall)With [Tasmania's] housing crisis showing no sign of letting up, the government has unveiled a $1.5 billion, 10-year housing package, with about $1 billion worth of new spending included. The package features funding for 6,500 new public housing homes on top of an already promised 3,500 — leading to a total of 10,000 homes built by 2032. On average, that's 1,000 homes a year. As well as the homes for people on waitlists, all stamp duty and first home owner grants and concessions will be increased to a $600,000 threshold for buyers. The government is also retaining the First Home Owner Grant at $30,000 for the 2022-23 financial year. The package also includes changes to the HomeShare program, which will now be called the Housing Market Entry Program. The program allows eligible Tasmanians to share the cost of buying a home with the Tasmanian government, with the individual paying out the Director of Housing's share within 30 years. The government will double the state's equity contribution to a maximum of $200,000 or 40 per cent of the purchase price for buyers of new homes or units, and up to $150,000 or 30 per cent of the purchase price for eligible existing homes or units. The Residential Land Rebate will also double from $15 million to $30 million.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-02/tasmanian-housing-plan-10…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Home ownership, Housing market, Tax.Scottish government to end COVID-19 eviction rules
Lucie Heath Inside Housing (Paywall)Extended notice periods introduced in Scotland in response to the coronavirus pandemic will finish at the end of this month. ... Previous legislation laid by the Scottish government included provisions to allow for the longer notice periods to continue until the end of September this year, however the government has decided to end the protections now.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/scottish-government-to…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.NT shelters for women and children escaping domestic violence are being forced to close due to COVID-19
Samantha Dick ABC (No paywall)Women's shelters across the Northern Territory are having to shut down for weeks at a time as staff members and residents test positive to COVID-19, according to a Darwin-based refuge. In some cases, the crisis has pushed women and children out of safe accommodation and left them with nowhere to go.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-02/nt-covid-womens-shelters-…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness.Brisbane and Lismore residents return to debris and mud-filled homes – in pictures
The Guardian (No paywall)As flood waters recede in some parts of NSW and Queensland, residents start to clean up the damage, while Ballina gets hit by more torrential rain.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2022/mar/02/bris…
# NSW, .Sudden mould outbreak after all this rain? You’re not alone – but you are at risk
Rebecca Bentley The Conversation (No paywall)Recent torrential rain along the east coast of Australia has sparked renewed fears of mould in people’s homes, which can cause dangerous health problems. Many flood-affected residents in northern New South Wales and Queensland will also be contending with mould as part of the post-flood cleanup.
https://theconversation.com/sudden-mould-outbreak-after-all-this…
# NSW, Housing market, Mould.Haymarket Foundation’s healthcare for homeless wins HESTA
Marjorie Lewis-Jones (No paywall)The Haymarket Foundation Medical Practice team has won a 2022 HESTA Impact Award for its dedication to providing accessible, specialist healthcare and housing support services for people experiencing, or who are at risk of, homelessness. (The South Sydney Herald)
https://southsydneyherald.com.au/haymarket-foundations-healthcar…
# NSW, Health, Homelessness.Perrottet fails Glebe on town planning
Ian Stephenson (No paywall)In 1974, the National Trust identified Glebe as containing “the largest continuous number of 1860s and ’70s cottages and terraces forming a continuous townscape in Australia” noting that “its scale and character had been little disturbed by modern intrusion”. In the same year, the Whitlam government purchased 700 houses from the Anglican Church and initiated the visionary Glebe Project whereby the houses were restored and renovated for the continued use by tenants on low incomes. In 1984, ownership of the estates was transferred to the NSW government who completed the restoration of the houses and added over 1,000 bedrooms of accommodation through well-designed low-rise infill. ... Almost 50 years of good planning is now being overturned by the NSW Land and Housing Corporation who, ignoring heritage and community, are treating Glebe as a land bank by selling the old houses and forcing, through spot rezonings in heritage conservation areas, to remove nine-metre height limits to allow the construction of eight-storey apartment buildings on the 1980s infill sites. (The South Sydney Herald)
https://southsydneyherald.com.au/perrottet-fails-glebe-on-town-p…
# History NSW, Public and community housing, Housing market, Planning and development, State Government.