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
New act to implement ‘peppercorn’ ground rents achieves Royal Assent
Grainne Cuffe Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... The Leasehold Reform Bill, which aims to drastically reduce ground rent costs for leaseholders, has become law after getting royal assent on Tuesday. The new act, which applies to England and Wales, restricts ground rent owed on new leases to a token peppercorn rent and aims to make leasehold ownership “fairer and more affordable”. Breaching the new law will be a civil offence, with fines of between £500 and £30,000 for offenders. Local authorities, who are expected to enforce the legislation, will be able to keep the financial penalties to fund their enforcement activities.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/new-act-to-implement-p…
# International, Rent, Home ownership, Housing market.How to get a ‘1’ in front of your mortgage interest rate
Jessica Irvine The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)It’s got to be the question I’m asked most often: Jess, should I fix in the interest rate on my home loan? Happy mortgage shopping!
https://www.smh.com.au/money/borrowing/how-to-get-a-1-in-front-o…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.Housing boom hits Katherine in Northern Territory as new jobs bring transient workers
Roxanne Fitzgerald ABC (No paywall)While buying a house remains out of reach for many Australians, it's the much cheaper option in this small Northern Territory town — even if you have no plans to stay long-term. The discrepancy in rent prices and the cost of buying is even causing a bit of a housing boom in this town.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-12/katherine-house-market-bo…
# Australia, Rent, Home ownership, Housing market.Where Sydney house hunters can save by moving one stop along the train line
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Sydney house hunters could spend less on their next home by moving just one stop along the train line, with prices varying by hundreds of thousands of dollars between some neighbouring stations – and in some cases by more than $1 million.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/where-sydney-house-hunters-…
# NSW, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.How to calculate capital gains tax on a rental property
George Cochrane The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)If a property is first rented, and then you move in, the capital gain must be apportioned between the number of days the property was rented and the number of days it was used as your main residence. {Read on]
https://www.smh.com.au/money/super-and-retirement/how-to-calcula…
# Australia, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Homebuyers have ‘window of opportunity’ to get ahead before rates rise
John Collett The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Homebuyers appear to have missed the boat to lock-in a competitive fixed-interest rate mortgage after ANZ joined its rivals this week in hiking its fixed rates for both owner-occupiers and investors. Commonwealth Bank and NAB lifted their fixed rates last week and Westpac has increased its fixed rates twice this year – three weeks ago and then again this week. ... Still, some lenders have been cutting their variable-interest rate mortgages – even as they hike fixed rates – in a bid to boost market share.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/borrowing/homebuyers-have-window-of…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.Tenant News
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)The new year has begun, and times are at once strange and eerily familiar. NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet announced a new cabinet of Ministers late last year. On our blog we take a quick look at the new ministers for renting, housing and homes, including a number of revamped ministerial portfolios. Recently, Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese was asked to explain 'who he is' at the National Press club. He told the story of his first campaign: "My first campaign, I was 12 years old. We organised a rent strike. We took petitions around to everyone. That was my experience of that. That drove me. That was my first political campaign. And by the way, we won." [Read on]
https://us3.campaign-archive.com/?u=29c79d2825cb376b3f0b06385&id…
# NSW, Aboriginal renters, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, Health, History, Homelessness, Mould, Personal stories, Tenants Advice and Advocacy Services.Shifts in the balance of power – reflecting on 15 years of Tenant Advocacy
Amanda El Gazzar Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)Amanda has been a Tenant Advocate at the Northern Rivers Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service for 15 years. She is now taking a well-earned break and looking at other possibilities. We took the opportunity to catch up with her and ask her for some reflections on her experiences, and on the situation of renters in NSW.
# NSW, Land lease communities, Rent, Tribunal NCAT, Housing market, Regional NSW, Tenants Advice and Advocacy Services.