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
The ‘biggest challenge’ facing property investors this year
Sue Williams Domain (No paywall)Residential property investors should take heart from the predicted bounce-back in the economy over 2022 – but with a few caveats. While the uplift in the expected economic growth rate from 1.5 per cent in 2020/21 to 3.75 per cent in 2021/22 could prove a major boost, a sooner-than-forecast rise in interest rates and delays in reopening international borders could inhibit returns.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/the-biggest-challenge-facin…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents.No, Kirstie Allsopp, cancelling Netflix won’t buy a house – in any location
Zoe Williams The Guardian (No paywall)The TV presenter has said young people who can’t afford their own home should move to cheaper areas and stop wasting money. Why do the middle-aged insist on these senseless attacks?
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/07/kirstie-al…
# International, Home ownership, Young people.What the median price gets you in Australia’s priciest suburbs
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)It’s no secret that buying a home in some of Australia’s priciest suburbs does not come cheap.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/what-the-median-price-gets-…
# Australia, Housing market.NT court decision should lead to better public housing in remote communities, lawyer says
Calla Wahlquist The Guardian (No paywall)The Northern Territory court of appeal has upheld a ruling that state-owned housing must be reasonably comfortable to be considered habitable, in a decision that advocates say should result in better housing outcomes for remote communities across the territory. Friday’s decision follows a six-year legal battle brought by residents of the Ltyentye Apurte or Santa Teresa community 85km south-east of Alice Springs. The community said inadequate and inhumane housing was due to repeated failures by public housing authorities to conduct necessary repairs. Seventy residents took the territory government to the Northern Territory civil and appeals tribunal over the state of housing in the Eastern Arrernte community in 2016. Here's the same story by Samantha Jonscher entitled: 'NT Supreme Court finds public housing tenants in Santa Teresa entitled to 'reasonable comfort' on the ABC at [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-04/nt-supreme-court-finds-for-santa-teresa-public-housing-tenants/100804718?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=mail&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web]
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/feb/04/nt-court-…
# Legal significance Australia, Aboriginal renters, Public and community housing, Rent, Repairs, State Government.Make Renting Fair
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)As you know, we relaunched our Make Renting Fair campaign with two forums last year, exploring alongside our community: what can we do to build a fairer renting system? What can we learn from successes overseas about how we can organise renters and win? We heard from organisers from the group behind the Berlin expropriation campaign, Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen & Co, about how they’ve organised renters in their communities, built power, and earned incredible successes. Then we heard from organisers from Renters United, an advocacy group that organises renters and campaigns to make renting in Aotearoa (New Zealand) better for everyone. ... Now, we're hosting our first organising meeting for 2022 ... {Read on]
https://mailchi.mp/tenants.org.au/make-renting-fair-making-a-com…
# Must read NSW, Rent, Campaigns and law reform.The renter who asked for his landlord's references
Max Chambers ABC (No paywall)When comedian Tom Cashman had his rental application approved for an apartment in Sydney, he decided to run an experiment. The property wasn't his top pick, so he put a request to the real estate agent before deciding whether to sign the lease. ... Mr Cashman also received [an] email. His application – which had already been approved – had now been withdrawn. ... As a comedian, he has a sizeable social media following and he decided to share the story with his followers on TikTok and Twitter. One of those who saw the video was Leo Patterson Ross, CEO of the Tenants' Union of NSW. He said renters in Australia face serious competition when they look for a home and they don't have much power to make demands of landlords. ... He said it's a good idea for tenants to ask landlords for a reference but warns it could be a risky request. He would like to see a formal registration scheme set up to force landlords to get a licence from state bodies, pointing to similar schemes in countries like Scotland. ... or listen to the same story under the title 'A renter tries to flip the script' at: [https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/a-renter-tries-to-flip-the-script/13738800] (ABC RN Breakfast) Here's the same story in the 'Sydney Morning Herald'. Go to : [https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/renter-s-application-revoked-after-asking-for-landlord-reference-20220204-p59tvp.html] Here's the same story from 'Junkee'. Go to: [https://junkee.com/landlord-reference-reasonable-real-estate-institute/321035]. Again, check out the video at: [https://twitter.com/theprojecttv/status/1489517053295964163?t=ebNgHc9ZrCK4LWdRGuML0g&s=19]
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-04/the-renter-who-asked-for-…
# TUNSW in the media, Audio, Video NSW, Rent, Landlords and agents.Omicron rips through remote Aboriginal communities, as leaders say governments' COVID response 'too late'
Bridget Brennan and Kirstie Wellauer ABC (No paywall)As much of the nation begins to look beyond a summer of rising infection rates and hospitalisations, the pandemic has just arrived at the doorstep of many remote Aboriginal communities. ... After testing positive last week, [Ronika Adams, from the remote community Palumpa in the Northern Territory] has had to isolate in a two-bedroom house with 11 other people — and the women and children in the house have one mattress between them. ... Dozens of people in the tiny community have tested positive ... This is the stark reality that Aboriginal health organisations warned of two years ago when the pandemic was declared: many small communities don't have the resources to tackle widespread outbreaks.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-04/omicron-covid-19-infects-…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Federal Government, Housing market, Race and ethnicity.In northern NSW, housing instability is becoming a health risk
Tamsin Rose The Guardian (No paywall)In the already Covid-stretched hospitals of northern New South Wales, health workers are struggling with another growing pressure caused by the pandemic. House prices have soared in Byron Bay and surrounding areas since Covid lockdowns and work-from-home inspired many to flee the city for a sea or tree change. And while the impacts on buyers or renters in the area have been well documented, hospital workers say it’s having far-reaching effects on the community’s health. ... Tenants’ Union NSW head, Leo Patterson Ross, said he had noticed a jump in the number of renters in the area asking for advice. 'Many people had reported being served “no grounds” evictions before the properties were relisted for more money, pricing them out of a community they once called home. We’ve seen double-digit rent increases year-on-year for a couple of years in some areas. It has this really ongoing widespread effect and what it boils down to is that there’s just not enough homes that are actually affordable to the communities that need them.' ... Homelessness NSW chief executive, Katherine McKernan, said “'f you’re in unstable housing, you’re more worried about where you’re going to sleep in a week’s time than going to the doctor and getting yourself taken care of.'
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/feb/06/in-northe…
# TUNSW in the media NSW, Health, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market, No-grounds evictions, Regional NSW.