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
Housing security an urgent concern
Letters The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Scroll down to 'Housing security an urgent concern' and 'Home ownership is but a dream' and check out the letters.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/morrison-as-preferred-pm-bel…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Rent, Affordable housing, Home ownership, Housing market, Women, Young people.Series of new rental reforms to come into force in Wales this summer, minister confirms
Lucie Heath Inside Housing (Paywall)New rental reforms, which the Welsh government has branded the “biggest change to housing law in Wales for decades”, are set to come into force in July this year, the government has confirmed. ... The act includes a number of major changes to rental law in Wales, including increasing the notice period that landlords must give when issuing ‘no-fault’ evictions from two to six months. It will also no longer be possible for landlords to issue no-fault evictions during the first six months of a tenancy, meaning all tenants will be protected from no-fault evictions for a minimum 12-month period when entering into a new contract. It comes as UK government ministers promise to ban no-fault evictions entirely in England, with proposals to be put forward as part of an upcoming white paper. The Renting Homes (Wales) Act will also require all landlords to provide a written copy of the occupation contract to their tenant, which should set out the rights and responsibilities of both parties. A strengthened duty will also be placed on landlords to ensure the property they rent is fit for human habitation, including the installation of smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and regular electrical safety testing. The government said the act will also tackle ‘retaliatory evictions’, for example when a landlord serves notice to a tenant after they ask for repairs or complain about poor conditions.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/series-of-new-rental-r…
# International, Rent, Minimum habitability standards, No-grounds evictions, Smoke alarms.Children in temporary accommodation in London ‘suffering appalling abuses of their rights’, research finds
Lucie Heath Inside Housing (Paywall)The human rights of children living in temporary accommodation in London are being violated as a result of “persistent policy failures by central and local government”, research has found. A report published today by Human Rights Watch and the Childhood Trust argued that the UK is failing in its duty to ensure the right to adequate housing for homeless families. Based on interviews with 75 people, including 33 who are currently living in or had recently left temporary accommodation, the report found families living in conditions including toxic mould, cold temperatures, and a lack of adequate space.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/children-in-temporary-…
# International, Families, Homelessness, Local Government, Mould.Queensland unit dwellers could be barred from smoking on balconies after landmark decision
Rebecca Levingston and Antonia O'Flaherty ABC (No paywall)Queenslanders living in apartments could be prevented from smoking on their balconies after a "game changing" decision to ban one unit owner from doing so after a complaint from an upstairs neighbour. A unit owner at the Artique Resort in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast complained that their downstairs neighbour, on the eighth floor, was a "chain smoker". The ninth-floor owner claimed the eighth-floor neighbour spends about five minutes smoking and could do so about every 20 to 40 minutes, labelling the smoke "relentless and unbearable", causing her to be concerned about her health. ... The Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management's adjudicator ordered that the eighth-floor owner must no longer smoke tobacco products on the balcony. Furthermore, it was ruled she can only smoke elsewhere within her apartment if she takes reasonable steps to ensure the smoke does not affect any person in another apartment.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-19/gold-coast-unit-owner-ban…
# Australia, Strata, Neighbours.Government launches review of social housing staff training to improve tenant treatment
Jack Simpson Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... The government will launch a new wholesale review of training and qualifications for those working in social housing in a bid to drive up standards and ensure landlords are equipped to deal with tenant complaints. Eddie Hughes, minister for homelessness and rough sleeping, today announced the Social Housing Professionalisation Review, which will explore the qualifications currently available for staff, and consider whether any additional training is needed to improve services to residents. The review will make up a crucial part of the reforms to social housing that will be brought forward in the Social Housing Regulation Bill. The bill, which is expected in March, will bring forward many of the proposals set out in the Social Housing White Paper, published in November 2020.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/government-launches-re…
# International, Public and community housing.Northern Territory introduces building legislation reforms, with 'complex' projects requiring independent approval
Melissa Mackay ABC (No paywall)Three years after nine Top End buildings were found to be structurally non-compliant, the Northern Territory government has introduced reforms to avoid a similar building bungle happening again. From January 31, designs of all projects categorised as "complex" will be required to be reviewed by an independent third party before building permits can be issued.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-19/nt-government-introduces-…
# Australia, Strata, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.Tree changers push up NSW land value by $400 billion
The New Daily (No paywall)“Ski changers” and “tree changers” are being blamed for pushing the price of land in New South Wales to a record-high peak. Land in the state was valued at $2.2 trillion in the 12 months to July 2021, up from $1.8 trillion – an uptick of 24.8 per cent. The biggest growth was recorded in the Hunter Valley coast, where overall values were up 38.1 per cent. The rise in land prices was due to buyers looking for affordability and “preferred lifestyle options”, NSW Valuer General David Parker said. Also, check out the article by Sofie Wainwright and Bindi Bryce entitled: 'Land value soars in Hunter Central Coast region as property market continues to boil' at: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-19/land-values-soaring-in-regional-nsw/100767354]
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2022/01/18/tree-chan…
# NSW, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market, Regional NSW.Four-bedroom house offered free, with just one catch
Elizabeth Redman Domain (No paywall)It’s the home that’s free to a good home: A four-bedroom Sydney house available for free, with one catch. Only the house itself is on offer, not the land, and the new owner must arrange to remove it and transport it somewhere else.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/four-bedroom-house-offered-…
# NSW, Housing market.