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
How to end a fixed-term lease early
Lisa Calautti The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Terminating a fixed-term lease can be a costly decision but, whatever your reasons for doing so, experts say the No.1 rule is to give plenty of notice of your intention to vacate. ... 'In almost every Australian state other than NSW, the typical penalty for tenants breaking a lease is to reimburse their landlord for any [should read 'reasonable'] expenses incurred as a result of the break lease, including any loss of rent ... It’s pretty much that way in every state apart from NSW. They’re the only state where the determination of the amount of money you pay is fixed.'
https://www.smh.com.au/property/living/how-to-end-a-fixed-term-l…
# Australia, You want to leave, Break fees.U.S. Housing Crisis Only Gets Worse as Population Shrinks
Conor Sen (No paywall)News that the U.S. population barely grew this year, together with ever-falling birthrates and the decline in immigration, raises the possibility that the nation will be shrinking in the not-so-distant future. So fewer people should make housing more affordable for those looking for it, right? Well, don't get your hopes up. People tend not to want to live in shrinking places, and if the U.S. population starts to decline, it might lead to even less housing demand in stagnant metro areas, and an even worse housing affordability crisis in the smaller number of places that continue to attract new residents.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-12-31/u-s-housin…
# International, Housing affordability, Housing market.Sydney’s most contested swamp inches closer to sale
Harriet Alexander The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)What did the Inner West Council give the Defence Department for Christmas? A key approval that will advance the department’s plans to sell off 19,000 square metres of land in sought-after Haberfield that has been growing weeds since the army stopped using it more than 20 years ago. Situated below sea level and prone to flash flooding, the former council had lobbied Defence to donate the land for open space, but the department said it had to be sold at market value. On Christmas Eve — between the local government elections and the swearing-in of new councillors — council staff approved the construction of drainage works that will pave the way for it to be subdivided into 22 lots. Real estate agents have valued the land at $50 million.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sydney-s-most-contested-swam…
# NSW, Housing market, Planning and development.End of the Sydney and Melbourne property boom? Experts tip slow growth in 2022
Jennifer Duke The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The Sydney property market slowed dramatically in December while Melbourne values fell, prompting experts to call the end of the housing boom in the nation’s most expensive capital cities.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/end-of-the-sydney-and-me…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.1991 NT cabinet documents reveal policies to boost home ownership, a ban on riding in the back of utes and the first Arafura Games
Mitchell Abram ABC (No paywall)Northern Territory cabinet documents from 1991 released to the public for the first time show the NT government approved a range of home assistance schemes to boost home ownership in the Territory ... The more things change: Affordable and accessible housing was also an issue in 1991, just as it is today. That year, the NT government approved a package of home assistance schemes designed to help low and middle-income groups own their own homes, called the HomeNorth Loan Portfolio Scheme. It included a mortgage scheme for first home buyers with family incomes between $300 and $600 per week and another for subsequent home buyers with weekly family incomes of $601 to $900. "Home ownership in the Territory is still something that all governments in the Territory over the last 30 years have been talking about – how to make it more affordable, or more accessible for everyday Territorians to get into the housing market," Minister Paech said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-02/nt-1991-cabinet-documents…
# Australia, History, Home ownership, State Government.‘Inevitable’: Where house prices are heading in 2022
Kate Burke and Elizabeth Redman Domain (No paywall)Australia’s booming housing market is set for an “inevitable” slowdown this year, with easing buyer demand and an increase in homes for sale expected to bring an end to rapidly rising prices.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/inevitable-where-house-pric…
# Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market.‘Travesty of justice’: Eastern suburbs council proposes raising building heights
Andrew Taylor The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Plans to raise building heights and encourage night-life in one of Sydney’s wealthiest suburbs have provoked opposition from residents weeks after council elections dominated by concerns about overdevelopment.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/travesty-of-justice-eastern-subu…
# NSW, Local Government, Planning and development.The once-booming mining town of Queenstown is primed for revitalisation
Alexandra Humphries ABC (No paywall)Queenstown's main street is reminiscent of a bygone era. Once the hub of a booming mining town, it now has many buildings in disrepair. Now, new residents are moving in and breathing new life into the isolated town on Tasmania's West Coast.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-03/new-residents-breathe-lif…
# Australia, Heritage listings.