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 select committee launches inquiry into quality and regulation of social housing
Lucie Heath Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... An inquiry has been launched into “concerns about the quality of social housing” and the regulatory regime by a cross-party group of MPs. ... The quality of social housing has come under scrutiny over the past year following an ongoing investigation by ITV News into the terrible conditions faced by some tenants.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/housing-select-committ…
# International, Public and community housing, Minimum habitability standards.The pandemic never happened in Sydney’s housing market
Editiorial The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)When COVID-19 sent the world into lockdown, pundits warned that things would never be the same again. That may be true in some ways but in the world of the Sydney property market it seems like Groundhog Day. After a brief dip at the start of the pandemic, house prices are again climbing to crazy levels. ... Some fear that the price rises are out of line with reality and with ordinary people’s wages. They say the bubble will inevitably burst, throwing the economy into a deep recession. Somewhat contradictorily, others fear that prices will remain too high and first home buyers will be kept out of the market forever, except for the lucky few who can access loans from the Bank of Mum and Dad.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/the-pandemic-never-h…
# NSW, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.'Makes my blood boil’: Sydney’s development pain to hit council polls
Angus Thompson The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)One of Sydney’s most blue-blooded areas has forced housing developments onto the local election battleground after rejecting a NSW government density push in a fiery final meeting before next month’s council polls. Ku-ring-gai Council, which last year sparked a citywide backlash against dwelling targets, has handed the baton to its next elected body to grapple with the prospect of greater development on the leafy north shore by voting to refuse a list of conditions set by the Department of Planning.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/makes-my-blood-boil-sydney-s…
# NSW, Housing market, Local Government, Planning and development.Housing Justice in Unjust Cities
(No paywall)The Brisbane-based program Radio Reversal (4ZZZ) has had a series of episodes focused on housing justice:
18 November: Anti-Eviction Defence
11 November: Housing Justice in Unjust Cities, Part III [at: https://4zzz.org.au/program/radio-reversal/2021-11-11%2009:00:00]
4 November: Housing Justice in Unjust Cities, Part II [at: https://4zzz.org.au/program/radio-reversal/2021-11-04%2009:00:00]
28 October: Hosing Justice in Unjust Cities, Part I [at: https://4zzz.org.au/program/radio-reversal/2021-10-28%2009:00:00]
https://4zzz.org.au/program/radio-reversal/2021-11-18%2009:00:00
# Audio Australia, Eviction, Rent, Housing market.Some Byron Bay landlords are bypassing the usual real estate channels to help locals find rentals ahead of newcomers
Bianca Healy (No paywall)Amid skyrocketing rent, some landlords in the Byron Shire are bypassing agencies and opting to offer properties to private networks through social media and word of mouth. “It’s probably an indicator of just how dramatic the changes to Byron have been…that people are starting to make their decisions in that way,” Leo Patterson Ross, chief executive of the Tenant’s Union said. Regional Australia recorded an annual rate of rental growth of 12.5% as of September 2021, the highest annual growth rate on record.
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/byron-bay-landlords-helping-l…
# TUNSW in the media NSW, Rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Regional NSW.Renter told to vacate property after requesting repairs
Abbey Halter (No paywall)“As a tenant, what the owner and real estate says goes. It’s dehumanising. It’s like you’re stripped of any human rights,” said a Canberra renter. Anna [not her real name] has been living nightmare as a renter, where she feels her landlord and the real estate agency see her solely as a figure on a bank statement, rather than as a human being. From the very start of her tenancy, she said her landlord has clearly been uninterested in maintaining his asset, telling her, “if you leave me alone, I’ll leave you alone”. She said that comment turned out to mean that if she didn’t ask for repairs, he would consider that in the amount of rent charged. (Canberra Weekly)
https://canberraweekly.com.au/real-estate-told-renter-to-vacate-…
# Australia, Eviction, Repairs, Housing market, Landlords and agents, No-grounds evictions.Leaseholders suffering suicidal thoughts as a result of cladding crisis, new report reveals
Grainne Cuffe Inside Housing (Paywall)The report by the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence found that those living in blocks with building safety issues have reported a spectrum of impacts on their mental health, from constant worrying and an inability to concentrate, to anxiety, isolation and withdrawal, depression and suicidal feelings. Many leaseholders living in affected buildings are unable to sell their homes until external wall systems can be assessed, risks identified and remediation works carried out. Those that live in blocks requiring remediation are often facing bills of tens of thousands of pounds. Where present, fear of a dangerous fire breaking out in their building has a very “significant” negative impact on mental health. But financial concerns related to building safety costs represent the most significant strain on leaseholders’ mental health, with some facing remediation bills of more than £100,000, along with waking-watch costs and insurance hikes.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/leaseholders-suffering…
# International, Asbestos, lead, hazardous materials, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.Sydney’s most liveable suburbs – and where residents are least happy
Andrew Taylor The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Western Sydney residents rate their suburbs as worse places to live than people in other parts of Sydney. A survey of more than 30,000 people around Australia, including 10,766 in NSW, found western Sydney had a liveability score of 64 out of 100, compared to the national average of 68. ... Western Sydney scored lowest when it came to things to do in the evening, evidence of recent public investment in roads and schools, local education and employment opportunities and the quality of local and state government services.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/sydney-s-most-liveable-suburbs-a…
# NSW, Planning and development.