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
Alert level 3 restrictions reasonable grounds to refuse viewings, Tenancy Tribunal rules
Jake McKee (No paywall)From New Zealand ... A landlord's claim his tenant was unreasonably refusing viewings of his central Auckland apartment due to Covid-19 risks has been dismissed by the Tenancy Tribunal. The landlord* put his leasehold apartment up for sale but prospective buyers had not been able to view it. The Residential Tenancies Act states a landlord may enter a premise to show it to prospective buyers if the tenant consents, but they can reasonably withhold consent. The landlord went to the Tribunal alleging his tenant was being unreasonable. In emails provided to RNZ by the landlord, the tenant* said he did not consent to viewings because of risks related to Covid-19 and the Auckland region being at alert level 3. A Tribunal order, obtained by RNZ and yet to be made publicly, showed the adjudicator found "the tenant had reasonable grounds to withhold consent". "Acting reasonably, many people would refuse consent in this situation to unknown parties," they said. (RNZ)
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/455003/alert-level-3-restric…
# Must read, Legal significance International, Privacy and access, Rent, Tribunal NCAT, Coronavirus COVID-19.Housing and homelessness left behind in post-Covid recovery
Kay Harrison (No paywall)‘Building back better’ is not in our sights for housing and homelessness despite the pandemic’s singular opportunity to kickstart overdue investment. That’s according to UNSW School of Built Environment housing policy expert Professor Hal Pawson, who says the pandemic has been insufficient in triggering the housing policy reform needed. ... The pandemic created an extraordinary stimulus for ‘outside-the-box’ policy innovations. Rapidly enacted and large-scale emergency responses challenged wisdom about what was politically and economically feasible. But such interventions failed to recognise or address fundamental housing system flaws, Prof. Pawson says. “As revealed by our work, a remarkable 40,000 homeless people were assisted with emergency accommodation from March to October 2020,” he says. But inadequate social housing infrastructure and income support meant less than a third could be transitioned to longer-term housing ... (UNSW Newsroom)
https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/social-affairs/housing-and-hom…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Federal Government, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market, State Government.25,000 Section 21 eviction notices have been handed out since Theresa May vowed to scrap them
Liam Geraghty (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... No-fault evictions allow landlords to evict their tenants without giving a reason but government plans to axe them have now slipped into 2022. It’s been two-and-a-half years since Theresa May’s government promised to scrap ‘no-fault’ evictions but renters will still be facing the prospect of being forced out without a reason in 2022. Since April 2019, more than 25,000 landlord possession claims have been heard in county courts in England and Wales, according to government statistics, with more on the cards in the months ahead. The Big Issue’s Stop Mass Homelesness campaign has been calling for ‘no-fault’ evictions – or section 21 evictions as they are also known – to be suspended to prevent rising homelessness in the next few months following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. ... Campaigners Generation Rent and Shelter have been among the groups campaigning as the Renters Reform Coalition to end the use of section 21 to evict tenants. Dan Wilson Craw, deputy director of Generation Rent, said: “The longer renters wait for the government to abolish Section 21, the more people will have their lives uprooted at their landlord’s whim. Many more will continue living in squalid conditions, afraid that a complaint will only result in an eviction notice. Renters want long-term homes and reliable landlords, so will be frustrated at yet another delay. (The Big Issue)
https://www.bigissue.com/news/housing/25000-section-21-eviction-…
# Hot topic International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, No-grounds evictions.Historic Firsts Highlight U.S. Mayoral Races
Josyana Joshua (No paywall)This year’s mayoral races in the U.S. pitted incumbents and veteran city officials against newcomers with bold plans to overhaul policies on issues like policing and housing. Several were candidates who made history in their respective cities. Also, read the story here entitled: 'As Housing Costs Spike, Voters Look for Hope in Rent Control' at: [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-04/rent-control-scored-a-big-election-night-victory]. (Bloomberg CityLab)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-02/atlanta-bosto…
# International, Rent, Housing market, Local Government.Renting: the real housing crisis
Cassie McCullagh ABC (No paywall)As rents across the city soar, issues of rental affordability and rental security loom for over a third of the population who have no other housing option. We discuss with Hal Pawson, Professor Housing Research and Policy and Associate Director at the City Futures Research Centre, UNSW. (On Focus)
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/centralcoast/programs/focus/renting…
# Audio NSW, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market.Home should be synonymous with comfort
Kymberly Martin (No paywall)A peak disability organisation is campaigning against the NSW State Government for its accessible housing strategy. “Imagine, for a moment, if you couldn’t use parts of your home, or worse yet, your home was actively dangerous for you to live in,” Physical Disability Council NSW CEO, Serena Ovens told F2L. “That’s the reality for one million people with physical disability in this state.” ... The Australian Building and Construction Board has incorporated minimum accessibility guidelines into the National Construction Code, which sets out national standards across all builds. The guidelines include features such as wider hallways and door frames, hob-less shower recesses, larger bathrooms and level access to at least one entry. ... The NSW Government will actively opt out of these sections of the Code ... (Freedom2live)
https://www.freedom2live.com.au/home-should-be-synonymous-with-c…
# NSW, Disability, Housing market, State Government.New laws set to protect ACT buyers from developers rescinding sales after raft of complaints
Elizabeth Byrne ABC (No paywall)Off-the-plan buyers in Canberra are set for greater protections from this week, with a new law making it harder for developers to cancel sales. The new law has been prompted by dozens of complaints from people who bought off-the-plan properties from the 3 Property Group, only to have them rescinded earlier this year.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-07/new-laws-offer-protection…
# Australia, Strata, Housing market.Tasmanian government urged to do something about housing crisis in island's north-west
Piia Wirsu ABC (No paywall)Rochelle Gordon has been on the priority public housing waiting list for two-and-a-half years, and she says it is damaging her physical and mental health. Her private rental in Stanley has uneven floors, a shower over a bath stained with rust, narrow access paths and low doorways, but it's all she can afford.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-07/housing-crisis-worsens-in…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Rent, Health.