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.
Our main email newsletter, Tenant News is sent once every two months. You can subscribe or update your subscription preferences for any of our email newsletters here.
See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
We love sharing the news and hope you find it informative! We're very happy to deliver it for free, but if you find it valuable, can you help cover the extra costs incurred by making a donation?
Archive
‘Likely to lose momentum’: Australia’s dwelling values continue to grow, though the pace is slowing
Melissa Heagney Domain (No paywall)Australia’s booming property market continued to rise in October but the rate of growth has slowed dramatically since the start of the year, as a lack of affordability, less government stimulus and more listings hit the market, new figures show.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/australias-dwelling-values-contin…
# Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market.Interstate buyers help fuel the Gold Coast’s biggest property boom in years: Domain House Price Report
Sarah Webb Domain (No paywall)Sydney and Melbourne buyers with deep pockets have fuelled the Gold Coast’s biggest property boom in years with house prices in coveted coastal coves surging by $1300 a day, according to the latest Domain House Price Report.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/gold-coast-house-prices-1099486/?…
# Australia, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Ingenia Communities’ largest-ever project in NSW to start by April next year as Winarch Capital’s $235M plan mainly approved
(No paywall)Land lease operator Ingenia Communities can start work on its 25ha portion in the southern end of the former Morisset Golf Club after Lake Macquarie Council approved five of six planning applications for a $235 million project including a water park, hotel, tourist park, hotel, cafes and Ingenia’s over-55’s lifestyle residential village on the site. (The Weekly Source)
https://www.theweeklysource.com.au/ingenia-communities-largest-e…
# NSW, Land lease communities, Older people.Tenants and advocates call for Just Cause Ordinance to end no-fault evictions
Grace Asiegbu (No paywall)From the United States ... [Donna] Mayfield raised her two sons in her two-bedroom, one-and-a-half bathroom apartment and lived there for 27 years without issue, always paying her rent on time, she said. So she was shocked and confused when she came home to a notice on her door in July from a new management company saying that she had two months to find a new place to live or face eviction. “It was like, ‘What is going on? This is unreal,’” she said. “It was like someone punched me in my gut.” ... Evictions such as this, when the tenant has done nothing wrong, are called no-fault or no-cause evictions, and they are legal in Chicago as long as the landlord gives the tenant enough notice. Advocates say no-cause evictions speed the pace of gentrification and price out longtime renters such as Mayfield, leading to further neighborhood destabilization and more demand for an insufficient supply of affordable housing.
https://www.injusticewatch.org/news/housing/2021/just-cause-ordi…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Landlords and agents, No-grounds evictions.September 2021 Bulletin
Housing for the Aged Action Group (No paywall)Read about 'Outcomes of At Risk 2021' and more
https://mailchi.mp/2433af912792/older-tenants-voice-summer-editi…
# Australia, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, Older people.Fears holiday-maker influx could deepen NSW north coast's housing crisis
Leah White and Joanne Shoebridge ABC (No paywall)A single mother of three caught up in the Northern Rivers' housing crisis fears even a tent space at a caravan park may soon be out of reach, with all forms of accommodation booked solid heading into the Christmas holidays. The region is bracing for an influx of visitors as intrastate travel bans lift from November 1. Rental vacancies are already at record lows and many long-term locals have been priced out of the market. ... The head of community services provider Social Futures, Tony Davies, said the affordable housing situation in northern New South Wales was the worst it had ever been. Mr Davies said the pandemic, combined with unprecedented migration to regional areas, had made a difficult situation almost impossible, and there were concerns things would only get worse with holiday homes and caravan parks snapped up over the Christmas break. "That absolutely is a worry because it means people might need to camp in dangerous and risky areas," he said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-31/rental-woes-north-nsw-hol…
# NSW, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market.Landlord ordered to pay $38k after child develops rheumatic heart disease
Esther Taunton (No paywall)A Christchurch landlord has been ordered to pay $38,626 after their “serious exploitation” of vulnerable tenants led to a child developing rheumatic heart disease. In a decision released on Friday, the Tenancy Tribunal found landlords Anne and Roger Stocker had breached the Residential Tenancies Act in several ways, including failing to maintain the property in respect of health and safety matters. (Stuff) Same story in 'The New Daily' at: [https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2021/10/29/landlords-child-sick-nz/]
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/126824887/landlord-ordered-to-p…
# International, Rent, Tribunal NCAT, Health, Landlords and agents, Mould.Homeless families to get permanent housing as hotel program winds down
Michael Fowler The Age (Paywall)Hundreds of homeless Victorians who have been staying in state-funded hotels during lockdowns will be found a permanent place to live, but there will not be a home for everyone as the hotel program prepares to wind down permanently. Housing Minister Richard Wynne said $66 million dollars would go towards supporting 250 families, including 400 children, to stay in hotels until permanent homes that fit their needs are found. ... However, hundreds of homeless singles and couples will need to work with support agencies to find new lodgings before the hotels program closes permanently, which is pencilled in for February. ... Council to Homeless Persons chief executive Jenny Smith welcomed the $66 million commitment, but warned some people would still fall through the cracks. She called for the state government to extend the permanent housing support to highly vulnerable individuals in the short and medium-term.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/homeless-families-to…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness, Housing market.