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
Unregistered holiday rentals to be de-listed from booking websites in new code of conduct
Ainslie Drewitt-Smith ABC (No paywall)Holiday rental properties in New South Wales will be de-listed from booking websites including Airbnb and Stayz if providers fail to register with the Department of Planning by Monday. The registration is part of a new code of conduct being introduced by the state government to regulate the industry in a bid to guard against negligent hosts and disruptive guests. he chair of the Australian Short Term Rental Association said, as of Thursday, there were around 50,000 properties across the state still to be registered with the department. "Those properties won't be eligible to be promoted and take any further bookings until they're actually registered with the Department of Planning," Rob Jeffress said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-29/holiday-rental-property-r…
# NSW, Short-term holiday letting.‘This may save lives’: Ditching dark roofs drops mercury by up to 10 degrees
Angus Thompson The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Ditching dark roofing across Sydney will lower the city’s summer ambient temperatures by up to 2.4 degrees, according to University of NSW research commissioned by the federal government. A switch to cool-roofing options as simple as a coat of white paint could also drive down indoor temperatures in uninsulated homes in western Sydney by an average of 4 degrees, and 10 degrees during heatwaves, making them potentially life-saving measures. ... The NSW government has already mandated lighter-coloured roofs in Sydney’s south-west growth area to dial back the heat island effect, with Planning Minister Rob Stokes saying Australia’s obsession with dark roofing was leading to “astronomical electricity bills”.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/this-may-save-lives-ditching-dar…
# Australia, Health, Minimum habitability standards, Planning and development, State Government.Pingelly pioneers virtual aged care to keep older residents in their homes
Eliza Borrello ABC (No paywall)With a population of 800 the small town of Pingelly, about 160 kilometres southeast of Perth, is too small for a nursing home so the community has pioneered "virtual aged care" to help seniors stay in their homes longer with the help of volunteers.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-29/close-knit-town-pingelly-…
# Australia, Housing market, Older people.Biden announces revamped $1.75 trillion social spending plan
BBC (No paywall)US President Joe Biden unveiled a revamped $1.75tn (£1.27tn) spending plan on Thursday, calling it a historic investment in the country's future. ... What's in the proposed new spending plan? [It includes] $150bn to build one million affordable housing units.
# International, Affordable housing, Housing market.Caravan park opens only to homeless as pandemic drives Perth’s housing crisis deeper
Holly Thompson (No paywall)A caravan park in the Perth Hills will now only allow long-term residents to stay, in the hopes of helping to combat the city’s “through the roof” housing crisis. Perth Hills Caravan Park announced the plan to stop accepting tourists this week, stating they would be focusing on providing a place for those having trouble finding a house. Owner Shorrelle Watkins said the caravan park had always allocated about 50 per cent of spots to those needing a place to stay, but demand had risen drastically during the COVID-19 pandemic.
https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/caravan-pa…
# Australia, Land lease communities, Homelessness, Housing market.I Already Took My Landlord to Court Over Heat Problems. What Now?
Rhonda Kaysen The New York Times (Paywall)New York City has a legal ‘heat season.’ If your landlord ignores it, you and your neighbors can work together on a strategy.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/30/realestate/nyc-heat-landlord…
# International, Rent, Utilities electricity water gas, Minimum habitability standards.Up to 277 applicants for every social rent home in London, study reveals
Tim Clark Inside Housing (Paywall)From London ... [A] report by the not-for-profit body Home Connections, which provides a platform that advertises council homes for those on waiting lists, analysed details of up to 26,000 properties. It found that demand increased to 277 applications per home, up from 254 people for every home prior to the pandemic.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/up-to-277-applicants-f…
# International, Public and community housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.‘Era of low interest rates is over’: Rate rises expected ahead of federal election
Shane Wright and Jennifer Duke The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Official interest rates could rise before Prime Minister Scott Morrison goes to the next election, with clear signs the Reserve Bank’s hand may be forced much earlier than expected to head off inflationary pressures that are set to drive up the cost of Christmas presents.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/era-of-low-interest-rate…
# Australia, Housing market.