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
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by dozens of complaints from people who bought off-the-plan properties from the 3 Property Group, only to have them rescinded earlier this year.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.Evictions are still banned in these states
Annie Nova (No paywall)From the United States ... Months after the national ban on evictions expired, a number of states and cities have either kept in place or implemented their own policies to try to keep families in their homes. Despite heavy opposition by landlords, advocates say these policies are necessary with hardship among tenants still so high. More than 15% of adult renters continue to say they’re behind, with as many as 28% of African American-led households reporting the same. ... Connecticut, Virginia, Oregon, Massachusetts, Michigan and Minnesota as well as Washington, D.C., all have limits on evictions tied to the rental assistance process that will last until 2022, according to an analysis by the COVID-19 Eviction Moratoria Team. Meanwhile, three states continue to have a statewide eviction moratorium in effect. Most renters in New Jersey and New York can’t be evicted until January. New Mexico has also prohibited renters from being pushed out of their homes, and hasn’t yet specified when the protection will end. (CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/05/evictions-are-still-banned-in-th…
# Hot topic International, Eviction, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.Sydney Social Housing: Two Point Perspective
(No paywall)In this podcast presenters Rebecca Hawcroft and Kieran McInerney chat with architectural historian and heritage specialist Dr Noni Boyd and architect Dr Michael Zanardo. Their architecture guide map Affordable Housing Sydney reveals the incredible range and quality of local affordable housing over time. Affordable Housing Sydney brings together for the first time Sydney’s rich but relatively unknown built history of affordable housing. (SoundCloud)
# Video NSW, Affordable housing.Will the cost of LA’s decarbonization lead to tenant evictions?
Chelsea Kirk (No paywall)From United States ... Chelsea Kirk is a research and policy analyst at Strategic Actions for a Just Economy. Her forthcoming report “Los Angeles Building Decarbonization: Tenant Impact and Recommendations” analyzes the impact of building decarbonization on the renter population. She writes: 'Tenants are in a state of crisis. Half of all renters spend more than 50% of their income on rent. Many have rental debt and are at risk of displacement due to COVID-19-related job loss. Households are cutting back on basic needs like food and clothing to be able to pay rent. Decarbonization could cause sharp increases in housing costs for tenants and make an already dire situation worse.' (CalMatters)
https://calmatters.org/commentary/2021/11/will-the-cost-of-las-d…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Climate change.Tenants demand nationwide landlord licensing to tackle danger slum rental properties
Andrew Penman (No paywall)Campaigners for tenant rights are calling for a national register of private landlords to combat slum lettings and “beds-in-sheds”. Barely 7% of privately rented homes in England are currently covered by selective licensing schemes for landlords because local authorities don’t have to set them up. (Mirror)
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tenants-demand-nationwide-…
# International, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, Landlords and agents, Local Government.