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
How lawyers could prevent America’s eviction crisis from getting a whole lot worse
Jennifer Prusak The Conversation (No paywall)From the United States ... Lawyers may be the only thing standing in the way of eviction for millions of renters. With the end of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s eviction moratorium on Aug. 26, 2021, most landlords can now ask courts to evict tenants who haven’t been paying their rent. As a result, new eviction filings are already spiking across the country. Data shows that once an eviction court begins a case, it’s very likely the tenant will quickly be out on the street – unless they have legal representation.
https://theconversation.com/how-lawyers-could-prevent-americas-e…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Tribunal NCAT, Coronavirus COVID-19.Data shows why Berliners just voted to socialise over 240,000 rental properties from private real estate firms in a referendum.
(No paywall)Berliners have just voted to socialise 240,000 properties owned by private firms in the ‘Deutsche Wohnen & Co enteignen’ Referendum. This is the latest attempt to combat rising rental prices. The signs that people were struggling with accommodation costs became newsworthy when a price cap was recently deemed unconstitutional, nevertheless Berliners still felt the need to force the government to intervene. Homeday.de, the next generation real estate agent, has recently published a study that shows the affordability of rental properties in Berlin and gives insight into why Berliners voted for this groundbreaking mandate. (Homeday)
https://sweetspotpr.com/wp-content/uploads/Homeday/GHPI/BerlinRe…
# Legal significance, Research alert International, Public and community housing, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Berliners vote 'yes' on property expropriation, but what happens now?
(No paywall)A referendum proposing that authorities in Berlin seize and take into public ownership more than 200,000 homes has passed resoundingly. But political and legal hurdles mean it may never become reality. Regardless of the strength of the vote, the referendum is not legally binding and the proposal will only become law if the ruling parties in the Berlin Senate choose to make it so. That casts the spotlight on the next Berlin government. Sunday's Berlin election results mean the left-leaning coalition of the SPD, the Greens and the Left party is likely to continue in power. However, the referendum vote will feature very prominently in coalition negotiations and the parties are sharply divided on the proposal. The far-left Left party strongly supports it while the Greens have given mixed signals. The SPD, which is likely to remain the biggest party in Berlin after the election, is opposed, as are all major opposition parties.(DW.COM)
https://www.dw.com/en/berliners-vote-yes-on-property-expropriati…
# Legal significance International, Public and community housing, Rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Welcome to the new AHURI website
AHURI (No paywall)We are pleased to launch the brand new AHURI website – delivered as part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring our research, policy analysis and housing and urban industry news is accessible to our audiences. We have made some important changes that we hope will make your experience more enjoyable, and most importantly, better connect you with the research you are looking for.
So what’s new?
https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/news/welcome-new-ahuri-website
# Research alert Australia, Aboriginal renters, Public and community housing, Rent, Home ownership, Homelessness, Housing market, Planning and development.Curbs on risky lending won’t solve the housing affordability crisis
Alan Kohler The New Daily (No paywall)Any day now the banking regulator, APRA, is going to do “macroprudential” policies, after the Treasurer Josh Frydenberg this week gave it a superfluous green light. It means APRA will soon tell the banks to make fewer risky loans. What, you might be wondering, are they waiting for? Why have the banks been allowed to make so many risky loans already, with the result that house prices have surged 18 per cent in the past 12 months? Good question. There are two reasons for this in my view ...
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2021/09/30/macroprud…
# Australia, Federal Government, Housing affordability, Housing market.Power to the People
Mark Mordue (No paywall)“The inner west is the boarding house capital of Australia.” So says Liz Yeo, CEO of Newtown Neighbourhood Centre. She’s down in Marrickville to pick up hampers from our Food Relief Hub. Soon enough a conversation between Yeo and Addi Road CEO Rosanna Barbero sparks ideas for a national campaign against inequality – and with it, a demand for a basic living wage. Yeo believes that “this is the moment for local action”. ... Food relief. Eviction moratoriums. Cancelling the debt on rental arrears during the pandemic. Restructuring our society with a basic living wage and greatly expanded, quality social housing. Addison Road Community Organisation and Newtown Neighbourhood Centre are talking. So are many others. (Addi Road)
# NSW, Public and community housing, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, Coronavirus COVID-19, Families, Health.House prices in tourist hotspots increasingly out of reach for young and low paid
(No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Rising house prices and private rents mean that some workers are at risk of being priced out of living in rural and coastal areas, contributing to skill shortages in the tourism and hospitality industries that their local economies rely on. (Office of National Statistics)
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/articles…
# Research alert International, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market, Work, employment, Young people.Vale Jack Carnegie: a champion of the inner-city environment
Hall Greenland (No paywall)Jack Carnegie, who died earlier this month, was a champion of the inner city environment. He will be forever immortalised as the leader of the campaign which led to Green Bans Park in Erskineville. His role in that battle is recognised with a plaque at the entrance to the park. Another successful battle was the preservation of the public housing in Erskineville when it was threatened with a private/public makeover.
https://cityhubsydney.com.au/2021/09/vale-jack-carnegie-a-champi…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Climate change, Heritage listings, Personal stories, Planning and development.