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
'Ballistic' property market creates hurdles for independent disability housing sector
Dominic Cansdale ABC (No paywall)Queensland's competitive housing market has added further pressure to the disability accommodation sector, as providers look to address a "new century" of support that emphasises independent living. Endeavour Foundation has committed $45 million over four years towards building accessible housing — the largest investment in its 70-year history.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-29/ballistic-market-creates-…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Disability, Housing market.Activists and attorneys: Landlords cannot refuse ERAP funding
Susan Arbetter (No paywall)From New York ... Lawmakers returned to Albany in August for an extraordinary session of the state Legislature to extend New York's eviction moratorium to Jan. 15. Lawmakers also included a provision that allowed landlords to contest hardship claims by tenant in court. It was a necessary fix in order to comply with a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that said part of New York's eviction moratorium was unconstitutional. To fix the issue, tenants now must document the financial strain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic instead of just signing a declaration. But according to Cea Weaver, campaign coordinator at Housing Justice for All, if a landlord ultimately refuses to accept emergency rental assistance program (ERAP) money for qualified tenants, it’s considered a form of housing discrimination. (State of Politics) You can check out the current state of play with rent moratoriums around the world at: [https://bit.ly/3qwHS2Q]
https://nystateofpolitics.com/state-of-politics/new-york/politic…
# Hot topic International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Landlords and agents, State Government.Labour conference backs pledge to build 150,000 social homes per year
Lucie Heath Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Labour conference delegates have voted in favour of a housing motion that included the pledges to enshrine the right to housing in law and to build 150,000 social homes per year. ... Shadow housing secretary Lucy Powell appeared open to the idea in her speech to the conference yesterday, stating that “housing as a human right” would be “at the heart of our new settlement”. While the UK has an obligation under international law to ensure citizens enjoy a human right to housing, yesterday’s motion said enshrining this right in domestic law “would help to eradicate homelessness, and could avert housing problems for people in all tenures”.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/labour-conference-back…
# International, Public and community housing, Homelessness, Human rights.Retiree home ownership is about to plummet. Soon little more than half will own where they live
Brendan Coates and Tony Chen The Conversation (No paywall)This article was published two years ago, but it is worth revisiting ... Australia’s retirement incomes system has been built on the assumption that most retirees would own their home outright. But new Grattan Institute modelling shows the share of over 65s who own their home will fall from 76% today to 57% by 2056 – and it’s likely that less than half of low-income retirees will own their homes in future, down from more than 70% today. ... Our 2018 report Money in Retirement showed that while Australia’s retirement income system is working well for the vast majority of retirees, it’s at risk of failing those who rent. They are more than twice as likely as homeowners to suffer financial stress ...
https://theconversation.com/retiree-home-ownership-is-about-to-p…
# Australia, Rent, Home ownership, Older people.‘Arbitrary metrics’: Government and developers face off over green space
Angus Thompson The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Green space has emerged as a key battleground between the NSW government and property developers over reforms to boost the design standards of apartment blocks as the industry fights for larger buildings and fewer trees.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/arbitrary-metrics-government…
# NSW, Planning and development, State Government.COVID provided a real-life experiment on house price theory and what makes owning a home unaffordable
Tom Lowrey ABC (No paywall)There are undoubtedly a whole range of things that influence property prices, and rents too. The question for economists and policy-makers has always been around which have the strongest influence, and which can be adjusted if prices need to be reined in. Brendan Coates from the Grattan Institute suggests one key influence has won the day. "I said at the start of COVID, we're about to find out what matters more for house prices: interest rates, or underlying demand or supply," he said. "And I think we've been proven that interest rates matter more." [But urban planner Nicole Gurran from the University of Sydney says:] "We need to wean ourselves away from that private sector housing market drivers towards looking at a sector of the housing system that responds to housing need, and that is social and affordable housing." ... Two federal elections have been fought with housing affordability as a central issue. Twice Labor has argued to scrap negative gearing for existing homes, and tweak capital gains tax rules, in an effort to assist first-home buyers. And twice it's fallen short - leading to it now abandoning the policy. Economist Saul Eslake thinks that's a problem, as both are part of any solution. ... Mr Eslake, though, questions whether politics is really steering the conversation on housing affordability. "There are 11 million Australians who own at least one property, and within that there are at least two million who own more than one property," he said. "And the last thing those 11 million Australians want any government to do is anything that slows down the rate of growth of property prices."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-28/housing-affordability-bor…
# Hot topic Australia, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Landlords and agents.Regulators poised to intervene in Sydney, Melbourne property boom
Jennifer Duke and Shane Wright The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Sydney and Melbourne home buyers face tougher lending standards within months amid warnings the surge in super-sized mortgages to buy into expensive suburbs is outpacing income growth. House prices in the nation’s two largest capital cities have risen by hundreds of dollars a day this year and a new survey shows property industry experts are expecting this growth to continue over the next 12 months.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/regulators-poised-to-int…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Home ownership, Housing market.In Darwin, the Malak Caravan Park's rezoning could see pensioners evicted
Isabel Moussalli ABC (No paywall)For years, the KOA and Malak Caravan Park in Darwin has welcomed tourists along with more than 50 permanent residents who found affordable housing there as the city's rental prices increased. But those residents now fear they could soon become homeless as the park takes another step towards a major redevelopment.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-29/malak-caravan-park-rezoni…
# Australia, Land lease communities, Homelessness, Older people.