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
On "structured misrepresentation" ... or why we need to stop telling lies about our housing and planning policies
News from the front desk The Fifth Estate (No paywall)Professor Peter Phibbs got a rousing retirement send off from his gig as director of the University of Sydney’s Henry Halloran Trust on Wednesday but he didn’t leave without a few piercing observations on housing and planning. ... It goes like this, he said: Prices rise, people worry, social housing advocates get louder and the government finally decides to hold an inquiry. “And the response is very predictable: after 20 years they say the same thing: the only problem is red tape, taxes and planning regulations. “The federal agencies say it’s land supply. The RBA says it’s nothing to do with us and the Grattan Institute blames NIMBYs.” The whole thing ends up with blame heaped on local government, he says. “The main thing among politicians is to sound concerned, blame someone else and do nothing.” They do nothing because they’re terrified about the prices falling and because most voters are home owners. And as we’ve said countless times developers purport to want lower prices but if the prices fall they immediately stop building. Besides check the landbanks they own, all approved for housing. Phibbs tips that nothing will change until most voters are renters.
https://thefifthestate.com.au/columns/news-from-the-front-desk/o…
# Must read Australia, Rent, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market, Local Government, State Government, Tax.Evicted in less than 10 minutes: courts fail tenants broken by pandemic
Maeve McClenaghan (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... People in dire financial straits are losing their homes in a matter of minutes because of a legal system that has failed to account for the catastrophic impact of the pandemic, with judges powerless to prevent evictions being ordered, the Bureau can reveal.
https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2021-09-23/evicted…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market, Landlords and agents, No-grounds evictions.Why Housing Affordability Is A Structural Issue
Martin Niorth (No paywall)We discuss my submission to the current Housing Affordability inquiry which the Federal Government is running at the moment. We have been tracking the ranks of inquiries into the housing market and housing affordability over this time-frame and note the considerable duplication of effort from the many inquiries which have been undertaken, but without real change. The issue is clouded by self-interest, misdirection, and short-term political agendas. As a recent report put it “The scale of the housing market in the Australian economy and the diffuse, often disconnected, spread of policy powers that address different aspects of this system make the Parable of the Blind Men and the Elephant a perfect metaphor for our current predicament”. ... Financialisation Is The Problem ... An important report from the Special Rapporteur to the UN Human Rights Council highlights the “financialization of housing” and its impact on human rights. If you want to understand the rise in property investment in Australia, and the problem of housing affordability, read this! Sydney and Melbourne are “Hedge Cities”. You cannot fix housing affordability without addressing the investment class. (Digital Finance Analytics Blog)
https://digitalfinanceanalytics.com/blog/why-housing-affordabili…
# Must read Australia, Rent, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing affordability, State Government, Tax.Welsh renters given six-month notice periods until end of year
Lucie Heath Inside Housing (Paywall)Six-month notice periods will remain in place in Wales for the majority of evictions until at least the end of December as ministers choose to extend COVID-related protections. ... As before, the rule will apply to all evictions except for instances where the tenancy is being ended due to anti-social behaviour or domestic violence. ... According to an explanatory note published by the Welsh government, “there remains the potential for a significant number of evictions in the private rented sector” in Wales. “Without a longer period to offer support, address rent arrears, and for landlords and tenants to prepare for potential eviction, local authorities could struggle to meet the demand for temporary accommodation, which could lead to a large number of people potentially sleeping rough,” it said. Ms James said that the increased notice periods will give renters a longer period of time to seek support for rent arrears, including by applying to the government’s Tenancy Hardship Grant scheme.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/welsh-renters-given-si…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.Berlin Referendum Could Determine the Future of the City’s Housing
Aggi Cantrill and Hayley Warren (No paywall)From Germany ... [On Sunday, 26 September 2021 voters in Berlin] will decide whether the government should take control of apartments from the biggest landlords to protect affordable housing. ... [This results from] a grassroots fight to transfer rental properties owned by landlords with more than 3,000 units to public entities. Activists have succeeded in getting a referendum — advisory rather than binding — on the ballot for Sept. 26, the same day as Germany’s national and local elections. If passed — by no means a foregone conclusion — that proposal could mean 226,000 apartments going into public ownership. As cities around the world grapple with similar affordable-housing crises, Berlin’s electorate would be the first to vote on possible measures to wrest back properties from private landlords. (Bloomberg City Lab)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-09-23/berlin-refere…
# International, Affordable housing, Campaigns and law reform, Housing market, Landlords and agents.IMF calls on regulators to rein in booming Sydney, Melbourne house prices
Shane Wright and Jennifer Duke The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Australian regulators have been urged to cool the booming housing market, with the International Monetary Fund warning a property price correction would pose a significant risk to the nation’s economic stability. Tightening restrictions on lending is among major recommendations from the IMF to take the heat out of the property sector along with ramping up home building and reforming generous housing-related tax benefits. ... IMF Australia mission chief Harald Finger said rising house prices were “collateral damage” from low interest rates to help stabilise the economy during coronavirus and reach the Reserve Bank’s inflation target. ... In its report, the IMF also encouraged policymakers to consider housing supply reforms, including better planning, zoning and infrastructure, as well as incentives to local councils to streamline zoning regulations and improve infrastructure. Promoting flexible working arrangements was also pointed out as a possibility, helping move workers out of cities and improving affordability.“In addition, governments should focus on providing targeted fiscal support for low-income households and expand social housing,” the IMF said.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/imf-calls-on-regulators-…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Federal Government, Housing affordability, Housing market, Local Government, Planning and development, State Government, Tax.Where is the Brussels protest against the housing crisis?
Charlotte Deprez (No paywall)Thousands of people went to protest in Amsterdam against the current housing policy last Sunday. The protesters demanded affordable housing. Living in Brussels is also becoming too expensive for more and more people. 'I think if policy makers don't come up with fair solutions soon, more movements like the one in Amsterdam will arise,' said Sorcha Edwards, Secretary General of Housing Europe. (Apache) [Copy link to Chrome, open and then click English translation]
https://www.apache.be/2021/09/15/waar-blijft-brusselse-protest-t…
# International, Rent, Affordable housing, Housing market.The Big Ten Donors: property developers ratchet up their spending on politicians
Callum Foote (No paywall)Despite moves to tackle the toxic influence of property developer donations in NSW and Queensland, the rate of donations made by property developers is increasing, and is increasingly concentrated among a few large players, according to new research from the Centre for Public Integrity (CPI). ... Cameron Murray, an economist at the University of Sydney and author of A Game of Mates, says that property developers are after concessions such as “favourable rezoning decisions and to avoid future taxes on their property portfolios.” According to Murray, all property and construction industry interactions of this sort with the government are conducted with the intention of increasing profits which means to keep property prices as high as possible. ... Moreover, due to the involvement of the council, state and federal government on property decisions “property developers are very politically active at all levels. It’s the smart thing for them to be active at all levels with donations being just one way to get involved” says Murray. (Michael West Media)
https://www.michaelwest.com.au/the-big-ten-donors-property-devel…
# NSW, Federal Government, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Local Government, Planning and development, State Government.