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
Lockers for homeless in Launceston ready to go but no agreement on where to put them
Manika Champ ABC (No paywall)If you saw Peter Myers walking down the street, you would not expect he would be homeless. He looks like one of the city's students and usually only carries a backpack as he walks through the streets of Launceston each day and night. ... Mr Myers is one of more than 1,600 Tasmanians who sleep rough each night. ... Mr Myers is also one of a growing group of people in Launceston calling for homeless street lockers to be installed in the city's CBD and more individual-room accommodation options.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-05/lockers-for-launceston-ho…
# Australia, Homelessness, Local Government.Brisbane running out of land for new homes, with less than 3 years’ supply
Felicity Caldwell The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Brisbane will run out of available land to build new homes in less than three years – and Noosa has just one year – as a housing crisis grips the state. The startling projection was revealed via documents released as part of Queensland budget estimates hearings ...
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/queensland/brisbane-running-out-…
# Australia, Housing market, Planning and development, State Government.REA boss tips NSW property rebound after lockdowns lift; Property gets the COVID blues
Zoe Samios, Colin Kruger The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)[At 11.37am] REA Group chief executive Owen Wilson is anticipating a strong rebound for the NSW property market once Sydney opens up, after delivering unexpectedly strong growth in a financial year riddled with lockdowns in Victoria. [At 2.15pm] REA Group chief executive Owen Wilson may have been reassuring the market that he is anticipating a strong rebound for the NSW property market once Sydney opens up, but the market may be getting the wobbles over the prospect of prolonged lockdowns.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/flat-start-ahead-for-asx…
# NSW, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.Hoarder Queenslander house up for sale deemed unsafe to enter
Melissa Heagney Domain (No paywall)A hoarder house filled to the brim with broken furniture and rubbish has been deemed too dangerous to enter, but, this being Australian real estate, it’s not bothering buyers.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/ramshackle-west-end-house-up-for-…
# Australia, Health, Housing market.Renters worried about inspections breaching Sydney COVID restrictions, warns tenants union
David Taylor ABC (No paywall)It is becoming clear the Greater Sydney COVID-19 lockdown, and its effect on the property market, is presenting challenges for renters. But what they fear most, according to the Tenants Union of NSW, is having strangers who are potentially infectious with COVID-19 moving through their home on inspection days if their landlord decides to sell. The tenants union said that under Sydney lockdown restrictions, real estate agents were only allowed to show homes to one person a day and could only do that twice a week. But CEO of the Tenants Union of NSW, Leo Patterson Ross, said he had heard from tenants who said some realtors had been trying to break this limit. You also can listen to the audio of the same story at: [https://www.abc.net.au/radio/sydney/programs/pm/renters-fear-covid-exposure-during-open-house-inspections/13480424] (ABC PM)
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-04/renters-worried-about-ins…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media, Audio NSW, Privacy and access, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Regional NSW.What tenancy protections are available for renters after the moratorium ends?
(No paywall)As Australia transitions out of the COVID-19 emergency period and moratoriums come to an end, several measures remain to support tenants and landlords. We’ve rounded up the key changes and financial support measures for each state and territory to help you navigate this period. (rent.com.au)
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Landlords and agents.The eviction moratorium in the U.S. expired. Here’s how other countries handled such bans.
Miriam Berger (No paywall)A U.S. federal ban on evictions expired Saturday, nearly 11 months after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put the moratorium in place to keep people from losing their homes during the coronavirus pandemic. ... Other countries — including Britain, Spain and Australia — similarly imposed measures banning evictions and rent increases for individuals and businesses affected by the pandemic. Some of those programs are being rolled back, and housing advocates have warned that millions ... risk losing their homes in the coming months as a result. Here’s where some of these measures stand in comparison with the United States. (The Washington Post)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/01/eviction-rent-mo…
# TUNSW in the media International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market, International.Homeless camp pops up at Parliament as Perth mourns deaths of 56 rough sleepers
Marta Pascual Juanola The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A homeless tent city has appeared on the doorstep of Parliament to protest the shortage of affordable housing in Western Australia. About a dozen people slept in tents and mattresses at Solidarity Park on Tuesday night, flanked by two banners with the words “housing crisis, humanitarian crisis”. Volunteers helped the rough sleepers with warm drinks, food, and clothing. It comes six months after homeless people camped at Pioneer Park in Fremantle as the state’s housing crisis reached breaking point, and just hours after mourners gathered at the steps of Parliament to honour Noongar mother-of-six Alana Garlett, who died in hospital after falling ill while sleeping rough in Perth’s CBD. ... [The Fremantle camp] pushed the homelessness issue to the fore and became a hot topic in the lead-up to the March state election. Campers were moved into temporary accommodation in hotels in February ... Some rough sleepers have since been transitioned into public housing, others remain in temporary arrangements while some have returned to the streets. Homelessness in Perth has soared since then, with people who never experienced financial woes now facing life in the streets. Some rough sleepers have since been transitioned into public housing, others remain in temporary arrangements while some have returned to the streets. Homelessness in Perth has soared since then, with people who never experienced financial woes now facing life in the streets. But advocates say it doesn’t go far enough and more investment in public housing is needed.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/homeless-camp-…
# Hot topic Australia, Affordable housing, Campaigns and law reform, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness, State Government.