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
ATO's warning for 1.8 million property owners: 'Expect consequences'
Lucy Dean (No paywall)The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has put property investors on notice this tax time, warning that it will be scrutinising these claims closely. More than 1.8 million Australians owning rental properties claimed $38 billion in deductions in the 2019-20 financial year, with ATO assistant commissioner Tim Loh flagging extended surveillance this year. He said the most common mistake investors make is failing to declare all their income, including capital gains from selling the investment property or holiday home. (yahoo!finance)
https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/ato-property-investor-warning-…
# Australia, Rent, Landlords and agents, Tax.New Zealand reserve bank to toughen mortgage-lending rules in bid to tackle housing crisis
Helen Livingstone The Guardian (No paywall)New Zealand’s reserve bank has announced plans to tighten up mortgage-lending, as the country struggles to tackle its housing crisis. One measure, which would come into force from 1 October after consultations, will involve reducing the portion of loans banks can make to owner occupiers with less than 20% of their deposit.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/03/new-zealand-reserv…
# International, Home ownership, Housing market.Through-the-roof home prices nothing short of a crisis
Editorial (Paywall)Lockdowns have given people in Melbourne and Sydney plenty of time to reflect on what their homes mean to them, and some will find considerably more comfort in that than others. ... This apparent rise in wealth and prosperity might bring a warm inner glow to the nation’s home owners, but the size of these figures and their trajectory will be chilling for those who have endured lockdown in a home owned by someone else and have dreams of buying their own.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/through-the-roof-home-prices-…
# Australia, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market, State Government, Tax.We need a top-level inquiry into runaway home prices - and Ken Henry’s up for it
Jessica Irvine The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)From my observations, combatants in the housing affordability debate usually fall broadly into one of two camps. On the supply side, they predominantly blame restrictive planning laws, regulations and excessive developer charges. On the demand side, they emphasise the role of tax breaks in encouraging speculative investment in property and ultra-low interest rates for facilitating higher borrowing. ... Call it an elephant, or call it a gorilla, what’s crystal-clear is that Australia’s growing housing affordability crisis is wreaking havoc on the quality of life of all Australians and it needs to be stopped.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/we-need-a-top-level-…
# Australia, Federal Government, Housing affordability, Housing market, Planning and development, Tax.Competitive rental market forces pet owners into homelessness
Georgia Hewson ABC (No paywall)It is a decision that more Australians have had to face over the last eighteen months — keeping a best friend or having somewhere to live. Record low rental vacancy rates have pushed low-income earners with pets out of the running.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-03/homeless-face-fight-to-ho…
# Australia, Discrimination, Rent, Homelessness, Pets.As Canberra's housing market continues to climb, renters like Diane face an uncertain future
Niki Burnside ABC (No paywall)Diane Asenoguan rents a modest apartment in Amaroo, in Canberra's north, but she loves it. Over 70 and a long career with ACT Health behind her, a series of financial pressures meant Ms Asenoguan was not able to buy a home. Living on a pension, she has been on a waiting list for seniors' housing for 18 months, and knows it could be a long time before that becomes possible. So when she received a letter in June informing her that her rent would increase from $360 to $400 per week, she questioned whether she would be able to make ends meet. "[It was] completely unaffordable," she said. "In that letter they stated they understood that this increase was above the CPI but that they wanted to reflect market value." ... Better Renting executive director Joel Dignam said people like Ms Asenoguan were caught "between a rock and a hard place", forced to choose between the uncertainty of a month-to-month lease or the financial burden of a steep increase in rent. ... ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury ... said a rental increase of 10 per cent or more, even on a new tenancy agreement, was not permitted without a tenant's consent. ... Mr Rattenbury said the ACT government would also be introducing reforms that included ending no-cause evictions, which were "designed to ensure that tenants can assert their rights without having fear of retaliatory evictions".
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-31/rent-prices-rise-in-canbe…
# Australia, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market, Older people, State Government.Palmerston rentals empty as NT government signs new housing contract with developer
Jesse Thompson ABC (No paywall)Jacinta Benger was excited to be moving into her new home, a two-storey, three-bedroom Palmerston townhouse known locally as one of the "shipping container units". She admired the modular, modern design of the buildings, which had been shortlisted for an urban development award. She collected the keys in 2016, and became the first person to occupy the newly minted rental she moved into during April that year. ... Ms Benger's unit was among a group of developments intended to provide affordable housing in the satellite city south of Darwin. ... [The Northern Territory government paid more than $6 million when it bought the units off the plan in 2013] ... all 16 houses are now locked up and empty after teams of inspectors were sent in to scrutinise potential defects. ... By late 2018, chairman Allan McGill [of not-for-profit organisation Venture Housing Company who received the buildings from the NT government after they were completed in 2015] had been handed a compliance report examining how the buildings corresponded to national construction standards. He said engineers had identified a large number of potential defects across about half a dozen units they inspected, finding issues including cracked wall linings, damage from water ingress, and interior staircases where no handrails had been installed — contrary to approved designs.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-03/nt-empty-palmerston-commu…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.How Karen and Jamie Goullet found their 'calling' and have given more than 50 senior dogs a forever home
Lucy Stone and Sally Eeles ABC (No paywall)It started with an old dog named Sally. She was a very old dog that was left at an animal shelter in Clontarf, north of Brisbane. Sally didn't have much time left, so the shelter manager picked up the phone asked Karen and Jamie Goullet for help. And soon, Sally had a home for the rest of her life. ... What is most important for them is providing a safe, permanent home for animals that have given years of love and loyalty to humans, only to end up homeless at their most vulnerable age.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-02/whats-your-story-brisbane…
# Australia, Homelessness, Pets.