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
House prices continue to rise in July but experts flag imminent slowdown
Jennifer Duke The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)House prices across the country continued to boom in July but property analysts are noticing signs of a slowdown triggered by affordability concerns and the Greater Sydney lockdown. ... Homelessness Australia chair Jenny Smith has raised concerns the total spend by the federal government on social housing and homelessness has been cut by almost $1 billion in real terms over the past decade as house prices and rents rise. Check out Tawar Razaghi's article entitled: 'Australian property prices continue to break records despite lockdowns: Core Logic' in Domain at: [https://www.domain.com.au/news/australia-property-prices-continues-to-break-record-growth-value-despite-lockdowns-core-logic-1076910/?utm_campaign=strap-masthead&utm_source=smh&utm_medium=link&utm_content=pos5&ref=pos1] Or, read a further report entitled: 'Australian house prices rose more in July than incomes are rising in a year, data shows' in The Guardian at: [https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/02/australian-house-prices-rose-more-in-july-than-incomes-are-rising-in-a-year-data-shows]
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/house-prices-continue-to…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market.The pandemic property boom is pricing locals out of the British countryside
Jade Angeles Fitton The Guardian (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Devon, where I grew up and have lived on and off my whole life, always had a surplus of affordable places to live. Even a couple of years ago many private rentals stood empty for months. This year, when my husband and I needed to move back from Lundy, an island off the north Devon coast, things were very different. There was such a dearth of long-term rentals that I found myself jumping on anything listed. ... Over the past 18 months, the pandemic has triggered a reappraisal of city living. Many of those who began working from home desired more space; those without gardens craved access to the outdoors. This has caused a boom in rental and buying markets in rural areas ...
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/01/pandemic-p…
# International, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.Woman who won pets in apartments case loses bid to have her building’s strata committee sacked
Sue Williams Domain (No paywall)The woman who won the landmark court case potentially giving thousands of NSW apartment owners the right to keep pets has lost her bid to have the committee of her building sacked. ... Last year’s Court of Appeal ruling changed the attitudes of the owners corporations at a number of Sydney apartment buildings that had similarly refused residents the right to keep pets. Some buildings followed Horizon’s example, scrapping their no-pets bylaws and introducing new rules on animal residents. Owners of apartments in other buildings that banned pets then either bought pets and challenged the strata committees to take them to the tribunal or made applications themselves that the no-pet bylaws were harsh and unconscionable.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/court-case-1077059/?utm_campaign=…
# NSW, Strata, Tribunal NCAT, Pets.Dog owner scraps planned High Court action to keep pet dogs in luxury Gold Coast high-rise
Tom Forbes and Caitlyn Sheehan ABC (No paywall)A Gold Coast dog owner has decided not to fight his body corporate in the High Court in a bid to keep his pet cocker spaniels in his Southport high-rise. In April, the Commission for Body Corporate and Community Management ordered Kerry Hayes to remove his dogs Bolli and Scooby from the Rivage Royale building.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-03/gold-coast-high-rise-dog-…
# Australia, Strata, Pets.Extra green space – and apartments – approved for Roma Street Parklands
Tony Moore The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The Queensland government has approved extra parkland, as well as four new apartment blocks, for the extension to the 11-hectare Roma Street Parklands. This follows concerns earlier this year, when residents of Roma Street apartments raised concerns about the impact of the $5.4 billion Cross River Rail project on the parklands. Brisbane City Council city planning chair Krista Adams described the outcome as “a victory for residents” after 34,000 people signed an online petition objecting to the state government’s original proposal.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/queensland/extra-green-space-and…
# Australia, Housing market, Local Government, Planning and development, State Government.Former bankrupt chicken killers put aged care business into administration
Cameron Houston and Chris Vedelago The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)An aged care business founded by two bankrupt brothers convicted of shocking animal cruelty has been placed into voluntary administration just days before it was required to return deposits to families of former residents. ... The brothers used aliases, dummy directors and a family trust to conceal their roles with Chronos Care, while also funnelling funds from the business to pay for their mortgages, holidays and luxury cars.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/former-bankrupt-chicken…
# Australia, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Older people.House prices take a breath as affordability crunch bites
John Collett The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Property price growth is slowing as more people who would like to buy are priced out of the market. If the trend continues, price growth could continue to slide and may even start to fall by 2023.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/investing/house-prices-take-a-breat…
# Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market, Landlords and agents.New inner-city building guide tightened to ease tower fears
Rachel Eddie The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Inner-city councillors have moved to clarify development guidelines that stoked fears of 14-storey apartment blocks towering over some of Melbourne’s best-known shopping strips.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/new-inner-city-building…
# Australia, Housing market, Local Government, Planning and development.