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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. 

Our main email newsletter, Tenant News is sent once every two months. You can subscribe or update your subscription preferences for any of our email newsletters here.

See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.

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Archive

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Key topics

Eviction crisis looms after Biden and Congress fail to extend Covid ban


The Guardian (No paywall)

Tenants saddled with months of back rent were facing the end of the federal eviction moratorium on Saturday, a move that could lead to millions being forced from their homes as the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant spreads. The Biden administration said on Thursday it would allow the nationwide ban to expire, saying it wanted to extend it but its hands were tied after the supreme court signaled in June that it wouldn’t be extended beyond the end of July without congressional action. House lawmakers on Friday failed to pass a bill to extend the moratorium even a few months. Some Democrats had wanted it extended until the end of the year. Also, check out this account of the samee story in The New York Times entitled: 'Eviction Freeze Set to Lapse as Biden Housing Aid Effort Lags' by Glenn Thrush, Matthew Goldstein and Conor Dougherty at [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/31/us/politics/eviction-moratorium-biden-housing-aid.html]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/31/eviction-morator…

# Hot topic International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Federal Government, Housing market.
 

Don’t let FOMO rush you into the property market

Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon
The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)

Do your utmost to limit your borrowings. And, most importantly, remember that the time to buy is when you are ready – not when rushed.

https://www.smh.com.au/money/borrowing/don-t-let-fomo-rush-you-i…

# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.
 

Price gap between units and houses in Canberra the largest in the country

Antoinette Radford
ABC (No paywall)

The national capital now holds another title: the city with the largest price gap between units and houses in Australia. According to the latest research released by property analyst group CoreLogic, the price gap between an apartment and a house in Canberra is 74.8 per cent, the largest of all capital cities.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-29/act-biggest-price-gaps-un…

# Australia, Housing market.
 

MIG Real Estate’s Amit Miglani pleads guilty to converting trust account funds to his own use

Elizabeth Redman
Domain (No paywall)

A Melbourne real estate agent who took nearly $100,000 out of his agency’s trust account and splurged on luxury cars and private school fees should be able to continue working in the industry, a court has heard. ... Funds were used to pay school fees at Xavier College, and spent on luxury car brands such as BMW, Audi and at Zagame Automotives.

https://www.domain.com.au/news/mig-real-estates-amit-miglani-ple…

# Australia, Landlords and agents.
 

House prices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and Hobart hit record high

Adrian Lowe
Domain (No paywall)

House prices have accelerated again in all capital cities, with six hitting record highs for the third quarter running and another two again at their highest point in several years. Melbourne and Canberra have joined Sydney as Australia’s million-dollar cities, with the harbour city surging past $1.4 million.

https://www.domain.com.au/news/house-prices-in-sydney-melbourne-…

# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.
 

Sydney house prices reach record median $1,410,133 – rising more than $1200 a day in just three months

Tawar Razaghi
Domain (No paywall)

Sydney house prices are breaking records yet again, surging to $1,410,133, new figures reveal, rising more than $1200 a day in the second quarter of 2021. The median house price jumped 8.2 per cent in just the three months to June, according to the latest Domain House Price Report, released on Thursday.

https://www.domain.com.au/news/sydney-house-prices-reach-record-…

# NSW, Home ownership, Housing market.
 

Tasmania's building regulator doesn't have enough power, according to home owners left dealing with defects

Annah Fromberg
ABC (No paywall)

Charlie Henty built his dream home on the outskirts of Launceston in 2015, but six years on he is still waiting to have defects repaired. ... Mr Henty said he had tried to engage with the building company, Elysium Builders in Tasmania, to fix the problems. This resulted in the cladding being replaced, but Mr Henty says it made the problem worse. So he approached the Master Builders Association for help, lodged a complaint with Tasmania's Justice Department, went through third-party mediation, and obtained independent reports on the problems, at his own expense. He said after going around in circles, the builder eventually stopped responding to emails and calls. Mr Henty was advised he had no recourse other than to take the builder to court.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-01/tasmanian-building-defect…

# International, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.
 

Millions of renters face eviction and homelessness: 3 essential reads about the CDC’s expiring moratorium

Bryan Keogh
The Conversation (No paywall)

From the United States ... The White House and city officials across the country are scrambling to avoid an eviction crisis. The federal housing eviction moratorium that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put in place in September 2020 expires on July 31, 2021. After that, millions of Americans who owe tens of billions of dollars in unpaid rent will lose that protection and may face eviction and a loss of their homes. Meanwhile, a group of landlords is suing the U.S. government to recover damages it says its members suffered from not being able to evict tenants who didn’t pay rent.

https://theconversation.com/au/topics/housing-376

# Hot topic International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Federal Government, Housing market, Landlords and agents.
 

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