ADVICE OVER THE HOLIDAY PERIOD
Tenants Advice & Advocacy Services have limited availability over the holiday period. The Tenants' Union will operate a Tenancy Advice Hotline from Wednesday 18/12/2024 until Wednesday 8/1/2025 (excluding weekends and public holidays). The hours of operation are 10am-1pm and 2-5pm.
Get advice on: (02) 8117 3750 or 1800 251 101
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.
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.
We love sharing the news and hope you find it informative! We're very happy to deliver it for free, but if you find it valuable, can you help cover the extra costs incurred by making a donation?
Archive
The suburb where I grew up was dubbed ‘the ghetto’. I didn’t tell friends where I lived
Shona Hendley The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)“Home sweet home.” Growing up, as I watched Dorothy navigate the hazards of the yellow brick road and the land of Oz in her desperate quest to get back to Kansas, these positive sentiments – of our homes carefully holding our hearts – seemed at odds, at least for some of the time, with my reality. “A childhood home is often assumed to be, and should be, a place of safety, security, and nurturing,” says clinical psychologist and author Dr Rebecca Ray. “It ideally provides a stable environment where children can grow, learn and develop and have their emotional, psychological and physical needs met. It’s a space where they should feel loved, supported and free to be themselves.”
https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/the-subu…
# Australia, Rent.Beauty Point caravan park residents say restrictive rules and recent evictions causing anxiety
Ashleigh Barraclough ABC (No paywall)Residents at a caravan park in northern Tasmania say restrictive rules, recent evictions and rent increases at the park are causing them constant anxiety and nightmares. The Beauty Point Tourist Park made headlines this year when it was investigated by the local council for potential non-compliance and for issuing eviction notices to three residents who allegedly brought the park's reputation "into disrepute". Anne is one of about 60 residents — who the park calls "guests". She owns her own cabin but pays fortnightly site fees to management.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-18/beauty-point-caravan-park…
# Hot topic Australia, Land lease communities.Discounted housing? Understanding shared rental markets under platformisation
Nicole Gurran, Zahra Nasreen & Pranita Shrestha Taylor & Francis (No paywall)Low-income earners and others facing housing market barriers have long sought to save costs by sharing. Potentially a release valve in constrained markets, the share sector is poorly understood due to the difficulty of tracing informal negotiations between cohabiting households. However, the rise of online accommodation platforms opens new opportunities to view these hidden arrangements while also propelling new practices under the broader financialisation of housing and ‘platformisation’ of daily life. With reference to Sydney, Australia, one of the world’s most expensive housing markets, we use platform data to investigate the contemporary share housing sector, using listings placed by people both seeking and offering shared accommodation via Flatmates.com.au.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02673037.2023.22427…
# Hot topic, Research alert Australia, Rent, Share houses, Starting a tenancy.Britons warn of dangers of shared home ownership scheme as Australian government mulls Help to Buy plan
Bridget Rollason ABC (No paywall)Paul Afshar says his biggest regret is buying his one-bedroom apartment through a shared home ownership scheme. "Initially I was over the moon. Unlike a lot of my friends, I didn't get any financial help from my parents, so being able to get a foot on the property ladder, I was elated," he tells the ABC. "Then it became the start of a 17-year nightmare." To break into the property market, Mr Afshar purchased a 25 per cent share of his apartment in East London for 195,000 British pounds ($386,000) in 2007 and split the rest with his local housing association.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-17/australian-shared-home-ow…
# Must read, Hot topic International, Rent.Services overwhelmed as 3 million at risk of becoming unhoused, says Homelessness Australia report
Isobel Roe ABC (No paywall)The rising cost of living and rates of rental stress have left about three million Australians at risk of homelessness, a more than 60 per cent increase since 2016, a new report by Homelessness Australia has found. Homelessness Australia has commissioned modelling of the number of Australians struggling with complicating factors such as low income, rental stress or low social resources, and says people with two or more of those factors are 'at risk' of becoming homeless. The group's CEO Kate Colvin will launch the report at Parliament House in Canberra today, where she will criticise governments for underfunding service providers experiencing unprecedented pressure.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-18/three-million-australians…
# Hot topic International, .With the right incentives, ‘Mum and Dad’ landlords could help deliver affordable housing
AHURI (No paywall)With 90 per cent of all property investors in Australia being small-scale ‘Mum and Dad’ investors, governments are keen for them to participate in providing affordable housing. New AHURI research has found that landlords who are participating in schemes that provide affordable housing are positive about their experiences. It also found that more landlords may be interested if they were aware of these opportunities. The research was undertaken by researchers from University of South Australia and RMIT University, and examines how governments can best encourage small-scale landlords to provide rental housing that is affordable.
https://www.ahuri.edu.au/analysis/news/right-incentives-mum-and-…
# Australia, .King Charles owns dozens of homes for rent that don't meet vital minimum energy standards
Nick Sommerlad The Mirror (UK) (No paywall)The King owns dozens of rental properties on his Sandringham Estate that fail minimum energy efficiency standards for landlords. We previously revealed that the Duchy of Cornwall is leaving vulnerable tenants at risk of fuel poverty, and some are living in cold, damp and mouldy homes. Now, after examining Energy Performance Certificates for scores on the West Norfolk estate, we have found more than 30 properties fail to meet minimum requirements. One tenant said: “It is very cold and the main problem is the single glazing. It lets out all the heat.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/royals/king-charles-owns-dozens-ho…
# Must read International, Rent.Social housing furnished tenancy schemes save over double the investment, report finds
Grainne Cuffe Inside Housing (No paywall)The report on a cost benefit analysis of local welfare assistance and furnished tenancies, commissioned by charity End Furniture Poverty, found that schemes which provide essential items and support to people can make significant savings across the NHS, criminal justice and the Department for Work and Pensions. For every pound spent on local authority crisis support schemes, over £14 is saved in the wider public purse, the analysis showed. The schemes can provide furniture, white goods, heating appliances, clothing for expectant mothers or babies, as well as other support including food and fuel vouchers, debt relief and help in accessing employment or training.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/social-housing-furnished-te…
# Hot topic International, Public and community housing.