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
California has a $5.2bn plan to pay off unpaid rent accrued during the pandemic
Sam Levin The Guardian (No paywall)California is pursuing an ambitious plan to pay off the entirety of unpaid rent from low-income tenants who fell behind during the pandemic, in what could constitute the largest ever rent relief program in the US. The state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, is negotiating with legislators and said the $5.2bn plan would pay landlords all of what they were owed while giving renters a clean slate. If successful, the rent forgiveness plan would amount to an extraordinary form of aid in the largest state in the US, which has suffered from a major housing crisis and severe economic inequality since long before Covid-19. You can read the same story, this time entitled 'California Has a Plan to Pay the Back Rent for Low-Income Tenants. All of It.' (The New York Times) at: [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/21/us/california-rent-forgiveness.html?referringSource=articleShare] Again, you can read the same story, this time entitled: 'California to Pay off all Past Due Rent Accrued During COVID, Giving Renters Clean Slate' (Newsweek) at: [https://www.newsweek.com/california-pay-off-all-past-due-rent-accrued-during-covid-giving-renters-clean-slate-1602556]
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/22/california-rent-…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.NSW Budget – horses or houses? Where’s the priority?
Shelter NSW (No paywall)Shelter NSW is encouraged to see NSW’s recovery underway with unemployment falling. We remained concerned however, that the state’s improving fortunes are not being shared – with crippling housing unaffordability leaving many behind and driving inequity especially for younger generations. “With a windfall of over $1 billion in additional stamp duty”, said John Engeler, CEO Shelter NSW, “it was disappointing to see so little directed back to support people unable to compete in the private housing market.” Read more in our media release at the link provided.
https://shelternsw.org.au/news_items/nsw-budget-horses-or-houses…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Homelessness, Housing affordability.Aboriginal housing policies must be based on community needs — not what non-Indigenous people think they need
Martin Loosemore, Campbell Drake, John Evans and Sara Wilkinson The Conversation (No paywall)The recently announced $250 million NSW budget boost for Aboriginal housing is much welcomed and long overdue. In implementing this important new initiative, it is critical to consult Aboriginal communities about what culturally appropriate housing looks like. In the past, public housing policies have often been imposed on Aboriginal communities based on non-Aboriginal ideals of good housing. Research findings show the social values of Aboriginal people differ significantly from non-Aboriginal values. Unfortunately, well-intentioned government policies too often ignore these crucial differences.
https://theconversation.com/aboriginal-housing-policies-must-be-…
# NSW, Aboriginal renters, Public and community housing, Home ownership, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards, Planning and development.Affordable rental initiative gives landlords tax deduction for discounted rents
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Melbourne renter Rebecca Shiels never expected the generosity of a landlord to help her get back on her feet. As a newly single mother, she feared for her ability to find a suitable home for herself and her young boy, in a market in desperate need of more affordable properties. ... That was until she came across a two-bedroom apartment in Ormond, in Melbourne’s south-east, advertised for $300 a week — $250 below the market rate — with HomeGround Real Estate, a not-for-profit real estate agency opened in 2014. ... Similar schemes are operated by HomeGround agencies in Sydney and Canberra, operating under Bridge Housing and Community Housing Canberra, respectively, and landlords offering rent reductions may also be eligible for land tax exemptions and capital gain tax discounts under other government measures.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/affordable-rental-initiative-give…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents.NSW doubles down on land tax plans, even as stamp duty windfalls prop up the budget
Ian Verrender ABC (No paywall)... a quick forage through the accounts reveals a set of books overflowing with the proceeds of one of craziest property booms in history. ... Which makes it all the more baffling as to why Mr Perrottet is so determined to overhaul the system, to replace stamp duty with an annual land tax. From an efficiency and economics viewpoint, it makes perfect sense.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-22/nsw-budget-sydney-propert…
# NSW, Housing market, Tax.Old Canberra a model of cheap land and government housing
Jack Waterford Pearls and Irritations (No paywall)Canberra was once in a position to show how ordinary working Australians could get into the housing market at a fair price. That fair price, in today’s terms, was about a third of current prices. ... Those who won’t inherit and can never open the door to housing are trapped in poverty. Addressing this with housing help is cheaper than leaving them houseless; and even then they will not be getting the public subsidies housed Australians are getting.
https://johnmenadue.com/old-canberra-a-model-of-cheap-land-and-g…
# Australia, Public and community housing, History, Housing affordability, Planning and development.New Queensland rental laws could cost landlords and tenants, industry warns
Melissa Heagney Domain (No paywall)Landlords in Queensland could face some hefty bills to fix rental properties that don’t meet the minimum standards being proposed under new rental-reform laws. But tenants’ advocates say most people living in substandard rentals won’t complain to landlords to get them fixed because they fear they will be evicted. The minimum standards are being introduced as part of new laws introduced into Queensland Parliament late last week, with landlords being required to provide working locks on all windows and doors of their properties.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/queenslands-new-rental-laws-could…
# Australia, Rent, Repairs, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Minimum habitability standards, No-grounds evictions, Pets, State Government.Social housing rescued me when I fled domestic violence in 1970s Australia. That safety net has long gone
Anonymous The Guardian (No paywall)The wait time of more than 10 years for social housing is unacceptable. Women and children fleeing abuse have nowhere to run ... The author escaped domestic violence with her three small children in the 1970s. She is retired and volunteers in her community. She still resides in social housing. She says: 'I am forever grateful that social housing “rescued” me and my family.'
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/21/social-hou…
# NSW, Domestic violence, Public and community housing, Women.