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
Reimagining a disadvantaged suburb
Lexi Metherell ABC (No paywall)This week, we are taking a look at a trend that's been happening in public housing for some time - the breaking up of housing estates, and moving to models of "mixed tenures", where public and private housing is scattered together. We're focusing on the suburb of Claymore, in southwestern Sydney, one of Australia's most impoverished suburbs. It's home to around 2,600 people, and in the 2016 census the median household income was recorded at $700 - less than half that in the rest of the state. ... We look at the community's mixed feelings about Claymore and its future. You may listen to the audio at: [https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/worldtoday/reimagining-a-disadvantaged-suburb/13387052]. (The World Today)
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-16/claymore-affordable-housi…
# Audio NSW, Public and community housing, Planning and development.The unlikely friendship between Louise Pleming and Brian Turton forged by a shared love of tennis
Susan Chenery and Jennifer Feller ABC (No paywall)Louise Pleming was just finishing her regular stint at Canice's Kitchen near Sydney's Kings Cross, a community centre that supports the homeless when an intimidatingly large man recognised her from the television. He asked, "Why aren't you in Paris?" It was a "sliding doors" moment. ... He was sleeping under the grandstand near the Rushcutters Bay tennis courts. He was already there, good to go. It was raining that morning, but he didn't have a mobile phone for her to cancel. "Here's this guy standing on the court, pouring rain, racquet, tennis balls and he's ready to play," Louise remembers.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-14/how-brian-and-louise-are-…
# NSW, Homelessness, Personal stories.‘It starts to add up’: renters charged fees to pay rent as real estate agents outsource collection
Michael McGowan The Guardian (No paywall)Tenants are effectively being charged fees to pay their own rent by real estate firms that outsource payment processing to third-party companies, a practice advocacy groups say has become increasingly common despite laws meant to curtail its use. You can check out Scott Pape's article at: [https://www.barefootinvestor.com/articles/rental-rewards]
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jun/17/it-starts…
# Australia, Rent, Landlords and agents.Built-to-Rent Suburbs Are Poised to Spread Across the U.S.
Will Parker (No paywall)From the United States ... Built-to-rent developments ... are entirely new subdivisions designed for renters. They are managed more like new apartment buildings, with designated staff for repairs and maintenance. In the past few years, the model has taken off around Phoenix and elsewhere—and is likely to become a dominant force in the rental housing market in the coming years, with implications for the communities that surround them, and the nature of home ownership.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/built-to-rent-suburbs-are-poised-to…
# International, Rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Anne and Michael Wilks looking for a home in tough rental market after 90 day eviction notice
Sage Swinton (Paywall)"I've got two kids who I've fought for and promised stuff to and I can't even deliver a home." (Newcastle Herald)
https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/7294273/familys-house-b…
# NSW, Eviction, Rent, Tribunal NCAT, Homelessness.Call for stricter controls for ACT landlords as Canberra renters asked to care for chickens, limit heater use
Niki Burnside ABC (No paywall)When Kerrie Littlefield found a rental property for herself and her two daughters in Canberra's south in late 2019, she signed the lease with the understanding that renovations at the property would be completed within a few months. The educator, who works with special needs children, was delighted to secure a lease after struggling to find anything affordable close to her friends and workplace. But the renovations were never completed, and the family lived in a home without carpet, forced to buy rugs to ease the cold. In that time, she was also expected to care for the owner's chooks, and said she was never compensated for the more than $400 she spent on feed.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-16/act-call-for-stricter-con…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market, State Government.House of cards: Australia’s main response to the Covid recession was to keep home prices booming
Greg Jericho The Guardian (No paywall)Ever since the Reserve Bank began its run of cutting rates at the end of 2011, the boom in prices has been about houses, not apartments ... And thus the government policies that keep adding to demand for housing, whether it be buying established homes or building new ones, seem set to do what they are always intended to do – keep house prices growing.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2021/jun/17/hou…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.Poorer households in UK should get free heat pumps, say experts
Fiona Harvey The Guardian (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Households on low incomes should be supplied with free heat pumps in order to kickstart the market for low-carbon heating equipment and meet the UK’s climate targets, experts have told the government.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/16/poorer-house…
# International, Utilities electricity water gas.