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
Hundreds of West Australians become homeless in first month after State’s rental eviction moratorium lifted
Michael Traill (Paywall)More than 100 West Australians were plunged into homelessness in the first month following the State’s rental eviction moratorium being lifted. (The West Australian)
https://thewest.com.au/news/social/hundreds-of-west-australians-…
# Australia, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.FEANTSA The 6th Overview of Housing Exclusion in Europe 2021
https://www.feantsa.org/en/report/2021/05/12/the-6th-overview-of-housing-exclusion-in-europe-2021?bcParent=27 (No paywall)This new report is an opportunity to shed light on young people who, especially when poor, are worse affected by housing exclusion than the rest of the population, and were so even before the current health crisis. It also takes stock of the wave of poverty affecting all of Europe, more than a year after the start of the pandemic. (International Union of Tenants)
https://www.feantsa.org/en/report/2021/05/12/the-6th-overview-of…
# International, Housing market, Young people.Rental vacancy rates at lowest level in years, but still high in some pockets: Domain data
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Renters in Australia’s biggest cities could find it hard to get a good deal with the number of empty properties falling, but there are some neighbourhoods still offering tenants more choice. ... For Sydney renters, the city’s west offers the most vacant rentals, with 4.6 per cent of properties in the Parramatta region and 4.4 per cent of rentals in the Auburn area untenanted last month. They were among a dozen Sydney regions, mostly covering Sydney’s middle-ring suburbs, which had a vacancy rate above 3 per cent. Meanwhile, the rate in the inner city fell to 2.9 per cent, down from 3.2 per cent in April.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/rental-vacancy-rates-at-lowest-le…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market.Housing investors to pick up slack as first home buyers retreat: AFG
Clancy Yeates The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)One of the country’s biggest mortgage brokers, AFG, expects property investors will continue returning to the market, helping to fill the gap left by retreating first home buyers.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/housing-inve…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Apartment owners suing Sydney developer Toplace over dozens of 'defects' in near new Parramatta buildings
Josh Bavas ABC (No paywall)Apartment owners in a large riverside apartment complex in Parramatta are suing developer Toplace over dozens of alleged defects discovered after the buildings were completed less than three years ago. ... The body corporate claimed more than 40 types of defects were found, including corroding concrete and defective installation of windows, doors, bathtubs and toilets.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-03/parramatta-apartment-owne…
# NSW, Strata, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.Delay removing dangerous cladding ‘soul destroying’
Sarah Corker & Phil Hendry BBC (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... The government will miss a June deadline to complete applications for £5bn of funding to remove flammable cladding in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy. ... The ongoing dispute is delaying work to make dangerous buildings safe.
# International, Asbestos, lead, hazardous materials, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.Inside the Sydney ghost blocks that have sat dormant for decades
Michael Koziol The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)With space at such a premium, we expect our city centre to be chock-a-block with offices, shops, housing, parks, public spaces – anything. But even in the middle of Sydney there are still empty blocks of land where there is ... well, nothing. ... Matt Levinson from the Committee for Sydney think tank said ... “Every one of these dormant properties represents homes or public space we’re missing out on,” he said. “When affordability and proximity are critical issues limiting the future of our city, it’s inconceivable that a way can’t be found to bring these sites back into use.”
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/inside-the-sydney-ghost-bloc…
# NSW, Housing affordability, Planning and development, State Government.Ray White transforms the rental experience by collaborating with Snug
(No paywall)Rental application and inspection booking platform, Snug.com has formally announced its commercial partnership with Ray White, with the group having now onboarded more than 100 offices to its software platform. Renters can now book inspections and apply for Ray White residential rentals using Snug across participating Ray White offices. (eliteagent.com)
https://eliteagent.com/ray-white-transforms-the-rental-experienc…
# Australia, Rent, Landlords and agents.