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
Emily Maguire on family and hoarding
The Guardian (No paywall)When do the objects we love become a health hazard? In this recording of Guardian Australia’s monthly book club, author Emily Maguire discusses her latest novel, Love Objects, with features editor Lucy Clark
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/audio/2021/jun/01/emi…
# Audio NSW, Health.Labour’s new housing chief wants to work with Tories to scrap S21
Graham Norwood (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Labour’s Lucy Powell, the party’s new housing spokesperson, says she wants to work with the Conservatives to scrap Section 21 eviction powers. Abolishing S21, as part of what the government calls the Renters Reform Act, has been a pledge since the 2019 General Election, which the Conservatives won by a landslide. Powell, appointed shadow housing minister in Labour’s recent reshuffle, now says in a statement on Twitter: “Labour has warned time and again that ending the evictions ban ... is gambling with people’s livelihoods and life chances. The Housing Secretary must keep his promise that nobody will lose their home because of Coronavirus. “Ministers should work with us on emergency legislation to end Section 21 ‘no fault evictions’ now. Instead the government has kicked its pledge to protect renters into the long grass. Now, they’re stripping away emergency protections without any plan to prevent a crisis.”
https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2021/6/labours…
# International, Eviction, Coronavirus COVID-19, No-grounds evictions.‘Release the hounds!’: Buying a house in Sydney is a game of ruthless psychological warfare
Penny Flanagan The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)If you are trying to buy a home in Sydney, get ready for a ruthless game of psychological warfare. And I’m not talking about the game you’ll have to play with the real estate agent; the time-honoured game called “What’s the price guide? No, really, what’s the price guide?′ I’m talking about the passive aggressive game of “It’s already ours suckers, so don’t even bother” that happens at the Saturday open for inspection. It’s a shrewd psyche-out contest, much like poker and the aim is to put everyone else off their buying game.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/release-the-hounds-buying-a-…
# NSW, Home ownership, Housing market.Paying off a home loan used to be easier than it looked. It’s now harder. Here’s why
Peter Martin The Conversation (No paywall)So you think it's the right time to dive in and buy a home. I can't tell you you're wrong. I can tell you it would have been better to do it before prices began soaring, and that if they keep soaring it will get worse still. ... For our parents, buying a home was an exceptionally good deal, not only because homes were cheaper — until the end of the 1990s homes typically cost between two and three times household after-tax income, they now cost closer to five times after-tax income — but also because over time the loan became easier to pay off. That isn't because mortgage rates were coming down — at times they were going up — it's because during our parents' times wages (and prices) were climbing.
https://theconversation.com/paying-off-a-home-loan-used-to-be-ea…
# Australia, Home ownership.House prices reach yet another record level due to ‘perfect storm’ of low interest rates, improving economy
Shane Wright and Jennifer Duke The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Housing prices across the country re-accelerated through May as a combination of ultra-low interest rates, strong consumer confidence and low supply drove prices to their highest levels in every capital city.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/house-prices-reach-yet-a…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.Hundreds of thousands face eviction as ban comes to an end
Dominic Brady Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Hundreds of thousands of private renters in England face eviction as the government’s ban on bailiff-led evictions officially ends, charities have warned. ... Homelessness charity Shelter released research showing that 1.8 million private renting adults in England (22%) are worried they will lose or be asked to leave their current home at short notice. It follows previous analysis by the charity in November which showed that 445,000 private renters were in arrears or had been threatened with eviction. Similar analysis by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) estimated that 400,000 renting households – 5% of all renters – have either been served an eviction notice or have been told they will be evicted. A further one million renting households are worried about being evicted in the next three months, half of which are families with children. JRF’s research found that renters from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) (18%) backgrounds are almost twice as likely to be worried about being evicted compared with white renters (10%).
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/hundreds-of-thousands-…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness.Adelaide councillor Anne Moran says 'voluntary homelessness' should not be allowed after finding homeless man in her house
Patrick Martin ABC (No paywall)An Adelaide city councillor who woke up to find a homeless man in her house says state laws should be reviewed to get homeless people the help they need — if they want it or not. Anne Moran awoke to the man standing in the doorway of her bedroom in her North Adelaide house on Sunday. Councillor Moran, 66, said the man was homeless and lived in the area, and mistakenly believed he lived there. She and her husband had seen him before in Wellington Square. She said he was not aggressive and she did not blame him for seeking shelter on an extremely cold morning. What happened to Adelaide's rough sleepers? Her husband asked him to leave and he did.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-01/adelaide-councillor-anne-…
# Australia, Homelessness.The $5,000 lakeside house: bargain Australian home comes with water view – while it lasts
Anne Davies The Guardian (No paywall)Imagine. Your own private beach and views from your porch to water as far as you can see – all for $5,000. That is not a misprint. It was the price Don Murphy, 76, paid for a waterfront house on the shores of Menindee Lake in the hamlet of Sunset Strip, more than 100km east of Broken Hill in the New South Wales outback. The house came with a car, furniture and utensils, but there are a few catches. [Read on]
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/may/30/the-5000-…
# NSW, Home ownership, Housing market, Regional NSW.