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
Mushroom crop grows out of Hobart rental carpet; tenants move out after complaining for months
Katri Uibu and Lucy MacDonald ABC (No paywall)When Victoria Saville and Lizzie Hosken moved into their first-ever rental property, the young women noticed a "brown patch" on the carpet. Weeks later, white and yellow mushrooms began sprouting from a stained area outside their bathroom. For about four months, the girls were picking off the mushrooms growing between the bathroom and the hallway of their $475-a-week rental in the Hobart suburb of Dynnyrne. ... The women said the mushroom growth appeared to be brought about by a water leak in the bathroom — an issue they had repeatedly raised with their real estate agent. [Read on]
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-07/mushroom-crop-grows-in-ho…
# Australia, Rent, Repairs, Health, Mould.The 2021 federal budget is expected to transform Australia's aged care sector. Here's why
ABC (No paywall)The recent aged care royal commission estimated that one in three people living in aged care in Australia experience neglect, physical or emotional abuse. ... With the first federal budget since the royal commission set to be handed down on Tuesday, here's a look at the state of Australia's aged care system.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-08/federal-budget-2021-aged-…
# Australia, Federal Government, Housing market, Older people.Is buying a home in Australia only for the wealthy?
Martin Farrer The Guardian (No paywall)Across the country house prices are soaring, breaking records and leaving many first home buyers completely exasperated. With prices set to rise even further, there’s concern that large sections of the population may be priced out of home ownership. Martin Farrer explains what is driving the housing boom, and what it could mean for home ownership in Australia. (Podcast)
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/audio/2021/may/06/is-…
# Video Australia, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.New mural celebrates local connections
Marjorie Lewis-Jones(No paywall)
Annandale-based artist Sharon Billinge has been collaborating with Darlington and Redfern locals to create a vibrant new mural to be completed in early May. ... [It features] three main portraits. Aunty Beryl Van-Oploo who set up the hospitality courses that operated out of Yaama Dhiyann and which specialised in Indigenous culture and cuisine, and who currently works at the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence; Dame Marie Bashir former Chancellor of Sydney University and Governor of New South Wales; and students from The Settlement Neighbourhood Centre, which provides a range of programs for children, young people and families. (South Sydney Herald)
https://southsydneyherald.com.au/new-mural-celebrates-local-conn…
# NSW, Local Government, Strong communities.Black Summer bushfire survivors who lost houses face years-long waits to rebuild
Melissa Heagney Domain (No paywall)Bushfire survivors in Victoria and NSW are being forced to wait for up to two years to rebuild the homes they lost as the property boom fuels a massive shortfall in builders and building supplies. It’s a problem facing thousands of homeowners in regional areas, after the Black Summer bushfires at the end of 2019 and start of 2020 destroyed 2448 homes in NSW and more than 700 in Victoria.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/black-summer-bushfire-survivors-w…
# NSW, Housing market, Regional NSW.There will be 150,000 new homes in Sydney in four years. More than 200 suburbs will get none of them
Nigel Gladestone The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)More than 150,000 dwellings are forecast to be built across Sydney in the next four years but more than a quarter of the city’s suburbs will be untouched by the development. NSW Department of Planning forecasters estimate between 132,800 and 171,200 new homes will be built in Sydney by 2025, reflecting continued uncertainty due to COVID-19. But no new homes are forecast to be built in 223 Sydney suburbs.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/there-will-be-150-000-new-ho…
# NSW, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market, Planning and development, State Government.Three landlords tried kicking her out in one year. Can she last much longer?
Kyle Swenson (No paywall)From United States ... Here now was another stranger at her door telling her to go. A property manager hired by the new landlord, he said. Patricia Mendoza had never seen him before, but she could guess what he was about to say. Legal terms and numbers. Friendly offers and veiled threats. He would be searching, trial and error, for the right combination of words that, like a magic spell, would make her disappear. “Okay,” the property manager said. “You haven’t paid rent since December, right? So December, January, February. Three months.” He explained that the new owner, who had purchased in December, was planning to renovate all four of the units. But Mendoza had heard it before. (Washington Post)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/05/06/eviction-noti…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.Darling House, The Rocks
(No paywall)The moment Dr Shane Moran first saw Darling House in 2016 and discovered the significant provenance of the heritage listed Dawes Point property, his vision began forming. Today, that vision has been realised with every magnificent detail captured and brought to life for seven very fortunate residents. But back in 2016 this property, owned by the NSW Land and Housing Corporation, was part of the NSW Government's sell-off of public housing stock in Millers Point. Check out its story at: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darling_House,_Millers_Point]. Check out 'Farewell Darling House' at: [https://millerspointcommunity.com.au/2063-2/]. Check out its sale in 2016 at: [https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-nsw-millers+point-121739534].
# NSW, Public and community housing, Heritage listings, Housing market.