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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See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
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Archive
Selling your house without an agent is doable but what exactly does it take?
Jennifer Leake and Edwina Seselja ABC (No paywall)Australia's property boom is keeping real estate agents busy, but could you buy or sell a property without one? Brisbane man Philip, who did not want to use his surname, thought as much and sold his Fairfield home without an agent.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-28/-selling-property-without…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Sydney property owners test market with ‘unrealistic’ prices
Sue Williams Domain (No paywall)With Sydney property prices rising so rapidly, and stock on the market so tight, a number of “opportunistic” sellers are trying to cash in on buyers’ desperation to find a home.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/sydney-property-owners-test-marke…
# NSW, Home ownership, Housing market.National house prices reach record high of $899,509: Domain
Euan Black The New Daily (No paywall)National house prices grew at their fastest pace in almost 18 years over the March quarter, according to property listings site Domain. The national median rose by 5.7 per cent over the first three months of the year to reach a record of $899,509 – up 10 per cent on the same time last year.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2021/04/29/house-pri…
# Australia, Housing market.Tenant News
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)Check out all the stories ...
The COVID-19 transition period begins
The looming threat of homelessness
Renting through flood and fire
Good news in Glebe!
Can I have a pet and a home? It depends ...
Reaching out to young people
https://us3.campaign-archive.com/?u=29c79d2825cb376b3f0b06385&id…
# Must read NSW, Campaigns and law reform.The case for renting
Charlie Wilde Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)As Youth Week draws to a close, we examine renting from the perspective of renters under 30, and highlight a few of their suggestions to improve the renting experience for everyone.
# NSW, Rent, Housing market, Young people.Berlin tenants undaunted by recent court ruling that undoes a rent cap
Orla Barry (No paywall)Jenny Stupka’s rent for her house share in the Wedding district of Berlin rose by 40% in under six years. The price hikes suddenly halted after the Berlin state government introduced a rent cap in 2019. But Germany’s constitutional court ruled last week that since the federal government already had laws in place regulating the rental sector, the Berlin state’s rent freeze bill infringed on those laws. Now, Stupka faces not only a surge in her monthly rent, but also back payments to her landlord for the time the cap was in place ... (International Union of Tenants)
https://www.iut.nu/news-events/berlin-tenants-undaunted-by-recen…
# International, Rent, Housing market.Pandemic eviction bans found to protect entire communities from COVID-19 spread
John Hopkins Medicine (No paywall)A new study led by researchers at Johns Hopkins and the University of Pennsylvania uses computer modeling to suggest that eviction bans authorized during the COVID-19 pandemic reduced the infection rate and not only protected those who would have lost their housing but also entire communities from the spread of infections. (Science Daily)
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/04/210419110130.htm
# Must read International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Health.PRIORITIZATION IN EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS:A FRAMEWORK OF STRATEGIES, POLICIES, AND PROCEDURES TO BETTER SERVE PRIORITY POPULATIONS
(No paywall)From the United States ... National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Center for Law and Social Policy’s new report outlines how emergency rental assistance programs can incorporate strategies, policies, and procedures that embed equity and give priority to renters most impacted by COVID-19 and at greatest risk of housing instability. (International Union of Tenants)
https://www.iut.nu/news-events/new-report-prioritisation-of-emer…
# International, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market, State Government, Welfare.