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
Balance of power shifts as tenants prepare to negotiate cheaper rents
Nina Hendy The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Many landlords let out a collective sigh of relief when the government’s COVID-19 induced financial hardship moratorium restricting their ability to evict tenants for rent arrears ended last month. However, landlords now face a crisis of another kind: Many property investors holding apartments in inner-city Melbourne and Sydney are being forced to slash their rents. Some are asking up to 25 per cent less to let their properties than a decade ago.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/planning-and-budgeting/balance-of-p…
# TUNSW in the media Australia, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.Better supporting older Australians to age in place: Examining home care support options after the Royal Commission
AHURI Brief AHURI (No paywall)The recent release of the final report from the Royal Commission into Aged Care revealed poor living circumstances for many in residential aged care homes as well as lengthy wait times (e.g. in 2017–18, one-quarter of eligible people waited more than 30 months to get a Level 4 Home Care package) for people living at home who rely on Home Care support. The report reiterates that most people want to stay in their own home rather than go into residential aged care.
https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/ahuri-briefs/better-supporting…
# Australia, Rent, Health, Home ownership, Landlords and agents, Older people, Women.Understanding pet policies for Australian households: Reforms are happening across Australia, but how pet friendly is our housing market?
AHURI Brief AHURI (No paywall)Around 5.9 million Australian households (61% of all households) had a pet in 2019, a rate greater than for both the US (57%) and the UK (40%). The physical and psychological benefits of having a pet have been recorded by a number of studies and include decreased blood pressure and cholesterol levels; increased physical activity; improving self-esteem; and reducing rates of depression and loneliness; with one study estimating Australian cat and dog owners saved approximately $3.86 billion in health expenditure over one year.
https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/ahuri-briefs/understanding-pet…
# Australia, Rent, Strata, Health, Housing market, Pets.Housing Ombudsman to investigate damp and mould problems in sector
Lucie Heath Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... The Housing Ombudsman is launching its first “thematic investigation” into damp and mould in the sector as part of its newly enhanced powers. ... [Richard Blakeway, housing ombudsman, said:] “Using our new powers, we want to look in-depth at the response of social landlords to damp and mould issues. I want us to make far-reaching recommendations to promote greater understanding and learning, helping landlords develop their approach to the benefit of residents.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/housing-ombudsman-to-invest…
# International, Public and community housing, Mould.Home prices are climbing alright, but not for the reason you might think
Peter Martin The Conversation (No paywall)It’s tempting to think home prices are soaring because there aren’t enough homes. But that can’t explain the sudden takeoff from about the year 2000, the sudden takeoff from about 2013, and again now – against expectations – the stratospheric takeoff in the wake of the COVID recession. Broadly, we’ve enough homes. ... What appeared to set things off was a decision by Prime Minister John Howard in 1999 to halve the headline rate of capital gains tax. ... Rather than buy shares in innovative companies, Australians bought rental properties like they never had before. ... [So] it’s nothing to do with a shortage of housing, but for many it will push home prices further out of reach. That’s because in Australia housing is two things: accommodation and a form of speculation.
https://theconversation.com/home-prices-are-climbing-alright-but…
# Hot topic Australia, Federal Government, Housing affordability, Housing market, Tax.'Why are we being forgotten?': The tenants living in mould-infested flats
(No paywall)Julie Roberts is living with cancer that has spread throughout her body, and she's unable to sleep in her own bedroom due to the state of the mould infestation in her property. ... For Tiffany, the news of an investigation into social housing conditions should be reassuring. But after ten years of asking her housing association for something to be done about the mould in her home, she's beginning to lose hope.
https://www.itv.com/news/2021-04-13/why-are-we-being-forgotten-t…
# Video International, Public and community housing, Health, Mould.New rules for Airbnb-style letting in NSW delayed by three months
Matt O'Sullivan The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The NSW government has decided to delay the introduction of new rules for Airbnb-style letting across the state by three months after an outcry from councils and online rental company Stayz. The short-term letting rules were due to come into force on July 30, but the government has decided within the past 24 hours to delay their introduction to November 1. Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes said the government had received substantial feedback from key stakeholders about concerns regarding the timeline to implement changes.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/new-rules-for-airbnb-style-l…
# NSW, Local Government, Planning and development, Short-term holiday letting, State Government.New provisions for Short-term Rental Accommodation (STRA)
Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (No paywall)The NSW Government is pleased to announce that the new statewide Short-Term Rental Accommodation (STRA) planning policy has been made today, 9 April 2021 and will come into effect on 30 July 2021, to provide industry participants time to familiarise themselves with the new policy before it takes effect. The new statewide policy for STRA will benefit homeowners who want to take advantage of holiday rentals while providing more certainty and safety for locals and visitors.
http://planning-nsw-gov-au-2148779.hs-sites.com/new-provisions-f…
# New policy announcement NSW, Local Government, Planning and development, Short-term holiday letting, State Government.