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
Suncorp warns against building in flood zones, flags $250m in claims
Clancy Yeates The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Suncorp says claims from this month’s flooding disasters across NSW, south-east Queensland and Victoria will cost it up to $250 million, as it warned against building new homes in high-risk areas. ... Insurance companies have in recent years underestimated the costs of natural disasters, and chief executive Steve Johnston urged governments to improve their planning decisions and avoid building new homes in highly flood-prone areas.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/suncorp-warn…
# Hot topic Australia, Housing market.House Prices Are Inflating Around the World
Mike Cherney and Patricia Kowsmann (Paywall)As the U.S. housing market booms, a parallel rise in residential real-estate prices across the world from Amsterdam to Auckland is raising fears of possible bubbles and prompting some governments to intervene to prevent their markets from overheating. Policy makers were already worried about high property prices in parts of Europe, Asia and Canada before the pandemic, especially as years of low interest rates kept demand strong. But now the trillions of dollars of stimulus deployed world-wide to fight the effects of Covid-19, along with changes in buying patterns as more people work from home, are turbocharging markets further. That is putting policy makers in a bind. ... (The Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/house-prices-are-inflating-around-t…
# Hot topic International, Housing market.NSW homelessness deemed 'humanitarian crisis' as new wave hits amid rental market squeeze
Giselle Wakatama ABC (No paywall)Domestic violence and homelessness groups along with tenancy advocates say New South Wales is on the brink of a 'humanitarian crisis' in terms of homelessness. A rally in Newcastle on Monday was told crisis accommodation was at capacity and rental vacancies were virtually non-existent. Nicole Grgas from the Hunter Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service says people are desperate and resources are stretched to the limit. She says people who are now at risk have nowhere to go. ... "What they are saying is, 'I have to move into my car, I have to split my family up into different relatives' houses because I have got nowhere to go.'"
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-29/nsw-homelessness-rent-squ…
# Hot topic NSW, Eviction, Rent, Affordable housing, Homelessness, Housing market, Welfare.Warning over growing rental pressure on elderly Australians
ABC (No paywall)Tens of thousands more older Australians will face rental stress and potentially homelessness over the coming decade, as a shortage in social housing and fall in private ownership combine with an ageing population. New analysis suggests the Federal Government would need to build 12,000 homes a year help cover the shortfall for over 65s and that's putting aside the help needed among younger Australians. With the new JobSeeker rate set to kick at the end of next month there are also fears about a jump in homelessness in the coming months. (RN Breakfast)
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/warning-…
# Hot topic, Audio Australia, Eviction, Rent, Homelessness, Older people.CDC extends eviction moratorium
(No paywall)The Biden administration announced today an extension of the federal eviction moratorium through June 30, 2021, and greater enforcement of the moratorium’s protections – two measures that will help keep millions of renters stably housed during the pandemic and prevent further spread of and deaths from COVID-19. (International Union of Tenants)
https://www.iut.nu/news-events/cdc-extens-eviction-moratorium/
# Hot topic International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.MPs urge government to provide funding for renters to repay COVID-related arrears
Lucie Heath Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... A report by the Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee on the government’s support for private renters and homeless people during the COVID-19 crisis urged the government to publish an “exit plan for the private rented sector from national and local restrictions”. The HCLG Committee said “one of [the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG)] top priorities” is to deliver a financial package to support tenants to repay rent arrears caused by COVID-19, which it suggested should be done via Discretionary Housing Payments. It estimates that such a relief package would likely cost the government between £200m and £300m, however the committee said it “would likely save the exchequer a substantial amount in homelessness assistance” due to the number of evictions that such a package would prevent.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/mps-urge-government-to-prov…
# Hot topic International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness.Victoria's rental laws have changed. Here's what you need to know
Kristian Silva ABC (No paywall)If you are among the one in four people in Victoria who rent a home, or if you own an investment property, changes to the more than 130 rental law changes taking effect on Monday could have a big impact on your life. The Victorian Government says the reforms, delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will "make renting fair for all Victorians".
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-29/victoria-rental-reforms-b…
# New policy announcement Australia, Bond, Rent, Fixtures - lights, aircon etc, Minimum habitability standards, No-grounds evictions, Pets, State Government.Housing unaffordable for most people even before price spike
Shane Wright The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Forty per cent of first home buyers in Sydney and Hobart were priced out of their property market even before the latest surge in house values and new research reveals a widening gap between the nation’s capital cities. Only a surge in federal and state government handouts, worth up to $88,000, and record-low interest rates has prevented even worse affordability issues hitting first-time buyers, but they could grow as a key scheme comes to an end. Research released on Thursday by the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation shows for the first time the affordability issues facing both buyers and renters based on income groups.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/housing-unaffordable-for…
# Hot topic, Research alert Australia, Rent, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market, State Government.