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
Covid relief bill won’t extend eviction ban set to expire this month. Millions of Americans could be at risk of losing their homes
Annie Nova (No paywall)In the latest Covid stimulus package making its way through Congress, there’s no extension of the national ban on evictions that is set to expire this month. That’s because Democrats have chosen to pass the relief bill through a process called budget reconciliation, which sets limits on what they can include. Advocates say it’s now up to President Joe Biden to extend the ban and avoid a spike in evictions. (CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/02/covid-relief-bill-doesnt-extend-…
# Must read, Hot topic International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.40 organisations publish open letter welcoming Minister's announcement, concerned stronger protections required
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)NSW community sector sign on today to Open Letter welcoming Minister Anderson's announcement of a transition plan to support renters over the next 6 months, but calling for stronger protections and additional financial support
https://www.tenants.org.au/tu/news/40-organisations-publish-open…
# Must read, Hot topic, TUNSW in the media NSW, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness.Sunak’s budget was great for estate agents, but it did nothing for generation rent
Polly Toynbee The Guardian (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... t the wicked heart of both household and national finances is housing. It is the great social divide, the chasm between the perilously insecure and the asset-rich. Housing burns away private renters’ ability to live on their pay, while every year the wealth of homeowners swells. Members of the lucky boomer generation who bought their houses in the 1970s have reaped huge unearned profits. Yet Conservative chancellors keep throwing petrol on the flames.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/04/sunak-budg…
# Hot topic International, Rent, Affordable housing, Home ownership, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Tax.Are we seeing a sustainable housing market recovery?
Hal Pawson City Futures (No paywall)At the start of the pandemic, when it became clear that extensive economic disruption lay ahead, there was alarm about the possible housing system damage that could result. In Australia, one of our largest banks projected a possible 32% hit to house prices. Most other forecasts at this time anticipated a major downturn in property prices and construction. In fact, after only a short pause, house price inflation has come back with a roar in the later months of 2020 and into 2021. Forecasters are now projecting a general increase of at least 5% over the coming year with some predicting 10-20% over the next 2 years.
https://blogs.unsw.edu.au/cityfutures/blog/2021/03/are-we-seeing…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Federal Government, Housing affordability, Housing market.‘Dire’ outcome for thousands of renters as end of eviction moratorium looms
Rachel Wells Domain (Paywall)enant advocacy groups and welfare organisations are concerned for thousands of Victorian renters as the state government’s ban on evictions and rental increases, introduced at the beginning of the pandemic, is set to expire at the end of the month.
The end of the key protections for Victorian renters, introduced to prevent them from being evicted for the non-payment of rent due to rising unemployment and reduced incomes amid the coronavirus pandemic, coincides with the scheduled finish of JobKeeper payments, also set for March 28.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/dire-outcome-for-thousands-of-ren…
# Hot topic Australia, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, State Government.How to inject fresh thinking into Australia's housing conversation
Geraldine Doogue ABC (No paywall)Since the Menzies era, home ownership has been the cornerstone of the ‘Australian dream', but for many it’s becoming just that – a dream. It’s a social issue, but also an economic one, so how can we bring housing back to the centre of economic policy-making, particularly at a federal level? (Saturday Extra)
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/saturdayextra/maki…
# Audio Australia, Home ownership.NSW Central Coast rental vacancies plunge to 0.7 per cent as COVID sea-changers drive demand
Victoria Pengilley and Mary-Louise Vince ABC (No paywall)Two years after packing her bags and suddenly leaving an abusive relationship, Kristi-Marree Hart is still homeless. The mother of four has boarded with friends, stayed in hotels and now lives in transitional housing. Despite lodging hundreds of rental applications, she keeps getting knocked back.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-26/nsw-central-coast-rental-…
# NSW, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness, Older people, Women.Christina Sturdivant
The Biden Plan to Jump-Start Affordable Housing (No paywall)President Joe Biden wasted no time during his first day in office, signing more than a dozen executive orders, memorandums, and directives—several of which served as ways to course-correct or reverse decisions made by his predecessor. President Joe Biden wasted no time during his first day in office, signing more than a dozen executive orders, memorandums, and directives ... Many architects and developers, especially those focused on affordable housing projects, view President Biden’s arrival as a chance for transformation. “He changed the tone from the moment he got in there. It gave a jolt of energy and a commitment and conviction for possible change,” says Lorcan O’Herlihy, founder and principal of Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects in Los Angeles. ...
https://www.architectmagazine.com/aia-architect/aiafuture/the-bi…
# International, Discrimination, Affordable housing, Housing market.