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
Church of England poised to make ‘widespread and generous’ use of land to tackle housing crisis
Martin Hilditch Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Report commissioned by the Archbishop of Canterbury says the Church should look at rejecting highest financial bids for land in order to deliver more “genuinely” affordable housing.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/church-of-england-pois…
# International, Public and community housing, Affordable housing.Can I have a pet and be housed, too? It all depends…
Wendy Stone and others The Conversation (No paywall)Barriers to housing for people with pets around Australia are the focus of newly released national research by an interdisciplinary team. Why? Because laws are changing nationally but are highly inconsistent. A systematic national approach is needed to reduce the numbers of people who have to give up their pets to secure housing – especially as we return to post-COVID “normal”. The full report [at: https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/350?utm_source=website&utm_medium=homepage&utm_campaign=slider] was reported in the 'Housing News Digest' on 18 February 2021.
https://theconversation.com/can-i-have-a-pet-and-be-housed-too-i…
# Research alert Australia, Land lease communities, Public and community housing, Rent, Strata, Homelessness, Older people, Pets.Mould infestations at Sydney social housing block leaves residents living in fear
Alison Xiao ABC (No paywall)Melissa Smith ended up in hospital after a mould infection took hold of her social housing unit in south-east Sydney. Black mould began to grow on the carpet of Ms Smith's apartment in Chifley in 2019 and it gradually spread to the ceiling and windows. Many of the 25-year-old's belongings have been ruined by the mould but the impacts on her health are more serious.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-23/mould-infestation-at-sydn…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Repairs, Health, Mould.Demand for guarantor home loans on the rise, as parents race to help children onto property ladder
Kate Burke Domain (Paywall)Rapidly rising house prices and a fear of missing out is driving up demand for guarantor home loans and help from the bank of mum and dad, with growing concern among first-home buyers and their parents that the “great Australian dream” is slipping out of reach.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/demand-for-guarantor-home-loans-o…
# Australia, Home ownership.Why the Australian dollar is rising — and what that's got to do with your mortgage repayments
David Taylor ABC (No paywall)The Australian dollar is on the move, now hovering around 80 US cents. ... The Australian dollar is increasing in value for several reasons, and one of those reasons is also tied to how much you'll be paying on your monthly mortgage repayments — potentially as soon as later this year.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-25/rising-australian-dollar-…
# Australia, Home ownership.How to make a home in Adelaide get to 10 stars – maybe more
Poppy Johnston The Fifth Estate (No paywall)There’s only a handful of Australian houses that can boast a 10-star NatHERS rating, and now Adelaide has its first.
https://www.thefifthestate.com.au/innovation/residential-2/how-t…
# Australia, Utilities electricity water gas.Sydney building commissioner raises standards, builds confidence in apartment industry
Sue Williams Domain (Paywall)The new building commissioner appointed to raise standards in NSW’s construction industry – and his willingness to use his unprecedented legal powers to do so – is having a major impact on the standard of projects around the state. Six months on from being given the right to enter and inspect construction sites, issue rectification and stop-work orders, and prevent settlement on sub-standard properties, industry watchers say David Chandler is proving the state’s saviour.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/sydney-building-commissioner-rais…
# NSW, Housing market.What’s different about this property boom?
Clancy Yeates The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)If not for the backdrop of a global pandemic, you could be forgiven for feeling a sense of déjà vu as the property market shows all the signs of launching into yet another boom.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/banking/what-s-different-about-this…
# Australia, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Home ownership, Housing market.