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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

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Key topics

Renters and the Right to Make a House a Home

Dzenana Vucic Mon, 15/02/2021 - 12:00
(No paywall)

Even with recent changes, Australian law still privileges landlords’ profits over tenants’ rights to modify and live comfortably in their home. But renting on the other side of the world showed me things don’t have to be this way. (Kill Your Darlings)

https://www.killyourdarlings.com.au/article/renters-and-the-righ…

# Australia, Rent, Home, International.

Landlord group opposes translating renter information for minority tenants

Eric S Peterson and others Tue, 16/02/2021 - 12:00
(No paywall)

From the United States ... This story is part of a continuing series on Utah evictions and the state’s leading landlord law firm. It is supported by a grant from The Economic Hardship Reporting Project and was written and researched by The Utah Investigative Journalism Project in partnership with The Salt Lake Tribune. Read on.

https://www.sltrib.com/news/2021/02/15/landlord-group-opposes/

# International, Discrimination, Rent.

Renting and having a dog or cat is not impossible. Here's how to do it

Patrick Wright Mon, 15/02/2021 - 12:00
ABC (No paywall)

Kym Ryan has looked over thousands of rental applications while working as a property manager in Melbourne. So when she had to apply for a rental herself recently, she came up with a plan to deal with the fact she had a dog.

https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/renting-with-pets-in-australia/1…

# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Pets.

‘Do We Need Affordable Housing’ Is the Wrong Question to Ask

Gail Schechter Tue, 09/02/2021 - 12:00
(No paywall)

It was only after years as a fair and affordable housing advocate that I realized “do we need affordable housing?” is the wrong question to ask. It obfuscates the deeper, broader issue, which is about government’s role as a caretaker for all its people—what Michael Ignatieff, in The Needs of Strangers, calls “a shared language of the good.” (International Union of Tenants)

https://www.iut.nu/news-events/do-we-need-affordable-housing-is-…

# International, Affordable housing.

Housing and housing assistance pathways with companion animals: risks, costs, benefits and opportunities

Wendy Stone and others Thu, 11/02/2021 - 12:00
AHURI (No paywall)

This study investigated the policy and regulatory settings that shape housing options available to households that own companion animals. It considers housing and housing assistance contexts nationally across tenures, sectors (e.g. ownership, private rental housing), emergency/crisis accommodation and for diverse population groups receiving income and housing assistance support.

https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/350?utm_source=w…

# Research alert Australia, Home, Pets.

Has COVID really caused an exodus from our cities? In fact, moving to the regions is nothing new

Amanda Davies Mon, 15/02/2021 - 12:00
The Conversation (No paywall)

Internal migration resulted in a net loss of 11,200 people from Australia’s capital cities in the September quarter of 2020, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data released this month. At the same time, some regional areas experienced significant growth in house prices as demand for properties increased. So this has raised the questions: are we starting to see an exodus from our cities, and is this related to the COVID-19 pandemic?

https://theconversation.com/has-covid-really-caused-an-exodus-fr…

# Hot topic Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market, Regional NSW.

It’s madness, but here’s a way to stop home prices rising so fast

Jessica Irvine Thu, 18/02/2021 - 12:00
The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)

And what do Australians generally do when credit gets cheaper? Do we start our own businesses? No, silly! We invest in property! Why? Because the tax system explicitly rewards us for doing so.

https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/it-s-madness-but-her…

# Hot topic Australia, Affordable housing, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing market, Tax.

In Darwin's booming property market, rents are rising while vacancy rates tumble

Jesse Thompson Mon, 15/02/2021 - 12:00
ABC (No paywall)

Talitha Porter wasn't looking for anything special: a pet-friendly, two or three-bedroom house near the Palmerston suburb of Moulden where she'd been a tenant for three years. But when she set out in the Top End rental market to find a new home before her lease ends — and the home-owner can sell — on March 11, the 23-year-old soon began to question her chances. Dozens of people were crowding into inspections for ordinary homes. Asking prices exceeded her upper budget of $400 per week, in some cases by as much as one third.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-15/darwin-rental-market-covi…

# Australia, Rent, Affordable housing, Housing market.