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
Fire safety in your rented home
Olivia Nielsen-Gurung and Eloise Parrab Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)As we are heading back into the bushfire season in NSW we thought it would be a good time to remind us all on how to ensure our homes are bushfire prepared and general fire safety in the home. Olivia Nielsen-Gurung and Eloise Parrab at the Tenants' Union NSW set out how to reduce fire risks, and the responsibility landlords have to ensure working smoke alarms in rented homes. Check their blog (This Renting Life)
https://www.tenants.org.au/blog/fire-safety-your-rented-home
# Must read NSW, Rent.Eviction crisis in the United States
(No paywall)From the United States … ‘For years there has been an evictions crisis in the United States. The pandemic has made it more acute. On today’s episode, our conversations with a single mother of two from Georgia over several months during the pandemic. After she lost her job in March, the bottom fell out of her finances and eviction papers started coming. The federal safety net only stretched so far. And we ask, with Congress seeking to pass another stimulus bill, what do the next few months hold for renters in the United States? Guest: Matthew Desmond, a Professor of Sociology at Princeton University and contributing writer for The Times Magazine.’ (The Daily)
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9yc3MuYXJ0MTkuY29tL3R…
# Hot topic, Audio International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.840,000 private tenants in England and Wales could be behind on rent
Hilary Osborne The Guardian (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... More than 800,000 private tenants in England and Wales could be behind on their rent, with young people and the self-employed most likely to have missed payments, research for a landlords group has found. The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) warned of a “rent debt crisis” and called for government action to help struggling tenants.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/dec/22/840000-private-ten…
# Hot topic International, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Young people.Almost 40 per cent of residents in aged care facilities have been abused, data released by royal commission shows
Mary Lloyd ABC (No paywall)Research into Australian aged care facilities shows 39.2 per cent of residents have experienced some form of abuse. The data released by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety was calculated using responses to a survey of 391 aged care residents in 67 homes.’ Read her article entitled: ‘Almost 40 per cent of residents in aged care facilities have been abused, data released by royal commission shows.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-22/royal-commission-estimate…
# Australia, Older people.Assemble fast tracking growth of its team with plans for more rent/buy and now build-to-rent’
Poppy Johnston The Fifth Estate (No paywall)AustralianSuper’s 25 per cent share in Assemble Communities has buoyed the innovative Melbourne-based developer that offers renters the option to buy after five years in some developments. … The model also seeks to rectify some of the community-eroding effects of the rental market through longer leases and other strategies to lengthen stays. Rather than moving every few years as year-long leases end, people will likely stay long enough to get to know their neighbours.
https://www.thefifthestate.com.au/innovation/residential-2/assem…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market.Sydney councils in fast-growing areas could gain power to lift rates
Megan Gorrey The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Councils in fast-growing parts of Sydney would be given greater powers to increase rates to help meet the needs of their surging populations under a proposal by the Berejiklian government.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sydney-councils-in-fast-grow…
# NSW, Local Government, Tax.Ratepayers dudded $4 million as council “forgets” to bill developers
Carrie Fellner The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Four million dollars that was meant to have been paid by developers for the community’s benefit has been discovered missing from the coffers of a Sydney council after a secretive internal investigation.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/ratepayers-dudded-4-million-…
# NSW, Local Government, Tax.Sydney rental properties discounted in every region, days on market increases
Tawar Razaghi Domain (Paywall)The amount of time Sydney homes are sitting advertised for rent has stretched out to 50 days, despite the fact nearly a third of rentals across the city have slashed their asking price.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/the-pockets-of-sydney-where-more-…
# NSW, Rent, Housing market.