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.
Our main email newsletter, Tenant News is sent once every two months. You can subscribe or update your subscription preferences for any of our email newsletters here.
See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
We love sharing the news and hope you find it informative! We're very happy to deliver it for free, but if you find it valuable, can you help cover the extra costs incurred by making a donation?
Archive
The Government Can Build Quality Housing for Everyone
Alex North (No paywall)In Australia today, public housing is seen as an option of last resort for poor families only. But the South Australian Housing Authority spent decades building affordable, quality homes for all. We can do the same now. ... In the mid-twentieth century ... a state government led by South Australia’s Liberal and Country League (LCL) developed one of the world’s most remarkable public housing agencies, the South Australian Housing Trust (SAHT). (Jacobin)
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/04/public-housing-south-australia-ho…
# History Australia, Public and community housing, State Government.Landlords use Gold Coast rental crisis to retaliate against tenants who deferred rent during COVID, agent says
Cathy Border and Tom Forbes ABC (No paywall)Gold Coast landlords are retaliating against tenants by not renewing leases for people who stopped paying or reduced the amount of their rent during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a real estate property manager. ... The CEO of Tenants Queensland, Penny Carr, said some tenants renegotiated their rents with landlords while others did not, fearing retaliatory action. ... "Some of those tenants had absolutely no choice but to pay a reduced rent and many of them are still battling accrued debts," she said. "Simply because they've followed the procedures that were available to them, those things that were set in place to protect people that were affected by COVID, they're now having retaliatory action."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-21/gold-coast-landlords-litt…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness, Housing market.‘Don’t cut off the city’s nose to spite its face’: Warnings over CBD apartment proposal
Matt O'Sullivan and Megan Gorrey The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Converting too many empty offices in Sydney’s CBD into apartments during the COVID-19 pandemic raises the risk of a lack of space for workers in coming years, because of the extreme difficulty changing strata units back to their original use, NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes warns.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/don-t-cut-off-the-city-s-nos…
# NSW, Strata, Affordable housing, Housing market, Planning and development, State Government.Push for affordable housing in empty offices but landlords say workers are returning
Alexandra Smith and Carolyn Cummins The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet is being urged to transform Sydney’s empty office space into affordable housing for key workers such as police and paramedics in his push to revitalise the CBD.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/push-for-affordable-housing-…
# NSW, Strata, Affordable housing, Housing market, State Government.Vacant CBD offices could be used for housing, NSW chief economist says
Alexandra Smith The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Sydney’s city office spaces left empty since the initial COVID-19 lockdown could be transformed into residential apartments similar to those in New York and London as a way to reinvigorate Australia’s economic centre, NSW’s chief economist says.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/vacant-cbd-offices-could-be-…
# NSW, Housing market, Planning and development.Federal Budget 2021: What’s on the property wish list?
Elizabeth Redman Domain (No paywall)A big social housing build, a boost to rent assistance and more work on energy efficiency are high on the budget wish lists of housing experts. But they’re not optimistic: recent federal budgets have taken a somewhat piecemeal approach to tackling the housing affordability crisis. ... Sydney University urban planner Professor Nicole Gurran is blunt, saying: “We need a massive step up in funding for social housing. “The last few budgets have been very disappointing when it comes to social and affordable housing assistance.”
This would create more homes for those most in need and would create jobs for construction industry workers, but that’s not all.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/federal-budget-2021-whats-on-the-…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Affordable housing, Federal Government.Reimagining of Glebe’s social housing estate a “much-needed win” for the inner-city community
Daniel Lo Surdo (No paywall)Revised plans for housing renewal on Glebe’s Cowper Street and Wentworth Park Road have been heralded as an important victory for social housing tenants in the City of Sydney Local Government Area. NSW Government Minister for Water, Property & Housing Melinda Pavey announced last month its intentions to deliver 100 per cent new social housing on Cowper Street and Wentworth Park Road, with a total of 75 new homes to be completed, including five three-bedroom terrace homes for larger families. (City Hub)
https://cityhubsydney.com.au/2021/04/reimagining-of-glebes-socia…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Estate renewal, State Government.Cladding removal from first of 214 towers won’t start until end of year
Matt O'Sullivan The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Apartment owners will have to wait until late this year before work starts on removing combustible cladding from the first of 214 high-rise residential buildings in Sydney and other parts of NSW.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/cladding-removal-from-first-…
# NSW, Strata, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards, State Government.