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
Hunter homelessness at record levels
Matthew Kelly (No paywall)Rates of homelessness and insecure housing in the Hunter have reached all-time highs, according to long-term welfare workers. Crisis accommodation support is also at breaking point, while rental vacancies are virtually non-existent. ... Hunter Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service coordinator Nicole Grgas, Coordinator described the worsening situation as terrifying. “Hunter Tenants is seeing the highest level of demand for assistance in our history,” she said. “Almost half of our calls are from tenants facing eviction, many of these are for no grounds, or no-fault evictions. “We are speaking with people who have never had issues finding a rental before who are now facing the real risk of homelessness for the first time in their lives. They are terrified.” (Newcastle Herald)
https://app.newcastleherald.com.au/2021/03/29/hunter-homelessnes…
# Hot topic NSW, Eviction, Rent, Affordable housing, Homelessness, Housing market, Regional NSW, Welfare.Raising dam wall could lead to more development on floodplain, Emergency Minister says
Angus Thompson The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)NSW Emergency Services Minister David Elliott says raising the Warragamba Dam wall could pave the way for the release of more land for development in Sydney’s north-west, putting him at odds with his ministerial colleagues.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/emergency-minister-says-rais…
# NSW, Housing market, Planning and development.Approvals for units and townhouses surge
Alex Druce The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Building approvals for houses were at record highs in February, while townhouses and units bounced by nearly 50 per cent off January’s nine-year low. (Viewed in entry at 12.47pm)
https://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/asx-set-to-rise-brisbane…
# Australia, Housing market.ANZ’s retail boss says lending curbs not imminent
Charlotte Grieve The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)ANZ’s retail banking boss Mark Hand says restrictions on home lending are not imminent but could be an option in slowing down sky-rocketing property prices.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/anz-s-retail…
# Australia, Housing market.New Zealand housing crisis: Jacinda Ardern says rent-increase warnings are 'speculative'
Elle Hunt The Guardian (No paywall)New Zealand’s government is playing down the impact of its housing policy changes on rents, despite economists warning that they are likely to rise in response. ... The finance minister Grant Robertson said over the weekend that the government would be monitoring rents for potential increases and would “take action if necessary”.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/29/new-zealand-housin…
# Hot topic International, Rent, Housing market, Tax.War of words heats up as governments pass the buck on housing crisis
Hannah Ross and Elloise Farrow-Smith ABC (No paywall)In Byron Shire, councillors voted last week to declare a "housing emergency" and establish a place where locals squeezed out of permanent housing can park vans and cars they're living in. Deputy mayor Michael Lyon hopes other councils experiencing housing affordability and availability issues will make a similar declaration. "The hope is that if everyone calls this out for what it is, that we are going to actually get more support from the levels of government that can really provide it," Cr Lyon said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-28/blame-game-on-housing-cri…
# Must read NSW, Affordable housing, Federal Government, Homelessness, Local Government, State Government, Women.Rental listings soaring in some areas but renters still struggling to find affordable homes
Stephanie Chalmers ABC (No paywall)Further up the east coast, in Newcastle, NSW, Nicole Grgas has never been busier. "We've been receiving a lot of calls, certainly a lot more calls than around this time last year … almost 50 per cent of our calls now relate to people facing eviction," Ms Grgas, the coordinator of Hunter Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service, said. ... "What tenants are reporting is that when they're going to open houses, they're finding there can be upwards of 30 groups going through, so that's a lot of competition," she said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-26/rental-listings-have-soar…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media Australia, Rent, Affordable housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Regional NSW.Urban productivity and affordable rental housing supply in Australian cities and regions
Nicole Gurran and others AHURI (No paywall)This study examined relationships between urban productivity and affordable rental housing, focusing particularly on the location and availability of affordable rental housing relative to employment and labour markets in Australia’s capital cities and satellite cities. ... The research found that over two decades, the nation’s shortage of affordable dwellings available for low income households in the private rental sector has continued to increase. The shortage is most acute in inner and middle ring areas which offer higher accessibility to greater concentrations of employment opportunities. Consequently, low income renters are either enduring affordability stress, commuting burdens, or both to access employment opportunities.
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?pli=1#inbox/WhctKJWQkpZghcbVXw…
# Research alert Australia, Rent, Affordable housing, Housing market, Regional NSW.