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
Concerns raised over some low-cost housing for refugees
Essam Al-Ghalib SBS (No paywall)An SBS investigation into low-cost housing provided to refugees and asylum seekers at one New South Wales charity has revealed a number of practices that have prompted concerns.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/audiotrack/concerns-raised-over-some…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media, Audio NSW, Public and community housing.Prince Charles vetted laws that stop his tenants buying their homes
Rob Evans, David Pegg and Michael Barton The Guardian (No paywall)The royal family has used a secretive procedure to vet three parliamentary acts that have prevented residents on Prince Charles’ estate from buying their own homes for decades, the Guardian can reveal. His £1bn Duchy of Cornwall estate was later given special exemptions in the acts that denied residents the legal right to buy their own homes outright.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/09/prince-charles-v…
# International, Home ownership.What will be the impact of Robert Jenrick’s cladding announcement?
Peter Apps Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Robert Jenrick has announced what he called “an exceptional intervention” on the cladding crisis to the House of Commons today. But what will it mean for the sector – and for leaseholders? Peter Apps finds out
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/insight/what-will-the-im…
# International, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.Australia's mortgage distress hotspot revealed as end of JobKeeper scheme looms
Andy Park ABC (No paywall)The financial impact of hard lockdowns on Australian households has been revealed in data provided exclusively to 7.30, with Victoria shown to have more outstanding mortgage deferrals than any other state or territory. While 81 per cent of overall mortgage deferrals from June last year are now back on track with repayments being made, data from the Australian Banking Association shows 82,000 Australians are still deferring their home loans.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-11/mortgage-distress-hotspot…
# Hot topic Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing market.Australian housing needs mandatory accessibility standards to create 'homes, not just accommodation', advocates say
Nas Campanella and Celina Edmonds ABC (No paywall)More than 30 organisations have written an open letter to the Prime Minister and state and territory leaders urging them to "futureproof Australian housing" through mandatory accessibility standards as part of the national construction code.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-11/mandatory-housing-accessi…
# Must read Australia, Disability, Federal Government, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.Suburbs where property prices are lower than a year ago
John Collett The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Apartment prices in pockets of Sydney and Melbourne are significantly lower than a year ago, creating new opportunities for first-home buyers to get a foot on the property ladder.
The federal government has also provided a boost for first-timers, confirming to this masthead that it would make a further 10,000 places available in its highly popular First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS) from July 1.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/borrowing/suburbs-where-property-pr…
# NSW, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing market.More than a million Aussies are struggling to pay their rent
(No paywall)Over a million low-income earners are struggling to pay rent, despite an increase in welfare payments during the pandemic. Experts say it's a sign the country's rental crisis is worsening... and without urgent action, many may wind up homeless. (10 play)
https://10play.com.au/theproject/news/2021/more-than-a-million-a…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness.Hemp houses low-impact, fireproof, termite-proof and cost-effective, says couple
Tom Edwards ABC (No paywall)From Western Australia ... When Alexia Jankowski and her partner Ben Whitaker decided to build a low-impact house in the hills, they turned to hemp — and say they hope one day their "very alternative building product" will be seen as mainstream.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-09/couple-say-hemp-house-fir…
# Australia, Utilities water energy internet.