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
From pools to seawalls – councils can’t keep their heads above water
Sarah Macdonald The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)There’s red-hot fury in the gentle streets of North Sydney over its pool rebuild, cost blowout and a proposal for rate rises of 87 per cent over two years. The laid-back vibe of the northern beaches has been contaminated by resident rage due to a proposal for a 40 per cent increase over three years. With their blue waters and great lifestyle, these Sydney areas have been the envy of many of us, who would love to live there. But if you’re feeling suddenly smug for not doing so, I’ve got bad news. Your council may be in trouble, too.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/from-pools-to-seawalls-counc…
# NSW, .Land lease communities: Update to the standards for solar installations
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)We recently updated our land lease communities factsheet: Making alterations to your home. The update covers a significant change to Australian Standard AU/NZS4777.1 around solar installations. There is now an increase in capacity for inverter energy systems to 200kVA before the Operator or Owner of a community is required to install additional grid protection equipment. In an article in our June 2023 edition of Outasite, Sustainable energy should be an option for all residents, we reported on the now revised maximum inverter capacity.
https://www.tenants.org.au/thenoticeboard/news/update-standards-…
# Must read NSW, Land lease communities.Australian state government’s rationale for demolition of public housing debunked by refurbishment proposal
Paul Bartizan World Socialist Website (No paywall)A recent report issued by a group of independent architects proved that 44 high rise public housing towers in Melbourne can be refurbished to provide quality public housing. The report represents a devastating indictment of the Victorian Labor government, which has claimed that total demolition is the only possible response to deteriorating conditions in the 6,600 apartments. Some 10,000 residents are impacted by the government’s plan, which is slated to begin early this year. Simon Newport, chief executive of Homes Victoria—the government body tasked with demolishing the towers—has claimed that any attempt to refurbish the towers would be like “putting lipstick on a pig.”
# Hot topic Australia, Public and community housing.Urban planners say community consultation system blocks affordable housing
Kenji Sato ABC (No paywall)Around Australia, state governments are coming up with new planning pathways that make it more difficult for residents to block affordable housing projects. Many of these pathways include removing community consultation from the equation entirely. In Queensland, for example, community consultation is not required for social or affordable housing projects deemed important enough to be a State Facilitated Development. Meanwhile, Victoria's Development Facilitation Program prevents residents from blocking affordable housing through planning tribunals.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-13/community-consultation-ho…
# Hot topic Australia, .First Nations housing crisis: research reveals huge gap for affordable rental housing
Giovanni Torre National Indigenous Times (No paywall)A major long-term study by AHURI has revealed that one in eight of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households (45,700 households) had unmet housing needs in the most recent national Census. The study, which examined more than 20 years of Census data to identify trends, found that more than 81 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households with unmet need are living in unaffordable rental housing; and 14 per cent in severely overcrowded housing areas with the greatest unmet need include New South Wales and Queensland and remote Australia. The study marks the first comprehensive review of First Nations housing governance, resources and regulation in Australia.
https://nit.com.au/12-02-2025/16217/first-nations-housing-crisis…
# Must read Australia, Aboriginal renters.Picking tenants on 'vibes': How estate agents can exploit personal data
Annika Burgess ABC (No paywall)Applying for a rental property in Australia has been compared to the invasiveness of obtaining a government security clearance. Renters have reported being asked about their lifestyle, personal relationships, and even if they had prominent tattoos. Digital rights and tenant advocacy groups have raised concerns about how that information is stored and potentially used to make discriminatory decisions. New privacy laws and application standards are being rolled out this year across some states and territories. Will they be enough to rein in a rental market experts say had become a "free for all"?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-16/rental-market-application…
# Must read, TUNSW in the media Australia, Security and safety, Starting a tenancy.Daniel achieved the Great Australian Dream. Then he found something better
Caroline Zielinski The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)When Australian home owner Daniel Emery moved to Germany to be with his girlfriend Sarah three years ago, he returned to renting. The 32-year-old software engineer once rented in Adelaide, but he was struck by the freedom afforded to Germany’s tenants and their open-ended rental contracts. “You can usually paint the apartment as you like – with the understanding you will return it to its original state when you leave – and there is usually no defined contract end, just a notice period either party needs to give before looking to terminate the contract,” he says.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/daniel-achieved-the-great-a…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent.RBA's interest rate cut will affect renters, but not in the way you might think
Madeleine Wedesweiler SBS (No paywall)The Reserve of Australia's (RBA) cash rate cut will give mortgage holders repayment relief — but its impact on renters is more difficult to ascertain, economists say. The central bank's board cut the official cash rate on Tuesday by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.10 per cent. It is the RBA's first rate cut since 2020, and follows softer-than-expected December quarter consumer price index figures that brought annual underlying inflation close to the RBA's target band of 2-3 per cent. For an average owner-occupier with a $600,000 loan, that cut translates to a $92 reduction in their minimum monthly repayments.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/an-interest-rate-cut-would-a…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media Australia, Rent.