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
We are still paying cost of Howard’s housing failure
The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)The 2004 cabinet papers are smoking-gun evidence of Howard and Costello’s wilful and damaging dithering on housing policy (“Why Howard vetoed plan to fix soaring house prices”, January 1). They knew their tax policies were crushing housing affordability and yet with trademark arrogance, they did nothing. A whole generation of younger Australians have already paid a high price for their inaction, and it could take another 20 years to fix the problems Howard and Costello failed to address. Beyond housing, the 2004 cabinet papers are a litany of poor decisions and inaction, which have created decades-long problems for this country and our neighbours.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/we-are-still-paying-cost-of-…
# Hot topic NSW, .‘Keep our curtains drawn’: Residents block social housing for seniors
Megan Gorrey The Sydney Morning Herald (Soft Paywall)A Liberal state MP has thrown his support behind residents protesting against plans to build a three-storey social housing block for seniors in Sydney’s south and claiming it threatens to devalue their homes and disrupt the ambience of their “peaceful, family oriented neighbourhood”. Oatley MP Mark Coure, who was minister for seniors in the Perrottet government, sent Housing Minister Rose Jackson a petition and letter from Riverwood residents who expressed their “strong opposition” to the proposed 29-unit “high-density senior housing development”.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/keep-our-curtains-drawn-resi…
# Hot topic NSW, Public and community housing.'Heartless': Mia and Evee told of eviction days before Christmas with nowhere to go
Christopher Tan SBS (No paywall)Mia Day and Evee Flores are struggling to find reasons to celebrate this Christmas. Days ago, the pair received a notice of termination for their periodic lease agreement, requiring them to vacate their Perth rental property by 21 February. "That was already one of my worst days," Day told SBS News. "That morning, I got a call from the hospital saying there was nothing more they could do for my dad … and that he likely has only days to weeks to live." Western Australia, NSW, and the Northern Territory are the only jurisdictions where landlords can evict tenants without providing a reason during periodic agreements — leases with a start date but no fixed end date.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/couple-getting-eviction-noti…
# Hot topic Australia, Eviction, Rent.No-fault evictions leave NT renters at risk of homelessness
Jason Walls ABC (No paywall)When Lara Dunkley first noticed mould creeping down the walls of her Darwin home, she never imagined she would be effectively homeless within six months. Ms Dunkley is no stranger to the Top End humidity, so when she found the mould she cleaned it, told the real estate agent and vowed to use the air-conditioner more. But when she later discovered there was a leak coming from the apartment above, she had to get the landlord involved."Every day I would get home and go 'what's going to be mouldy now?'," she said. "I'd throw out a pair of shoes today, a handbag tomorrow … spend hours scrubbing mould off the walls.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-17/no-fault-evictions-leave-…
# Must read Australia, Rent.No-fault evictions leave NT renters at risk of homelessness
Jason Walls ABC (No paywall)When Lara Dunkley first noticed mould creeping down the walls of her Darwin home, she never imagined she would be effectively homeless within six months. Ms Dunkley is no stranger to the Top End humidity, so when she found the mould she cleaned it, told the real estate agent and vowed to use the air-conditioner more. But when she later discovered there was a leak coming from the apartment above, she had to get the landlord involved."Every day I would get home and go 'what's going to be mouldy now?'," she said. "I'd throw out a pair of shoes today, a handbag tomorrow … spend hours scrubbing mould off the walls.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-17/no-fault-evictions-leave-…
# Must read Australia, Rent.Greens to introduce new law to enshrine housing as a human right in the ACT
Oliver Jacques Riotact (No paywall)The ACT Greens will introduce new legislation to enshrine housing as a basic human right in the capital. In Australia, there is no legal right to housing in any state or territory legislation or constitution. If the Greens proposal is successful, the ACT would become the first jurisdiction to do so. “Like education or healthcare, affordable housing is an essential service and key to living a life with dignity,” ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury said. “This legislation put forward by the Greens reflects a practical way we can focus the priorities of the government, ensuring that the government properly considers housing affordability in decision making.”
https://the-riotact.com/greens-to-introduce-new-law-to-enshrine-…
# Hot topic, New policy announcement Australia, .A small Victorian tourist town of 2,600 people has 100 properties for sale. What’s going on in Bright?
Cait Kelly The Guardian (No paywall)Everywhere you look in Bright there are trees – shaded crimson, amber and gold in the autumn; they attract thousands of tourists to the Victorian town. But nestled in between the elms, oaks and maples are “for sale” signs hitched on fences and banged into front yards, revealing others are moving on. Almost every street has a house for sale in the high country village, population 2,620, where visitors flock each year. Figures from CoreLogic show 71 homes on the market in the last month, more than double that recorded in November 2019. So what’s causing the mass exodus? On Friday 100 properties were listed for sale on realestate.com.au. Yet, there were only two for rent.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/dec/16/a-small-v…
# Must read Australia, Rent.Homeless Canberra man appeals unauthorised camping conviction for sleeping in his car on national land
Charlotte Gore ABC (No paywall)A homeless Canberra man has successfully appealed a charge for unauthorised camping in the ACT Supreme Court. The man was found guilty of unauthorised camping on unleased national land in November last year after sleeping in his car in an unrestricted carpark. He appealed the ACT Magistrates Court decision, his main complaint being that he was not camping and therefore should not have been found guilty. In his initial case, the Commonwealth prosecutors said the incident constituted camping because the man was sleeping in his car for at least some of the period between 1am and 5am.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-17/act-homeless-man-appeals-…
# Hot topic Australia, .