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
DV and privacy protection still to come in rent reforms
Jack Gramenz and Neve Brissenden Area News (No paywall)More changes have been promised to protect people fleeing domestic violence amid concerns tenancy tweaks will not increase housing and could discourage investors in Australia's most expensive property market. Laws to end no-grounds evictions in NSW - a key election promise for the incoming Labor government - will ensure greater stability for tenants after the legislation passed state parliament late on Thursday. But industry groups have criticised "anti-landlord" policies they say will prompt investors to sell up. Other changes tighten existing requirements, limit rental increases to once a year and prevent landlords a blanket rejection of pets.
https://www.areanews.com.au/story/8802485/dv-and-privacy-protect…
# Hot topic NSW, Domestic violence.Calls for NSW government to step up as elderly boarding house residents face eviction and displacement
Holly Tregenza ABC (No paywall)One of Sav Durac's friends locked himself in his room and didn't come out for more than a week after being served an eviction notice from their Sydney boarding house a fortnight ago. In the end, an ambulance showed up, taking him to an acute ward at St Vincent's hospital down the road. He's still there. Clutching the eviction letter, Mr Durac sits in the boarding house on Selwyn Street in Paddington where he has lived for 56 years. Many of the tenants here are older, on pensions or living with a disability. Mr Durac is one of 30 vulnerable residents, all of which are men, who have been in various states of distress after receiving notice from LFD Developments, who plans to turn their homes into four luxury apartments.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-06/nsw-boarding-house-reside…
# Must read NSW, Boarders and lodgers, Eviction.NSW passes ‘no grounds’ evictions law, Tenants Union says more work needed
Jim McIlroy Green Left (No paywall)After years of campaigning by housing groups, New South Wales finally adopted reforms to the Residential Tenancies Act, including banning “no-grounds” evictions on October 24. The NSW Tenants Union welcomed the changes, which come into effect next year, but said more work was needed to ensure renters had security and stability. The Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill 2024 also caps rent rises to one a year. It does not affect a landlord’s right to terminate a lease for existing reasons under the law, including for a breach of the tenancy agreement, damage to the property, use of the premises for illegal purposes or non-payment of rent.
https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/nsw-passes-no-grounds-evict…
# Must read, TUNSW in the media, New policy announcement NSW, Eviction, Rent.$4 million extra funding for improved access to advice and advocacy for tenants
The Lismore App (No paywall)The NSW Government has provided a funding boost to the Tenants Advice & Advocacy Services to support tenants across NSW. The network of 21 local not-for-profit organisations, help tenants to understand their rights, support them during negotiations and in resolving disputes, and assist and advocate for them at the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Funded by NSW Fair Trading, these services will be boosted by $1 million extra a year until 2028. In 2024-25, funding has increased to $16.2m. The funding boost follows the government’s recent passage of a significant rental reform package to assist renters in over a decade.
https://lismoreapp.com.au/NewsStory/4-million-extra-funding-for-…
# Must read NSW, Rent.No-fault evictions banned and break-lease fees capped under sweeping reforms in Victoria
Benita Kolovos The Guardian (No paywall)No-fault evictions will be banned in Victoria and renters will not have to pay more than four weeks’ rent for breaking their lease under a suite of reforms announced by Jacinta Allan. The premier announced the measures on Wednesday, as well as a ban on landlords and real estate agents charging fees to process rent or conduct background checks. It comes after Guardian Australia’s Hot Property series revealed an increasing number of real estate agents were moving tenants’ payments on to third-party “rent tech” platforms, which charge service fees.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/oct/30/no-fault-…
# Legal significance Australia, Eviction.WA public housing tenants struggle without adequate air conditioning or insulation
Rosanne Maloney ABC (No paywall)Savannah would often drive around town at night during wet season to soothe her baby daughter to sleep with the car's air conditioning. Stretching between October and April, wet season temperatures in Broome, 2,000 kilometres north of Perth, routinely average close to 40 degrees with little relief after dark. As a single mother-of-three, it was one of the many adjustments Savannah made after moving into a public housing unit without cooling and proper insulation. Her landlord — Western Australia's Department of Communities — said she would need to pay out of her own pocket to install air conditioning which the department would also need to approve. Struggling to meet the $400 outlay, her family eventually helped her acquire a budget, inefficient air conditioner.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-27/wa-public-housing-tenants…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Rent.Pregnant mother with 'guaranteed income' left homeless after almost 100 unsuccessful rental applications
Liz Gywnn ABC (No paywall)Nicky is expecting to give birth to her fifth child any day now. She has packed her hospital bag with all the necessities like baby clothes, dummies and a soft toy, but hasn't been able to set up a nursery or a bassinet because she's homeless. The 34-year-old has been living in a two-bedroom motel provided by social welfare group Micah Projects with her four children after several months couch surfing with friends and family. While Nicky is grateful to have a roof over her head, she admits not having secure housing like she did for her previous births is "nerve-racking".
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-29/expecting-mother-homeless…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent.Women's shelter group urges government to unlock 'meanwhile use' housing for domestic violence survivors
Women's shelter group urges government to unlock 'meanwhile use' housing for domestic violence survivors ABC (No paywall)At 70, Marilyn Johnson has experienced multiple abusive partners throughout her life. "I once lived with a man who would destroy my home and furniture, and he would cut up all my clothes with a razor blade," she said. Ms Johnson left her last abusive relationship 20 years ago and has since lived on her own. Recently, when her health deteriorated, she wanted to live closer to family on the New South Wales Central Coast. She was accepted into Allawah House, an unused aged-care facility that has been turned into a "meanwhile use" property by Women's Community Shelters (WCS). "Meanwhile use" is the short-term utilisation of a vacant building for social or community needs — the WCS model is used specifically for women fleeing domestic violence or who are at risk of homelessness.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-05/meanwhile-use-housing-wom…
# Must read Australia, Domestic violence.