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
Why retrofitting homes to be more resilient to natural disasters makes emotional and financial sense
Anna Kelsey-Sugg and Chloe Adams ABC (No paywall)For nearly a decade, Sasha Mainsbridge has lived on a flood plain where the risk of flood is a part of life. But she wasn't prepared for what was to come when the Brunswick River, immediately behind her Mullumbimby home, flooded in February 2022. "Flooding is nothing like what you imagine until it's happened to you," she says. Ms Mainsbridge and her eldest son stacked towels up against doors and got whatever possessions they could off the floor. But their standard 1990s brick-veneer, Gyprock-interior home didn't stand a chance.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-22/climate-proofing-homes-re…
# Must read Australia, Disasters.'Nothing short of alarming': The full-time workers being priced out of the rental market
Amy Hall SBS (No paywall)They teach our children, tend to our wounds, wait our tables, deliver our parcels, and care for the elderly. Despite their value to society, a new report has found the workers we rely on most are being priced out of the rental market. Anti-poverty organisation Anglicare Australia surveyed just over 45,000 rental listings nationwide during one weekend in March, measuring their affordability against the full-time weekly wages of 16 essential occupations. What they found was "nothing short of alarming", Anglicare Australia's executive director Kasy Chambers said.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/the-full-time-workers-being-…
# Must read Australia, Rent.Aussie rental pool shrinks as population continues to boom
Samantha Healy realestate.com.au (No paywall)A further 1700 rental properties disappeared from Australia’s rental market in September despite the nation’s population surpassing 27 million earlier this year. That decrease represents a 1.2 per cent drop, or 1733 rental vacancies in one month alone, according to the latest SQM Research National Vacancy Rates report. It comes after the ABS recently revealed that Australia’s population hit 27,122,411 at the end of March, an increase of 2.3 per cent or 615,3000 in 12 months. “The total number of rental vacancies now stands at 37,932 residential properties, a decrease from 39,665 in August 2024,” the SQM report said. “Perth, Canberra, and Hobart plus regional Australia were the main drivers to the decline. “While all other capital cities were steady or recorded slight rises.”
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/aussie-rental-pool-shrinks-as…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent.How can Australia make housing affordable for essential workers? Here are 4 key lessons from oversea
Nicky Morrison The Conversation (No paywall)Essential workers such as teachers, health workers and community safety staff play a vital role in ensuring our society works well. Yet soaring housing costs in cities like Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are squeezing essential workers out of the communities they serve. The issue is reaching crisis point across Australia. Anglicare Australia yesterday released a special edition of its Rental Affordability Snapshot focused on essential workers in full-time work. Housing costs under 30% of household income are considered affordable.
https://theconversation.com/how-can-australia-make-housing-affor…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent.Saving on rent, paying with their mental health: The impact of Australia’s housing crisis on young people
Olivia Cleal Women's Agenda (No paywall)“Overwhelmed, hopeless, trapped, crushed”. This is the devastating reality of how young women and gender diverse people feel as a result of Australia’s housing crisis. A new report from Swinburne University and YWCA Australia released today, marking World Homelessness Day, has uncovered the gendered impact of unaffordable, inaccessible housing in this country. “Young people described feeling overwhelmed, hopeless, trapped, and crushed by their housing situations,” Professor Stone said. “For some, this stems from the daily challenge of simply making ends meet.”
https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/saving-on-rent-paying-with-th…
# Must read Australia, Rent.Prioritising housing as a health priority: Aboriginal Housing NT and Menzies School of Health Research sign MoU
Dechlan Brennan National Indigenous Times (No paywall)Aboriginal Housing Northern Territory have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding with the Menzies School of Health Research. The MoU will formalise the collaborative partnership to improve the quality of remote housing in the NT and comes after the federal and Territory governments committed to a ten-year remote housing funding package. Negotiations to enable the MoU were led by AHNT chief executive officer Skye Thompson and Menzies Senior Research Fellow Dr Liam Grealy, with a vision to find solutions to support and enable Aboriginal self-determination over remote housing in the NT. "Aboriginal Housing NT is proud to formalise our relationship with Menzies School of Health Research," Ms Thompson said.
https://nit.com.au/16-10-2024/14289/prioritising-housing-as-a-he…
# Hot topic Australia, Aboriginal renters.The ‘simple solution’ to the public housing towers knock-down that could save taxpayers millions
By Rachael Dexter The Age (No paywall)
Public housing towers in Melbourne’s north could be refurbished and expanded without uprooting hundreds of residents and saving taxpayers more than $300 million, according to a new study criticising the state government’s controversial demolition plans. But the Allan government is unapologetically pursuing its agenda to raze the blocks and rebuild estates in conjunction with the private sector. It faces a two-day class action trial in the Supreme Court this month brought by residents.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/the-simple-solution-…
# Hot topic Australia, Public and community housing.When the RBA cuts interest rates, housing affordability relief may only be temporary for first home buyers
Ian Verrender ABC (No paywall)Housing is about to become more affordable. That's the good news. It could be as early as next month and won't be any later than early in the new year. But before you break out the bubbly, a word of caution. If you are a first home buyer, it most likely will be a fleeting, and possibly minuscule, improvement. Rate cuts are in the wind and, while they'll certainly improve housing affordability, the downside for new entrants is that housing affordability is at an all-time low. And if we've learned anything from the past four decades, cheaper loans have only helped drive prices higher.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-15/rba-to-cut-interest-rates…
# Hot topic Australia, .