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
IUT Brussels News Summer 2022
International Union of Tenants (No paywall)The IUT EU report summer 2022 highlights:
• EU housing minister’s meeting
• IUT claims for the new EED and EPBD
• Solutions for housing affordability
• Initiatives to fight energy poverty
• Housing rights and renovictons
https://www.iut.nu/news-events/iut-brussels-summer-2022-newslett…
# International, Eviction, Utilities water energy internet, Campaigns and law reform, Housing affordability.Soaring rents adding to job vacancies in major regions
Shane Wright The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Soaring rents across regional areas are exacerbating the shortage of workers, costing parts of the country such as Geelong and the Sunshine Coast more than $700 million each in lost economic activity every year. Research released on Wednesday, ahead of next week’s jobs and skills summit, shows the surge in housing costs that accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic is a growing factor in the struggle facing many businesses to get staff as prospective workers are in effect priced out of the rental market. ... Compiled for the “Everybody’s Home” affordable housing campaign, the research by Impact Economics and Policy shows the surge in prices and rents is making it much more difficult for regional areas to attract workers. ... Kate Colvin, spokesperson for the “Everybody’s Home” campaign, said regional areas were already facing a social crisis because of their chronic lack of affordable housing. They were now facing an economic crisis. Also, read Damian McIntyre's article entitled: 'Housing shortage creating employment problems in regional Tasmania' on the ABC at: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-24/housing-shortage-employment-problems-regional-tasmania/101367796]
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/soaring-rents-adding-to-…
# Australia, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market, Regional NSW, Work, employment.Human Rights Commission says freeze on rent increases should return
Mohammad Alafeshat (No paywall)From New Zealand ... An immediate freeze on rent increases could provide a much needed break for renters, says the Human Rights Commission (HRC). A housing inquiry, launched by the commission last year, found rents were rising faster than income and inflation. ... At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the government implemented a temporary six-month freeze on rent increases to ease the pressure on renters. The commission is suggesting the government should re-instate a freeze on rent increases and immediately increase the accommodation supplement to aid low-income renters. (RNZ)
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/472987/human-rights-commissi…
# International, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.Albanese government urged to freeze rent rises for two years to avoid ‘national tragedy’
Sarah Martin The Guardian (No paywall)The Greens are urging the Albanese government to impose a nationwide rent freeze for two years, saying the issue of rental affordability should be elevated to national cabinet ahead of next week’s jobs and skills summit. New research from the Everybody’s Home advocacy group has found increased rents in regional areas are contributing to unfilled job vacancies, with some areas recording rental rises of more than 40% in the past two years. Nationally, rents have been rising at the fastest rate in 14 years, up 9.1% in capital cities and 10.8% in regional areas compared to June 2021.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/aug/25/albanese-…
# Australia, Rent, Federal Government, Housing affordability, Housing market.Billions in CBA mortgages exposed to extreme weather risks, climate analysis finds
Simone Fox Koob The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)More than $31 billion of Commonwealth Bank home loans are in areas exposed to increasing extreme weather events and another $14 billion in mortgages are in communities economically reliant on demand for coal, climate analysis has found. Also, read the article by the same journalist entitled: '"We’re comparing apples, oranges and bananas": Climate disclosure by banks under microscope' in 'The Sydney Morning Herald' at: [https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/we-re-comparing-apples-oranges-and-bananas-calls-for-standardised-approach-to-banks-climate-disclosure-20220822-p5bbuc.html]
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/32-billion-o…
# Australia, Climate change, Housing market.‘Bad news for renters’: Landlords chasing big dollars with AirBnB
Sezen Bakan The New Daily (No paywall)National rental listings have plunged to a record low as landlords shift focus to short-term leases in the name of maximising profits. SQM Research data shows national residential rent listings sat at a touch more than 55,000 in the second week of August – a slight recovery from the 40,061 listings seen in April. These numbers represent an 11-year low in Australian rent listings. Meanwhile, AirBnB saw listings on its website explode this year, with a 30 per cent rise in new ‘Hosts’ between April and the end of June. Chris Pettit, director at the University of New South Wales City Futures Research Centre, said the increase in landlord appetite for the short-term rental market comes down to two major factors – profitability and the rising popularity of domestic tourism. “We’ve got the ongoing issue of taking out long-term rental stock and putting it into short-term rental,” Dr Pettit said.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2022/08/21/landlords-rental-a…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market, Short-term holiday letting.What happens if I can’t pay my mortgage and what are my options?
Andrew Grant The Conversation (No paywall)With rising costs of living, including interest rate rises, many people are really worried about their mortgage. So, what actually happens if you can’t pay your mortgage – and what are your options? Here’s what you need to know.
https://theconversation.com/what-happens-if-i-cant-pay-my-mortga…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.New inner-Sydney development to provide safe haven for victim-survivors
(No paywall)Work is set to commence on a new inner-Sydney development that will provide additional housing for women and children escaping domestic and family violence as part of a partnership between the NSW Government and City West Housing. The new development in Waterloo will include 74 apartments, of which up to 24 will be for women and children experiencing DFV, including 8 social housing tenants. (Minister for Families and Communities, Minister for Women's Safety and the Prevention of Domestic and Sexual Violence Media release)
https://www.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/domestic-violence-housing
# NSW, Domestic violence, Public and community housing, State Government.