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
Mental health problems plague real estate industry, 20pc of managers walk
Ted Howes Illawarra Mercury (Paywall)Unbearable stress on real estate property managers has led to a rash of mental health problems with 20 per cent of them walking off the job in the past year, an industry boss says. The alarming figure was raised as a key point at a Real Estate Institute of NSW conference on Tuesday. REINSW chief executive officer Tim McKibben said the stress of dealing with struggling, close to homeless families, and landlords under increasing financial pressure, was taking a massive toll on the workforce.
https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/7809032/stressed-prope…
# NSW, Homelessness, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Regional NSW.‘No place for them’: the rental and social housing crisis in the bush
Tom Plevey The Guardian (No paywall)The rental crisis has pushed an unprecedented number of people into the hunt for social housing in a region which has not traditionally had a problem with access to affordable homes. Lynda Townsend, homelessness manager with Tamworth Family Support Services (TFSS) in the New England region of New South Wales, says she has never seen a situation this bad. ... lderly long-term renters are also being driven out of homes, with the temptation of increased rental incomes proving too great for many landlords. This has led to a rise in 90-day evictions, where owners are asking tenants on rolling tenancies to vacate the property without having to give a reason. One 78-year-old TFSS client was given a 90-day eviction notice for the property he’d rented for 15 years when the owner decided to sell. He is now living in his car.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jul/09/no-place-…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Rent, Housing market, Regional NSW.They didn't get their security deposits back. Now a big L.A. landlord agrees to pay $12.5 million
Jack Fleming (Paywall)Prominent Los Angeles landlord Geoffrey Palmer has agreed to pay $12.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing his company of withholding security deposits from more than 19,000 tenants when they moved out of his apartment complexes. (Los Angeles Times) If you hit a paywall, click the link at: [https://yhoo.it/3nQ9XkZ]
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-06-23/developer-land…
# International, Bond.South-west Sydney charity getting homeless get back on their feet
Isobel Roe ABC (No paywall)Under the Australian-first project, 22 rough sleepers have been given their own apartment to rent and help finding a job. You can read more about Dignity at: [https://dignity.org.au/]
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-09/south-west-sydney-charity…
# Video NSW, Public and community housing, Homelessness, Work, employment.After 50 years in Earlwood, ‘cruel’ strata bill threatens elderly couple with homelessness
Caitlin Fitzsimmoms The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)An elderly Sydney couple will be forced from their home of 50 years and face potential bankruptcy after their body corporate voted for upgrades to their building’s windows that they could not afford. Nitsa and Spiros Tzavellas, pensioners aged 78 and 81, are desperately trying to sell their three-bedroom flat before a deadline of mid-August when bankruptcy hearings will resume in court. ... Consumer advocates say the case shows why reform is needed to curb the power of owners’ corporations and strata companies who manage properties under strata title, such as apartments.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/after-50-years-…
# NSW, Strata, Tribunal NCAT, Older people.Does Building Luxury Condos Create More Affordable Housing?
Brian Hanlon, Ned Resnikoff, John Washington and Tara Raghuveer (No paywall)From the United States ... Brian Hanlon and Ned Resnikoff write that building market-rate housing lowers prices for everyone while John Washington and Tara Raghuveer argue that the private sector can’t fix itself. ... The only thing that trickled down to residents like Pat Lucas was a 30-day notice to leave her home of 17 years. ... The most important question is: How can we guarantee that every person has a permanent, safe, accessible home? The answer isn’t zoning changes; it’s social housing. (The Nation)
https://www.thenation.com/article/society/affordable-housing-deb…
# International, Public and community housing, Rent, Affordable housing, Housing market, Planning and development, Race and ethnicity.Washed away
Adam Harvey and Bonny Symons-Brown with photography by Tajette O’Halloran ABC (No paywall)As flood water recedes there is trauma, homelessness and fear about the future. Towns more than 700kms apart now face a similar fate — home to Australia’s flood ‘refugees’. (ABC 4 Corners)
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-11/four-corners-flood-invest…
# NSW, Homelessness, Housing market, Local Government, Planning and development, State Government.The dodgy tax deductions landlords are being warned not to claim
Tawar Razaghi Domain (No paywall)Property investors are being warned to have sufficient and correct records when declaring rental income and deductions as the tax office is keeping a close eye on real estate claims once again. More than 2.2 million Australians hold rental property investments, and they claim as much as $50 billion in deductions each year, which is more than the $48 billion reported in rental income, according to the latest 2018-19 taxation statistics from the Australian government. The Australian Tax Office (ATO) says four key areas will come under particular scrutiny at tax time this year, including rental property income and deductions as well as record-keeping of all claims.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/the-dodgy-tax-deductions-la…
# Australia, Landlords and agents, Tax.