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
Minor Defendants: Kids Are Being Named in Evictions
Shelby R King (No paywall)From the United States ... Linda’s children were too young to write their own names when they were entered as defendants into a New York state housing court computer. Both kids, now 3 and 7, are identified as legal parties in a pending eviction case against their mother. Absurd as that may sound, it’s not a fluke. Minor children are sometimes named in eviction filings. When it happens, the damage is acute and difficult to repair even if it’s caught quickly. If a child’s name makes in onto official court records, especially if those records are public and online, the damage can be irreversible. Almost a year ago, Linda’s landlord banged on her apartment door and quizzed her then-6-year-old, asking the child to spell both kids’ names. The landlord showed up unannounced while Linda was in the bathroom, and her older child opened the door before Linda could intervene. (Shelterforce)
https://shelterforce.org/2021/11/11/minor-defendants-kids-are-be…
# International, Eviction, Privacy and access, Tribunal NCAT.‘Highly stressful’: Red-hot property market tests banks’ home loan factories
Clancy Yeates and Charlotte Grieve The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Lucy McLelland has experienced first-hand the stress of trying to secure a speedy loan approval in Sydney’s fiercely competitive property market. ... Her story underlines the pressure on banks to quickly process loan applications in a red-hot market, fuelled by ultra-low interest rates and low stock levels. For others, however, delays in getting approved for a loan can be a deal-killer.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/highly-stres…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market, Personal stories.The Millennial migration: Qld records highest interstate arrivals as people leave NSW, Vic
Cloe Read and Jocelyn Garcia (Paywall)More young people are leaving NSW and Victoria to move to Queensland as the “Millennial migration” between Australian states is expected to peak. The shift comes as Brisbane’s emerging global-city status continues to draw interstate interest, and will soon attract international migrants and overseas investment. ... Problems of housing affordability, congestion and infrastructure bottlenecks in Sydney and Melbourne amplified the shift. (Brisbane Times)
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/the-millenn…
# Australia, Housing affordability, Planning and development.Small mortgage increase will hurt as outer suburbs struggle post-COVID
Shane Wright The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Thousands of households who used record-low interest rates to buy into the property market would struggle to survive a small increase in their mortgage repayments, new research shows with warnings people in Australia’s outer suburbs are struggling after COVID-19 lockdowns.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/small-mortgage-increase-…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Families, Home ownership, Housing market.ACT govt proposes insulation standards to help make Canberra rental homes more energy efficient
Brittney Levinson Canberra Times (Paywall)In the peak of Canberra winter, Jessica McConnell and her three housemates did everything they could to keep their Deakin rental house warm.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7501924/canberra-renters-…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.Wollongong homes hit $1 million milestone as competitive 'Sydney buyers' swoop
Tim Fernandez ABC (No paywall)The prospect of owning a million-dollar property was once a fantasy for most residents in the blue-collar city of Wollongong, but it is now a reality for a growing majority of homeowners.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-05/-sydney-buyers-push-wollo…
# NSW, Housing affordability, Housing market, Regional NSW.China Evergrande dodges default again, but where is the money coming from?
Rhiana Whitson ABC (No paywall)China Evergrande Group has been lurching from one debt deadline to another and has so far managed to avoid default, but where is the money coming from?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-12/the-biz-evergrande-avoids…
# International, Housing market, Landlords and agents.My tips to easily slash the interest on your mortgage
Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Here are the three techniques I used to repay my mortgage in full for $200,000 less… and 18 years sooner. ...
https://www.smh.com.au/money/borrowing/my-tips-to-easily-slash-t…
# Australia, Home ownership.