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
'Extravagant' rental prices push more renters into temporary accommodation, accelerating homelessness
Keira Proust and Simon Lauder ABC (No paywall)New data shows rental house prices have dramatically increased in regional NSW over the past year, forcing more people out of the market and into temporary accommodation. Domain's 2021 June Quarter report found rental prices rose the most in the Snowy Mountains region — up by more than 28 per cent since last year — with the Byron Shire following close behind at 26 per cent and the Wingecarribee Shire by 20 per cent. It is something that Chris Rixon has felt on the NSW far-south coast after trying to move to the region from Melbourne two months ago. "We're in a caravan park at Pambula because there are no rentals in the valley," Mr Rixon said. ... Mr Rixon has been given a caravan by local charity the Social Justice Advocates to live in temporarily while he continues to look for permanent accommodation, but the Bega Valley region has also felt the spike in rental prices. It has increased by more than 12 per cent in the past year, up to a median price of $450 a week for a house, which chief executive officer of the state's Tenants' Union Leo Patterson Ross said was concerning. ... The Social Justice Advocates are currently raising money to help accommodate people sleeping rough, with the aim of raising $100,000 by the end of the year to get a new caravan set up. But the Tenants' Union said more needed to be done by both landlords and the state government to improve the situation, with too much of the responsibility currently falling to local charities.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-16/extravagant-rental-prices…
# TUNSW in the media NSW, Land lease communities, Rent, Homelessness, Regional NSW, State Government.Stigma and Social Housing in England
Mercy Denedo and Amanze Ejiogu (No paywall)Everyday in England, people are judged negatively and even actively discriminated against because they rent their home from a social landlord. While it is hard to fathom why such stigmatization occurs, it is the reality faced by many people and their families who are living in socially rented accommodation in England. Although there is undeniable evidence of stigmatization of social housing, research on social housing stigma has been scant. In this report, we explored how stigma is constructed, how it is experienced, and what is being done to challenge/address it by diverse stakeholders in the housing sector. (Durham University)
https://www.dur.ac.uk/business/research/management/organisation-…
# International, Discrimination, Public and community housing.Evaluation and learning in public housing urban renewal
Christian Nygaard, Simon Pinnegar, Elizabeth Taylor, Iris Levin and Rachel Maguire AHURI (No paywall)A new report released today, undertaken by researchers from Swinburne University of Technology, University of New South Wales and Monash University analyses how evaluation of public housing renewal is informing policy development and delivery to maximise financial returns and socio-economic outcomes. It seeks to understand how key public policies, such as mixed-tenure development, can enable both social and economic returns. The research, conducted pre-COVID-19, found policy options exist that can unlock more inclusive conceptualisations of value, and shift the reliance on land value in the program logic of public housing renewal. It also highlights a consistency of views across stakeholders on how public housing renewal works, including state governments and private developers, as well as community housing providers (CHPs) and local governments.
https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/358?utm_source=Z…
# Research alert Australia, Public and community housing, Estate renewal.Rooftop crops: urban farms in Hong Kong – in pictures
Anthony Wallace The Guardian (No paywall)More than 60 urban farms have sprouted across space-starved Hong Kong since 2015 – on decommissioned helipads, shopping mall rooftops and public terraces – thanks to initiatives such as Rooftop Republic
https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2021/jul/14/rooftop-cr…
# International, Home.American Rent Burden Is Leading to More Homelessness
Cynthia Griffith (No paywall)From the United States ... Rarely is homelessness ever reported. But when it is, the stories are carefully crafted to make the issue appear to result from poor choices. In reality, it is but a symptom of a weak system. ... The root of the problem is in the way we’ve structured the housing market. We favor vacant luxury lofts over affordable homes. Racist policies are infused into our lending practices. And we’ve created a system where the law is almost always on the side of the corporate landlord who holds all the chips. ... As we near the end of the pandemic, we enter into a rental system designed to perpetuate poverty. With rent being the only option left for most millennials, is it any wonder that rental rates have increased significantly higher than in the years leading up to the pandemic? ... In other words, this dire situation is 20 years in the making with no real end in sight. ... Corporate landlords recognize this trend and have now begun making income requirements a condition for leasing at signing. This new tactic is just another way to make higher income the prerequisite for affordable housing-or any housing at all. (invisible PEOPLE)
https://invisiblepeople.tv/american-rent-burden-is-leading-to-mo…
# International, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing affordability.The English Housing Survey: five key takeaways
Dominic Brady Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ...The government has published its annual English Housing Survey covering 2019/20. Dominic Brady looks at some standout findings from the report ... 1) Overcrowding again reached record highs and was worst in social rented sector; 2) Social renters feel more anxious than others; 3) Almost a quarter of social renters went into arrears in the last year; 4) City dwellers report feeling more lonely than those living in rural areas; 5) Social renters are more concerned about fire safety than private renters
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/insight/the-english-hous…
# International, Public and community housing, Rent, Health.The benefits of investing in NDIS properties
Sue Williams Domain (No paywall)Looking for a property investment that could make you feel as good as the returns it promises? As one of Australia’s leading advocates for investment in National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) housing, SMSF Loan Experts founder Yannick Ieko claims it’s the perfect proposition. On the surface, too, it offers definite benefits: higher than average market rents with yields of up to 18 per cent; returns guaranteed by government; long tenancies; and limited availability.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/the-benefits-of-investing-in-ndis…
# Australia, Disability, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Call for Wollongong's homeless to be a priority for COVID-19 vaccinations
Brendan Crabb (No paywall)For nearly six weeks, Darren Mealing has been sleeping rough in a Wollongong CBD carpark. "I've spent 11 years in the street out of my 50 [years]," he said on Friday. He isn't the only homeless person using the space for shelter during lockdown. ... Mandy Booker, chief executive officer of the Wollongong Homeless Hub, said crisis accommodation was currently full, and demand for services was "really high". The Homeless Hub was working with the Department of Communities and Justice to reach out to rough sleepers, and get as many people into temporary and crisis accommodation as they could.
https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/7344584/wollongong-rou…
# NSW, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness, Regional NSW.