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
Thousands of leaseholders in unsafe homes will be unable to sue developers
Robert Booth The Guardian (No paywall)From teh United Kingdom ... Thousands of leaseholders living in dangerous blocks will not be protected by the latest government attempt to tackle the spiralling cost of the post-Grenfell fire safety crisis, it has emerged, as ministers publish legislation allowing developers to pass on costs to residents.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jul/05/thousands-of-lea…
# International, Asbestos, lead, hazardous materials, Housing market.How locals are being priced out by the regional housing boom
Ellen Coulter ABC (No paywall)About 18 months ago, Dan Bakker and Gabby Rose hit a milestone. "It was looking like we were starting to get well positioned to get out of the rental market and into owning a patch of dirt ourselves," Mr Bakker said. After spending the best part of a decade saving, they thought their $100,000 deposit would get them a fixer-upper or block of land in their local area near Bermagui on the far south coast of New South Wales. They were looking for something in the $300,000 to $400,000 range. "Unfortunately, at the same time, the more and more our capacity was looking positive, prices started to go through the roof," Mr Bakker said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-06/how-locals-are-being-pric…
# NSW, Rent, Home ownership, Housing market, Regional NSW.RBA flags changes to housing market and interest rates as economy bounces back
Shane Wright and Jennifer Duke The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)Official interest rates could be hiked before 2024 due to the nation’s rapid economic bounce-back from the coronavirus pandemic as the Reserve Bank reveals it is already war gaming how to take heat out of the nation’s booming property market.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/rba-keeps-rates-unchange…
# Australia, Housing market.Forecast of 30 per cent housing price growth could be largely realised: economists
Tawar Razaghi Domain (No paywall)A once-stunning forecast that house prices could soar as much as 30 per cent if interest rates were slashed looks set to be largely realised, top economists warn. Affordability constraints or the prospect of an interest-rate rise in the medium term might cap the growth at about 25 per cent in three years’ time, they said – but it would still be a significant jump.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/forecast-of-30-per-cent-housing-p…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Bodies of two Australian victims found in Miami rubble after remaining condos demolished
The Guardian (No paywall)An Australian woman with a “contagious love for life” and her devoted husband are among the latest deaths confirmed after an apartment building collapsed in Florida.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/06/bodies-of-two-au…
# International, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.Hostel owner fails in bid to ban Perth residents, FIFOs and over-35s
Heather MvNeill The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The owner of two Perth backpackers’ hostels has failed in his legal bid to ban local guests and anyone older than 35 from staying at them over safety concerns for genuine travellers. Marco Tassi, who owns myOZexp Aberdeen Lodge and myOZexp Palmerston Lodge in Northbridge, said an increasing number of guests booking into his hostels were homeless, drug addicts or had recently been discharged from a mental health facility. ... Mr Tassi took his concerns to the State Administrative Tribunal in an attempt to ban Perth residents and those over 35 from being allowed to stay at his hostels so he could accept “genuine travellers only”. Under Australia’s Equal Opportunities Act, it is unlawful to discriminate against a person based on their age or race when offering a service. ... While accepting the concerns Mr Tassi had, Judge Kathleen Glancy ruled on Friday that excluding Australians and people over 35 from his hostel would be against the law.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/hostel-owner-f…
# Australia, Discrimination, Homelessness, Housing market.Advocates criticise rental reform laws, call for protections to address 'power imbalance' between tenants and landlords
Gracie Richter ABC (No paywall)Finding a property in Queensland's current rental market is near impossible with vacancy rates at record lows. "We're looking at $200 more than what we were paying to try and get a new lease," Ms Brimson said. Her eviction comes at a time when advocates have criticised the state's rental reform bill as leaving renters with no bargaining power. They say the draft bill, which is currently before Queensland Parliament, fails to protect tenants from unfair evictions "without cause" at the end of a fixed-term contract.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-07/qld-rental-tenancy-reform…
# Australia, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards, No-grounds evictions, State Government.Quick fixes for freezing houses: which heater should you buy when it’s already winter?
Natalie Parletta The Guardian (No paywall)The best home heating solutions require specialist installation, but as Australia’s winter has already come, here’s how to pick the right stop-gap
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jul/06/quick-fixes…
# Australia, Utilities water energy internet, Home.