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
Agency staff allowed to work across multiple aged care homes during Covid lockdown
Nino Bucci The Guardian (No paywall)Agency staff working in aged care are exempt from federal government rules preventing work across multiple sites during Victoria’s Covid outbreak. The Morrison government came under fire earlier this week when it emerged staff who tested positive at two Melbourne aged care homes had worked across multiple sites after rules preventing the practice were relaxed.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jun/05/agency-st…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Health, Housing market, Older people.Victorian dole applications soar as more than half of renters struggle to stay afloat
Rachael Dexter The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The number of Victorians applying for unemployment benefits has soared since the beginning of the state’s fourth lockdown as data reveals more than half of Victorian tenants are scrimping to pay rent. ... Data gathered by Tenants Victoria found more than half of Victorian renters are struggling to make their payments. Renters have on average lost $817 of income as a result of the snap lockdown, according to survey data from more than 1100 tenants surveyed statewide by Tenants Victoria over the past week. Those surveyed were renters who had previously sought legal assistance from Tenants Victoria since the start of 2020 as a result of the pandemic. Of those surveyed, 66 per cent said they had been financially impacted by the statewide lockdown. Some 53 per cent said the lockdown had affected their ability to pay rent.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/victorian-dole-applicat…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.Bringing the house down: A Quinovic monologue
Robbie Nicol (No paywall)From New Zealand ... SATIRE: Kia ora! My name is Robbie and I’m another white man behind a desk. Today we’re talking about Quinovic: New Zealand’s number one property management company, if you’re listing them in order from most to least evil.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/300322768/bringing-the-house-dow…
# Video International, Rent, Landlords and agents.Melbourne renters struggling in lockdown urge government to bring back eviction moratorium
Calla Wahlquist The Guardian (No paywall)Melburnians who struggled to pay rent during last winter’s lockdown are at risk of eviction again unless the state government reinstates the rental moratorium, advocacy services have warned, with some renters carrying up to $18,000 in deferred rental debt.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jun/04/melbourne…
# Australia, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.COVID-19: Lockdown support for Victorian tenants
Lauren Vardy (No paywall)COVID-19 restrictions are in force for Melbourne and have been extended another 7 days past Thursday, 3 June. Here’s what you need to know about the lockdown and where to get tenancy support. (rent.com.au)
# Australia, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.'My landlord wants six months' rent upfront'
James Graham BBC (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Daoud - not his real name - has hit a brick wall with his landlord. Last year, he borrowed money to cover a demand for six months' rent upfront on a new flat he shares with a friend. Now the six-month tenancy is about to end and he has been asked for another six months - about £5,000. Speaking to BBC 5 Live's Wake Up to Money, he said: "I told them, 'After six months you can see that I'm paying... so why not give me a monthly payment contract?'" But the landlord refused.
# International, Eviction, Rent, Housing market.Melbourne public housing tower residents call for more deep cleaning during COVID outbreak
Ahmed Yussuf and Oliver Gordon ABC (No paywall)Public housing tower residents who endured the nation's harshest hard lockdown last year say they are concerned not enough has been done by Victorian authorities to support the communities during the Melbourne outbreak.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-05/melbourne-public-housing-…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Coronavirus COVID-19.Here’s what the budget did to get Australians into homes (hint: not much)
Yogi Vidyattama and John Hawkins The Conversation (No paywall)Among the bolder claims in last month’s budget was that “under the Coalition, home ownership will always be supported”. Since the Howard government took office in 1996, the proportion of Australian households owning the home they live in has fallen from 70% to 66%. The proportion having paid off their mortgage has fallen from 40% to 30%. The proportion renting privately has climbed from 20% to 27%. In the lead up to the budget, home prices began climbing again, soaring 8.5% so far this year in Melbourne and 11% in Sydney.
The response was a series of measures designed to look as if they would help people buy their own homes.
https://theconversation.com/heres-what-the-budget-did-to-get-aus…
# Australia, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing market.