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
‘They saved my life’: WA eviction prevention service facing closure after funding ends
Sarah Collard and Karen Michelmore SBS (No paywall)An Aboriginal homelessness prevention service which has helped stave off eviction for 344 vulnerable families in Western Australia will close at the end of this month if funding is not restored.
https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/the-point/article/2021/06/01/they-sa…
# Australia, Aboriginal renters, Federal Government, Homelessness, State Government.Public housing developments
Geoff Turnbull (No paywall)The Planning Proposal for Land and Housing Corporation’s (LAHC) 600-660 Elizabeth Street Redfern site, is now on exhibition ... A change the NSW Government made to the initial CoS proposal was to reduce social housing (30 per cent) and affordable housing (10 per cent) to a total of 30 per cent combined. Given the 10 per cent Aboriginal affordable housing call on Government developments in Redfern and Waterloo there is likely to be community pushback to this reduction, especially as no dedicated Aboriginal affordable housing is included. (South Sydney Herald)
https://southsydneyherald.com.au/public-housing-developments/
# NSW, Aboriginal renters, Public and community housing, Affordable housing, Estate renewal.Affordability – good news for the City’s renters
Cathryn Callaghan (No paywall)Earlier this month, Rob Stokes, Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, announced his approval of the City of Sydney’s proposal to amend its planning controls to extend its affordable rental housing scheme across the local government area. ... The announcement of this approval is good news for the people of Sydney. It offers something practical for a group that is often overlooked – financially stressed, low- to moderate-income renters in the private residential housing market. The scheme will be pitched at these households and charge rents that are no more than 30 per cent of gross household income. Affordable housing properties are usually managed by not-for-profit community housing providers like City West.
https://southsydneyherald.com.au/affordability-good-news-for-the…
# NSW, Affordable housing, Local Government, State Government.Concerns tight Gold Coast rental market means tenants won't assert their rights
Dominic Cansdale ABC (No paywall)There are concerns that low vacancy rates in the Gold Coast rental market are discouraging tenants from asserting their rights with real estate agents and landlords. ... Burleigh Waters resident Aline Christ said her real estate agent proposed a 15 per cent increase to her rent, due to the competitive market. ... "[The owner] had no idea the real estate was proposing to raise my rent that much," she said. ... enants Queensland chief executive Penny Carr said that, with such low vacancy rates, many renters were desperate. "People are taking things sight unseen, tenants are up-bidding the rent and offering long periods of time upfront to pay the rent," she said. "The past few months have created a lot of problems for renters."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-01/gold-coast-rental-market-…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Australia’s five biggest cities on course for double-digit house price growth
Euan Black The New Daily (No paywall)Sydney home owners will see their wealth increase by more than double the nation’s average wage this year if economists’ house price predictions come true. Economists are tipping property values to rise by at least 6 per cent in Australia’s five largest cities over the next seven months and by 8 per cent in Sydney and Perth.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2021/05/31/house-pri…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.‘I’m now broke’: Without his usual four shifts, lockdown means Ed can’t pay his rent
Rachel Eddie The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Casual worker Ed Westlake doesn’t know how he will pay his rent this month after his usual four shifts a week working in events were cancelled due to Victoria’s seven-day lockdown. He is one of thousands of people paying for lockdown in lost wages without any support after the Morrison government shrugged off a push to revive its JobKeeper wages subsidy.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/i-m-now-broke-without-h…
# Australia, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.The $5,000 lakeside house: bargain Australian home comes with water view – while it lasts
Anne Davies The Guardian (No paywall)Imagine. Your own private beach and views from your porch to water as far as you can see – all for $5,000. That is not a misprint. It was the price Don Murphy, 76, paid for a waterfront house on the shores of Menindee Lake in the hamlet of Sunset Strip, more than 100km east of Broken Hill in the New South Wales outback. The house came with a car, furniture and utensils, but there are a few catches. [Read on]
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/may/30/the-5000-…
# NSW, Home ownership, Housing market, Regional NSW.Adelaide councillor Anne Moran says 'voluntary homelessness' should not be allowed after finding homeless man in her house
Patrick Martin ABC (No paywall)An Adelaide city councillor who woke up to find a homeless man in her house says state laws should be reviewed to get homeless people the help they need — if they want it or not. Anne Moran awoke to the man standing in the doorway of her bedroom in her North Adelaide house on Sunday. Councillor Moran, 66, said the man was homeless and lived in the area, and mistakenly believed he lived there. She and her husband had seen him before in Wellington Square. She said he was not aggressive and she did not blame him for seeking shelter on an extremely cold morning. What happened to Adelaide's rough sleepers? Her husband asked him to leave and he did.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-01/adelaide-councillor-anne-…
# Australia, Homelessness.