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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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See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.

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Archive

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Key topics

Minns slammed over inaction on key election pledge

Aidan Devine
Daily Telegraph (No paywall)

Renters have slammed the NSW Government for failing to deliver on its promise to ban “no grounds” evictions as new vacancy rate data shows tenants in some suburbs have nowhere to go. Around 30,000 renting households each year receive a no-grounds eviction where landlords ask the tenant to leave their properties without requiring a reason. It's equivalent to one eviction every 18 minutes - or three every hour, every day in NSW, according to NSW Tenants’ Union data. Experts said reform was urgently needed given new data showed rental vacancies were at a record low across the state. Rental conditions were particularly strained in Sydney’s more affordable markets, with only 0.6 per cent of rentals available for tenants in the Sutherland Shire and Canterbury-Bankstown.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/property/minns-slammed-over-in…

# Must read, TUNSW in the media, Legal significance NSW, .
 

Sydney’s first dedicated affordable housing for transgender women to be built in Darlinghurst

Tamsin Rose
The Guardian (No paywall)

Sydney’s first dedicated affordable housing project for transgender women will be built in the inner-city suburb of Darlinghurst following the sale of City of Sydney properties as part of the council’s excess land program. The seven properties are being sold “at a significant discount” to Common Equity New South Wales which will partner with All Nations Housing Co-operative to create properties for women within the “highly at-risk” group. Sydney lord mayor, Clover Moore, said she was proud the council was able to help provide affordable housing.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/21/sydneys-f…

# NSW, Discrimination, Public and community housing.
 

Blue Mountains locals protest housing insecurity, as Airbnb listings rival long-term rental numbers

Tony Ibrahim
ABC (No paywall)

Julie Nelson stares at the dozen rental homes advertised in the window of a real estate agency in the Blue Mountains – and can't afford any of them. The 65-year-old was issued with an eviction notice after telling her landlord she couldn't cover a $15-a-week increase for her Wentworth Falls home. She was already $50 a week over budget when she signed the lease more than a year ago. To make ends meet, she's worked with a financial counsellor, food charities, borrowed money from friends and cut costs where she can.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-23/blue-mountains-rental-sho…

# NSW, Eviction, Rent.
 

Thousands evicted without grounds as NSW rental reforms ‘drag’

Mary Ward
The Sydney Morning Herald (Soft Paywall)

A year into the Minns government, tenants can still be lawfully evicted for no reason or have an application refused because they have a pet, with no date in sight for NSW’s long-awaited rental reforms. The state government has been consulting on its package, which proposes requiring landlords to give a reason for evicting their tenants and protections for renting with pets, since last July. Rental Commissioner Trina Jones told an estimates hearing in November the volume of community feedback on the proposed changes had caused delays, and she expected an agreed reform package with a number of changes would exist by the first quarter of 2024.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/thousands-evicted-without-gr…

# TUNSW in the media, Legal significance NSW, .
 

Households seek energy efficient homes amid cost of living crunch

Melissa Iaria
realestate.com.au (No paywall)

With winter fast approaching, households are seeking out ways to slash their energy costs and reduce the chance of a potential bill shock through features like solar power, energy efficient lighting, appliances and adequate draught proofing.According to the new PropTrack Origin Australian Home Energy Report, released Friday, most households view energy efficiency as important or extremely important.

https://www.realestate.com.au/news/households-seek-energy-effici…

# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media NSW, Utilities electricity water gas.
 

NSW lowest funding for social housing per capita in Australia

Grace Baldwin
The Australian (No paywall)

NSW invests the least in social housing per capita in the country, new data has revealed. Community Housing Industry Association analysis highlights NSW’s lack of investment in social housing, with more than 50,000 people waiting for housing in the state. CHIA chief executive Mark Degotardi said there was an opportunity to remedy the issue in the upcoming state budget. “We have the longest social housing waitlist in the country with almost 58,000 families and individuals waiting – and yet we are investing the least,” Mr Degotardi said. “Families in NSW put their trust in the Minns government one year ago – it’s now time for the government to repay that trust.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/nsw-lowest-fundin…

# NSW, Public and community housing.
 

Rental reforms need to be expedited

The Herald's View
The Sydney Morning Herald (Soft Paywall)

In NSW, nearly one in three people rent their homes in what has been described as one of the toughest rental markets in decades. Rental properties are in short supply, and rents have reached record highs, which is why delays to the state’s rental reforms are a cause for concern for a considerable proportion of the population. Among the Minns government’s election platforms was a commitment to improve rental laws. These measures have included appointing a rental commissioner and introducing the Residential Tenancies Amendment (Rental Fairness) Bill 2023 to stamp out secret rent bidding and to allow rental bonds to be portable.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/rental-reforms-need-to-be-ex…

# TUNSW in the media NSW, Rent.
 

Designer cats and dogs abandoned as rental crisis bites

Tim Barlass
The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)

The Sydney housing rental crisis is forcing aspiring tenants to abandon designer pets to enhance their chances of securing a new home. Pet rescue organisations say they are increasingly left to rehome high-value cats such as Bengals, ragdolls and British blues, as well as canine crosses like Labradoodles and cavoodles. The RSPCA in NSW said it had seen a 66 per cent increase in people surrendering their animals because they could not find a pet-friendly rental. Jonine Penrose-Wall, retiring co-ordinator of the charity World League for the Protection of Animals, which has a no-kill policy, said shelters were “in crisis” with a massive influx of pets.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/designer-cats-and-dogs-aband…

# NSW, Rent.
 

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