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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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Archive

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Key topics

Housing people with a hoarding disorder - what should a best practice approach look like?

Robert Mowbray Thu, 31/12/2020 - 12:00
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)

Robert Mowbray, Older renters' Policy Officer at the Tenants' Union, looks at the ways in which hoarding disorder impacts on people's lives and the particular risks renters with a hoarding disorder face. What does a 'best practice' approach to supporting renters with this mental health condition look like? And who can and should be meeting this challenge directly? He challenges Department of Communities and Justice Housing to review the additional terms of its Residential Tenancy Agreement and remove the 'hoarding' clause which is a blot on its copybook! Check his blog (This Renting Life)

https://www.tenants.org.au/blog/housing-people-hoarding-disorder…

# Must read NSW, Discrimination, Public and community housing, Disability, Health, Older people, State Government.

'I find it horrific': Tenants in limbo over public housing revamp plan

Megan Gorrey Mon, 28/12/2020 - 12:00
The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)

More than 100 public housing tenants in inner-city Glebe have been plunged into uncertainty as the Berejiklian government pushes to demolish their homes for a new development with hundreds of private apartments. The government wants to force residents from the Franklyn Street estate, near Broadway shopping centre, and rebuild it with 425 dwellings, 70 per cent of which would be private residences and the remainder social housing.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/i-find-it-horrific-tenants-i…

# Hot topic NSW, Public and community housing, DCJ Housing, Estate renewal, State Government.

Discussions underway to ban no-cause evictions in ACT

Lucy Bladen Sun, 27/12/2020 - 12:00
Canberra Times (Paywall)

Renters in the ACT are set to get greater protections as discussions begin to ban no-cause evictions in the territory. ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury said he had commenced discussions with stakeholders on how to implement a ban in an "effective" and "reasonable way".

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6999718/no-cause-rental-e…

# New policy announcement Australia, Rent, No-grounds evictions.

The Sydney apartment tribes reshaping the harbour city

Matt O'Sullivan Mon, 04/01/2021 - 12:00
The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)

University of NSW's City Futures Research Centre embarked on a project to map the socio-economic make-up of people in Sydney's apartments. Its findings dispel common perceptions of the social fabric of Sydney's apartment dwellers. Bill Randolph, head of City Futures argues it has resulted in many apartment towers built in recent decades failing to cater for the people who end up living in them. "The bulk of the stock is two-bedroom, investment-grade units. And the majority of apartments are owned by investors," he said. The mapping identified about five groups living in the city's apartments.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/the-sydney-apartment-tribes-…

# TUNSW in the media, Research alert NSW, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Planning and development.

A History of Landlords: Rent & the Feudal Origins of a Non-Working Class

John Laurits Wed, 26/09/2018 - 12:00
(No paywall)

GREAT HOLIDAY READING ... In 2015, studies estimate that US renters paid $535 billion to landlords in residential rents. To put this in perspective, $535 billion is about enough to give $15,000 to every human being in the US state of California. It would also be enough to replace every page of every book in the US Library of Congress¹ with $100 bills. And if a person stood outside of Walt Disney World every day from open to close, handing $30,000 in cash to each individual visitor, it would take a year to hand out $535 billion. But what exactly did this massive sum of money actually pay for? Why did people start paying landlords in the first place? And do lands really need lords?

https://www.johnlaurits.com/2018/history-landlords-rent-feudalis…

# History International, History, Landlords and agents, Renting culture.

More than 100 cats – and owner – evicted from Spanish flat This article is more than 3 mon

Sun, 20/09/2020 - 12:00
The Guardian (No paywall)

Animal charities in southern Spain were urgently seeking homes for 110 cats on Saturday after they and their owner were evicted from a flat in the Valencia region.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/19/110-cats-and-owner…

# International, Rent, Health.

NT remote housing program is building prefabricated homes, but some communities don't want them

Kate Ashton Tue, 29/12/2020 - 12:00
ABC (No paywall)

The Northern Territory Government is using prefabricated homes to ease overcrowding in remote communities, but some are concerned they take construction jobs and training opportunities from Aboriginal Territorians living in remote areas.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-29/nt-prefab-homes-in-remote…

# Australia, Aboriginal renters.