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.
Our main email newsletter, Tenant News is sent once every two months. You can subscribe or update your subscription preferences for any of our email newsletters here.
See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
We love sharing the news and hope you find it informative! We're very happy to deliver it for free, but if you find it valuable, can you help cover the extra costs incurred by making a donation?
Archive
Australia’s deadliest natural disaster you’ve never heard of
Jo Lauder, Tyne Logan, Fran Rimrod, Alex Lim and Stacy Gougoulis ABC (No paywall)This is not the start of a post-apocalyptic movie. Actually, it’s Melbourne in 2009. In the last week of January, a heatwave settled over Australia’s south-east, locking in endless days and nights of soaring temperatures. What unfolded over the following two weeks was the deadliest natural disaster in Australia’s recent history. Yet, most people don’t know the full scale of what happened. It was overshadowed by another catastrophe hot on its heels. Since 1900, heatwaves have killed more people in Australia than floods, fires, and all the other disasters put together. And with the climate warming, we’re likely going to see more in the future.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-17/heatwave-of-2009-australi…
# Hot topic Australia, Disasters.NT Court of Appeal upholds tenants' right to clean drinking water in remote communities
Oliver Chaseling ABC (No paywall)The Northern Territory Court of Appeal has upheld a ruling that the NT government is legally responsible for providing safe drinking water in remote communities, laying the foundation for a wider class action over remote housing. Residents of the Central Australian remote community of Laramba first took the NT government to court in 2019 over the level of uranium in their drinking water, which was then three times above the Australian standard. The NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NTCAT) initially ruled in the government’s favour, finding it was the NT’s Power and Water Corporation that was responsible for water supply, but Laramba residents were successful in their 2023 appeal to the NT Supreme Court.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-27/court-rejects-nt-governme…
# Must read Australia, .One million Australians are negatively gearing, new tax figures show
Tom Crowley ABC (No paywall)Nearly half of all Australian landlords have negatively geared properties, according to new figures that show the highest earners are hauling in tens of billions of dollars from tax concessions and loopholes. Capital gains tax concessions will "cost" the federal budget $75 billion this year, and super tax concessions another $51 billion, according to Treasury's annual tax report. As in previous years, most of the benefit will go to the highest earners. For instance, the top tenth of tax filers will account for $4 of every $5 claimed this year via the capital gains tax (CGT) discount.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-17/one-million-australians-a…
# Must read Australia, .We want to hear how Australia's housing crisis has impacted you. Share your story
ABC (No paywall)Soaring house prices in Australia have created great wealth for some but are locking others out of home ownership and causing housing distress for many. Pressure is mounting on government to take action, but changing housing policy has been politically fraught in the past. With a federal election due next year, the housing market is being pegged as a hot topic and top priority for voters. We want you to help inform our reporting on the issue by sharing your stories and experiences.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-17/housing-callout/104677522
# Must read, Hot topic Australia, .Victoria's Big Housing Build is tipping $5.3bn into social accommodation — not everyone's happy with where it's going
Jesse Thompson, Madi Chwasta and Alexander Darling ABC (No paywall)On Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, there's only one crisis accommodation centre — a disused three-star motel on the brink of being redeveloped. Ben Smith, the head of the Mornington Community Support Centre, admits the 12-room motel is hardly fit-for-purpose for the people who come to stay. But he says the lack of nearby options means there is a long queue to get in regardless. "When people get to this point, they've exhausted all other options," Mr Smith said. "Generally, when we come across people, they're in their cars or on the foreshore."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-08/victoria-big-housing-buil…
# Must read Australia, Public and community housing.Pricing software adds billions to rental costs, White House says
Emily Peck Axios (No paywall)Renters in the U.S. spent an extra $3.8 billion last year because of pricing algorithms used by landlords, according to an analysis from the White House Council of Economic Advisers first shared with Axios. Why it matters: The report puts some hard numbers to accusations that have piled up against RealPage, a company that makes software that helps big landlords and property managers set prices. In August, the Department of Justice filed an antitrust suit against the company, alleging its pricing algorithm allows landlords to collectively push rents higher.
https://www.axios.com/2024/12/17/realpage-rent-landlords-white-h…
# Must read International, .Why Is Spain’s Social Housing So Well-Designed?
Philip Oldfield Dwell (No paywall)When you picture the world’s best building of the past couple of years, perhaps a gleaming glass skyscraper or museum springs to mind. But the 2024 winner of the prestigious biannual RIBA International Prize is a building type rarely associated with being ‘the best’—social housing. Modulus Matrix, a six-story housing development of 85 socially rented homes in Cornellà de Llobregat, Spain, designed by Barcelona firm Peris + Toral Arquitectes, took the plaudits. RIBA president Muyiwa Oki described it as a "blueprint for delivering sustainable, quality housing around the world at scale."
https://www.dwell.com/article/why-is-spains-social-housing-so-we…
# Must read International, Public and community housing.Can rent controls help tackle Scotland’s housing crisis?
Laurie Macfarlane Future Economy Scotland (No paywall)Last week’s Programme for Government reaffirmed the Scottish Government’s commitment to introducing long-term rent controls. The pledge follows the publication of the Housing (Scotland) Bill in March 2024 which, if passed, would grant Scottish Ministers to designate ‘rent control areas’ based on recommendations from local authorities. Within these areas, increases on private tenancies could then be restricted for a fixed period. The inclusion of rent controls in the Bill marked a significant victory for activists and Living Rent, Scotland’s tenants’ union, who have long demanded that the Scottish Government take bolder action to control soaring rents.
https://www.futureeconomy.scot/posts/57-can-rent-controls-help-t…
# Hot topic International, Rent.