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
Build-to-rent is the latest craze in Australian property investment. But has it solved housing crises overseas?
Lachlan Bennett ABC (No paywall)If you spend any time with developers, investors or policymakers involved in the property industry, chances are they will mention "build-to-rent" (BTR). BTR has fast become the latest trend in Australian property, with advocates saying it can help solve the housing crisis by boosting supply while improving the rental experience. Investors are betting billions on the sector, with more than 8,000 dedicated BTR apartments under construction in Australia in 2023 and another 13,000 approved for development. And governments are rolling out the red carpet with regulatory changes, such as Victoria's 50 per cent land tax discount for BTR properties.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-16/build-to-rent-fix-housing…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent.Single parents bear the brunt of the rental crisis in regional Victoria
Alicia S Cook The Guardian (No paywall)Eve* has moved 13 times since her four-year-old son, Ollie, was born. The former high school teacher moved to Bendigo in regional Victoria in late 2019 and has been trying to find a long-term rental property. But next to applicants with dual incomes, she says she and Ollie do not come close to meeting the standard that real estate agents are now looking for. “A lot of it is out of my control, and a lot of it is that there’s just no properties, there’s no space,” she says. “When you’ve got 30 applications for one property, or more … I don’t know when I would ever match up against half of them.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/oct/05/single-pa…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent.Meet the Australians over fifty embracing share housing
ABC (No paywall)When you think of flatmates, your mind typically goes to a group of 20 or 30-somethings living in a share house. But there's a new generation of people who are embracing a different type of share house. People over the age of 50 are increasingly choosing to live with housemates, as a way of combating the tough rental market and the cost of living crisis. Social media platforms like the Facebook page 'Women Wide Network for Share Accommodation' have thousands of members and many of them are mature-aged people looking for someone to share a home.
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/lifematters/australians-e…
# Audio Australia, Share houses.What will an end to no-grounds evictions mean for NSW renters?
Andy Kollmorgen CHOICE (No paywall)In July this year the NSW government raised hopes for renters that the fear of being kicked out of their homes might not always be hanging over their heads. The state announced it would be introducing legislation to abolish 'no grounds evictions', that everyday scenario where the renter is asked to pack up and get out without having broken the terms of the lease or otherwise been a bad tenant. Renters make up around one-third of households across NSW, and for many of those roughly two million people a firmer grip on long-term tenancy would amount to a life-changing event.
https://www.choice.com.au/money/property/renting/articles/no-gro…
# Must read, TUNSW in the media, Legal significance, New policy announcement NSW, Eviction.Can someone fix the diabolical rental mess before I evict my kids?
Alexandra Smith The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Like most parents with young kids, I assume mine will live with us forever. Or at least far longer than most of my generation stayed at home. It will not be because they are feverishly saving for a deposit to buy their own place – I suspect in Sydney that will be a pipe dream – but because even securing a rental property could be a challenge beyond them. The great Australian dream of owning a home is morphing into simply having somewhere to live, especially in a hellishly expensive city like Sydney. About 35 per cent of households rent in Sydney, and about 32 per cent across NSW.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/can-someone-fix-the-diabolic…
# New policy announcement NSW, Eviction, Rent.Lifestyle Communities boss James Kelly announces retirement months after ABC investigation into the land lease company's practices
Ben Butler ABC (No paywall)The managing director of Lifestyle Communities has announced his retirement, three months after a 7.30 investigation into the company exposed the high fees it charged residents when they left its developments. James Kelly, 65, who co-founded Lifestyle more than two decades ago, is leaving without a successor in place, the company told the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) on Monday. The company's share price was hit hard in July — when 7.30 broadcast its investigation — falling 7.8 per cent from $12.57 to $11.59. Mr Kelly did not respond to questions about whether his retirement was linked to the 7.30 investigation.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-14/lifestyle-communities-bos…
# Hot topic NSW, Land lease communities.NSW Parliament To Limit Landlords To Only One Rent Increase A Year & How Will They Survive???
Lachlan Hodson Pedestrian (No paywall)As part of a sweeping reform to the rental laws in NSW, the state’s government has introduced a new cap to rent increases. In what is sure to be a devastating blow to the already-struggling landlords of NSW, property owners will now only be allowed one measly unlimited rent increase a year. Oh the humanity! NSW Premier Chris Minns‘ Government has been on a spree of soft launching rental reforms over the past few months, as part of their election commitment to create a more equal balance between renters and landlords.
# Hot topic, New policy announcement NSW, Eviction, Rent.Pets in, repeat rent hikes out in long-awaited reform
Jack Gramenz and Neve Brissenden Newcastle Herald (No paywall)Long-awaited tenancy reforms will help families build a stable life and stop young people fleeing Australia's most expensive market, but landlords who do the right thing have nothing to fear. Rental-law changes were introduced to NSW parliament on Tuesday after years of debate and election promises. More than 2.2 million tenants have been waiting for the overhaul after Labor and the coalition went into the 2023 state election promising to ban no-grounds evictions.
https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/8791937/new-tenancy-law…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media, Legal significance, New policy announcement NSW, Eviction, Rent.