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
Why some people are refusing to leave ‘unliveable’ flood-damaged Lismore homes
Catie McLeod The Guardian (No paywall)It’s been more than two years since Lachlan Gleeson grabbed his cat and climbed onto the roof of his house in south Lismore to be rescued after his home was engulfed by the area’s worst flood in recorded history. He’s now part of a community that has sprung up on Lake and Pine Street in the regional city in northern New South Wales, long after the flood water has receded. Gleeson has been squatting in houses on the two streets since early June. Built on the floodplain, the timber Queenslanders were deemed unliveable after the February 2022 disaster.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/aug/10/w…
# Must read NSW, Disasters, Eviction.NCAT’s Indigenous List is a model for positive change
Emma McMahon Community Legal Centres Australia (No paywall)I was enlightened and deeply moved by my recent visit to the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) to observe the Indigenous Tenancy. The Indigenous Tenancy List, established in December 2023, is a relatively new initiative to NCAT, aimed at providing culturally safe and supportive mediation for tenancy disputes. The List is available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in tenancy or social housing disputes in NCAT and provides an opportunity to connect with support services and specialist Aboriginal Tenants advocates, as well as extra time with the tribunal member to ensure a realistic agreement is reached.
https://www.clcnsw.org.au/ncats-indigenous-list-model-positive-c…
# Hot topic NSW, Aboriginal renters, Rent, Tribunal NCAT.NSW soon to unveil its first 3D-printed social housing project
Architecture AU (No paywall)The NSW government is preparing to commence construction on its first 3D-printed social housing property. The housing project is a part of a pilot program aimed at addressing the housing shortage and homelessness across the state. The project involves the introduction of two new 3D-printed duplexes on a vacant block in Dubbo. The aim of the trial is to reduce building cost and construction time by 50 percent, providing housing availability and affordability. The project construction is anticipated to be finished within a span of 16 weeks, a significant difference compared to the approximately 40 weeks needed for traditional construction methods.
https://architectureau.com/articles/nsw-soon-to-unveil-its-first…
# Hot topic NSW, Public and community housing, Rent.Council's verdict on Wollongong's Airbnb-style rentals amid housing crisis
Glen Humphries Illawarra Mercury (Paywall)Wollongong has a need for more places for tourists to stay, according to a city council study. There is no need to impose restrictions on Wollongong’s short-term rentals as a way to tackle the housing crisis, according to a draft city council strategy. The draft Tourism Accommodation Review Strategy also stated there were 854 short-term rental accommodation (STRA) premises, equivalent to just under half the total rooms available through hotel and other accommodation. It stated there were 1924 rooms available across backpackers, bed and breakfasts and hotels – a figure that did not include the 854 STRAs.
# Hot topic NSW, Rent.No grounds eviction ban: Is the devil in the detail?
Karl Hoerr Law Society Journal (No paywall)The proposed reform is aimed at making the system fairer and comes at a time when a growing proportion of the state is living in rental accommodation – now sitting at 33 per cent. Some details have been announced, including the reasonable grounds that homeowners will have to establish to evict someone and the notice that will be required. But penalties for breaches of the new law, have not been revealed. And there are other aspects of the reform that are yet to emerge. So will the changes answer the calls made by tenancy advocates or open up a series of unintended consequences?
https://lsj.com.au/articles/no-grounds-eviction-ban-is-the-devil…
# Hot topic NSW, Eviction.NSW moves to outlaw asking tenants to pay for their own background checks on renter ‘blacklists’
Catie McLeod The Guardian (No paywall)Rental property application platforms would be prohibited from asking prospective tenants in New South Wales to pay for their own background checks under proposed new laws. The Minns Labor government on Tuesday announced it would introduce the legislation after feedback from renters who said they were often told that paying these “optional charges” would increase their chance of securing a home. Some widely used online rental property application platforms encourage would-be renters to pay a fee ranging from $19 to $30 for a background check they say will strengthen their application.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/aug/06/n…
# Hot topic, New policy announcement NSW, Starting a tenancy.NSW renters to wait until next year for 'portable bonds' scheme to be introduced
Alexander Lewis ABC (No paywall)Renters will have to wait until the second half of next year for the NSW government to deliver on a key election promise aimed at easing the cost of moving home. In her first sit-down interview, the state's inaugural rental commissioner, Trina Jones, told the ABC the government was still looking for a company to develop its "portable bonds" scheme. In an Australian first, the system will digitally transfer a bond from one property to another, meaning a renter will no longer have to pay a new bond before getting back their old one. "We're talking about a product that holds $2 billion for a million bonds, so it's quite a technical back-end system," Ms Jones said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-03/stateline-nsw-rental-comm…
# Must read, New policy announcement NSW, Bond, Rent.Aussie renter's $6,500 win after estate agent's $1,100 demand: 'Held to ransom'
Stewart Perrie Yahoo News (No paywall)A renter who won a David vs Goliath battle over an absurd $1100 cleaning fee has condemned the use of "standover" tactics allowed to be used by real estate agents and landlords to squeeze tenants. Sally Coleman and her four housemates toiled to leave their Sydney rental in great condition. The musician told Yahoo Finance she applied for the $6,500 bond back, but it ended up being "frozen" and "held to ransom" in a near month-long dispute after the real estate agent ordered a $1,110 end-of-lease clean. "We looked through the exit report, which was like, I think, over 800 photos, and because it was so long, it was really difficult to tell what the actual issues were," she said.
https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/aussie-renters-6500-win-after-…
# Hot topic NSW, Bond, Rent.