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
What makes a great footpath? The answer is key to our happiness and wellbeing as we age
Fatemeh Aminpour The Conversation (No paywall)As people age, they often become less confident about walking. Fear of falling can limit the activity of older people, leading them to become isolated. So what, exactly, makes for a great footpath to walk on? My colleagues and I explored this question in a recent paper. We used an evidence-based tool to measure the walkability of urban roads – assessing not just the footpath itself, but the features around it. The results can help urban designers make our cities more walkable, especially for older people.
https://theconversation.com/what-makes-a-great-footpath-the-answ…
# Australia, Health, Older people, Planning and development.Most Australian homes won’t stand the test of time
ASh Cant The New Daily (No paywall)As states mop up from another devastating flood, it is time to consider planning for the disasters ahead – starting at home. Floods and bushfires have left thousands of people without a place to live over the past few years. The reality is many of those houses – and those still standing or under construction – are not fit for the current climate, let alone a future that is driven by climate change. Not only should we be considering where our homes are built, but also how they are constructed, senior lecturer at RMIT’s School of Property, Construction and Project Management, Dr Trivess Moore said. We need to consider whether the design will enable the structure to withstand extreme weather, Dr Moore said.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2022/10/28/australia…
# Australia, Climate change, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.WA aged care provider's workers' housing plans in danger as federal budget axes funding scheme
Georgia Loney ABC (No paywall)A WA aged care provider's plans to build a permanent workers' village to address the housing shortage could be jeopardised after the federal government scrapped a major regional development fund. Workers' villages are usually associated with north-west mining towns, but Bethanie Housing is planning to build the village on the site of its new aged care home in Bunbury, 200 kilometres south of Perth. It's been hailed as a potential solution to the housing shortage in regional WA, which is so bad that many workers further south are sleeping in tents. ... The housing project was approved by the WA government's Joint Development Assessment Panel this week. However, Bethanie had sought $8 million through the Building Betters Regions Fund for the project from the previous government. The money, which is awaiting approval, is now in doubt after Labor federal government cut the funding stream as part of Tuesday night's budget.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-27/wa-bethanie-aged-care-wor…
# Australia, Housing market, Work, employment.Housing affordability crisis continues as strong demand pushes up Adelaide rents
Ethan Rix ABC (No paywall)Adelaide rents rose 12 per cent in the year to September — the city's biggest rent hike on record — according to the latest PropTrack report, published by the company behind realestate.com.au. SA's Housing Minister Nick Champion said the state has an "extraordinarily tight rental market" and asked landlords to have "consideration for their tenants at this time".
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-30/rental-crisis-continues-i…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market.EU citizens’ housing ‘at risk’ as new Home Office digital ID leaves them unable to prove status to landlords
Lucie Heath (No paywall)EU nationals living in the UK say their ability to find housing or employment is being hampered by a new digital ID system introduced by the Home Office. Some say they have experienced technical glitches with the system, which sees EU nationals given a digital share code to prove their immigration status – rather than a physical card, that has left them unable to prove their status when trying to rent a property or find work. EU nationals who have obtained a right to live in the UK via the post-Brexit settlement scheme are only able to prove their rights and entitlements in this country via the Home Office’s “view and prove” online system. But the3million, a charity that supports EU Citizens living in the UK, told i they are contacted “every week” by people who are unable to access the system and are therefore unable to prove their status to potential landlord or employers. (inews)
https://inews.co.uk/news/eu-citizens-housing-at-risk-as-new-home…
# International, Rent, International, Landlords and agents.Want to save up to $380,000 on your home purchase cost? Here’s how
Jessica Irvine The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Labor came to power having pledged a radical ‘Help to Buy’ scheme, under which the federal government would help low-to-middle income buyers by essentially co-purchasing up to a maximum of 40 per cent of a new home and up to 30 per cent of the purchase of an existing dwelling. The policy seems to have been forgotten by most people, including, perhaps, Labor which included $325 million for the scheme in this week’s budget, but provided no new details on the policy ... But if you are someone who has completely given up on the idea of homeownership because you think you will never be able to afford it, it’s definitely something worth getting your head around and keeping your eye on. So, how does it work?
https://www.smh.com.au/money/borrowing/want-to-save-up-to-380-00…
# Australia, Federal Government, Home ownership.‘A slap in the face’: NSW state housing push set to clip Kiama’s green hills
John Ellicott The Guardian (No paywall)A portion of the famous rolling green hills near Kiama, on the New South Wales south coast, is under threat from a housing development, after the state government overrode Kiama municipal council zoning to allow a 440-house development. The South Kiama project is part of a push by the Perrottet government to ease housing pressures, but the Kiama mayor, Neil Reilly, said viable alternative sites on non-rural land were ignored, including an old quarry at nearby Bombo and vacant land within Kiama’s town boundaries.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/oct/28/a-slap-in…
# NSW, Housing market, Planning and development, Regional NSW.The Sydney suburbs where house prices have risen and fallen the most
Tawar Razaghi and Melissa Heagney Domain (No paywall)House prices in outer Sydney suburbs are holding up the best in the city’s property downturn, new data reveals. Meanwhile, just a handful of suburbs in some premium and inner Sydney pockets recorded house price falls over the year to September as the rest of the city escaped annual price falls.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/the-sydney-suburbs-where-ho…
# NSW, Housing market, Sydney.