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
Perrottet’s stamp duty reform dream may be gazumped
Alexandra Smith The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Dominic Perrottet has made no secret of the fact that there is one reform agenda he wants as his legacy, but time is not on the premier’s side. The mourning period for the Queen this week – followed by a surprise public holiday – has left him just 17 days to overhaul one of the most politically fraught taxes before the state election in March. If Perrottet is to reform stamp duty – the hugely lucrative tax which generated more revenue for NSW in 2021/22 than payroll tax – he will need legislation to pass both houses before NSW parliament rises for the poll. That is looking increasingly ambitious as the clock ticks down on this final sitting period.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/perrottet-s-stamp-duty-refor…
# NSW, Housing market, State Government, Tax.NIMBYs make housing unaffordable: Grattan Institute
Rachel Clun The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)NIMBY campaigns have helped drive up house prices and rents, a leading economist has argued, as younger Australians are shut out of the market by opposition to high-density developments. In a speech on Wednesday night, Grattan Institute economic policy director Brendan Coates said soaring house and land values “sit at the heart of some of Australia’s most pressing policy challenges”. Also, read Nino Bucci's article entitled: 'High-density development and better rent assistance key to addressing Australia’s housing crisis, economist says' in 'The Guardian' at: [https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/sep/15/high-density-development-and-better-rent-assistance-key-to-addressing-housing-crisis-economist-says]
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/nimbys-make-housing-unaf…
# Australia, Rent, Federal Government, Housing market, Planning and development, State Government, Tax.Bedroom or study debate rages as experts share tips about gauging property's size
Zilla Gordon ABC (No paywall)Have you ever gone to inspect a unit only to find the number of bedrooms has been somewhat exaggerated? Found the second bedroom more like an alcove with a sliding door? Or left wondering when is a bedroom really a bedroom? ... Tenants Victoria's Agata Wierzbowski said minimal size requirements were not specified under the Victorian Residential Tenancies Act. However, there were stipulations for those in a rooming house. A bedroom must be no smaller than 7 metres squared, 12 metres squared for a room shared by two people, and further four metres squared for each additional person. Those renting in a rooming house were often more vulnerable, Ms Wierzbowski said, and many unregistered providers failed to meet those requirements.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-13/bedroom-or-study-debate-e…
# Australia, Boarders and lodgers, Rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Minimum habitability standards.‘High-rise nightmare’: Sydney’s inner west apartment plans spark fury
Megan Gorrey The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Residents in Sydney’s inner west are fighting to prevent apartment blocks from encroaching into established suburbs and high streets, as the local council attempts to accommodate more than 4500 new homes in the next decade. Kylie Cochrane, of Dulwich Hill, was “shocked and surprised” to learn the Inner West Council was considering plans to allow buildings of four to eight storeys in her area, where single-storey heritage homes predominate.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/high-rise-nightmare-sydney-s…
# NSW, Housing market, Local Government, Planning and development.NSW, Victorian property markets take $200 billion hit as rates rise
Shane Wright The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The NSW and Victorian property markets took a $200 billion hit as the Reserve Bank unleashed the first increases in official interest rates in more than a decade, while evidence is growing that tighter monetary policy and high inflation are forcing shoppers to slice spending on non-essentials. Australian Bureau of Statistics data confirmed the nation’s two largest property markets have borne the brunt of the drop in property values, with the average price of residential dwellings in NSW losing more than $500 a day through the three months to the end of June.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/early-signs-rate-rises-a…
# Australia, Housing market.The rental crisis worsens, with vacancy rates falling below 1 per cent
Emily Stewart ABC (No paywall)Pensioner Gordon Balfour Haynes lived in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales for most of his 73 years. But several months ago he packed up his life and moved 900 kilometres across the country in search of an affordable rental. The move was prompted by his landlord of five years increasing the rent by $100 a week, to $450, which would account for about 90 per cent of his pension. He couldn't afford to stay in the property and when he looked in the area for alternatives, there were none. "Absolutely nothing. The cheapest I could find was about $500 a week and that was for a dog kennel," Mr Haynes said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-14/pensioner-moves-900-kilom…
# NSW, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market, Older people, Regional NSW.Hobart housing crisis sees rents more than double for some tenants as vacancy rate sits below 1pc
Adam Holmes ABC (No paywall)Tim Seidenspinner had lived in a room at a former backpackers hostel in Hobart for two years when he received an email out of the blue, accompanied by a sudden knock at the door from a real estate agent. His rent would be more than doubling from $150 per week to $330. And he was not the only one. ... A tenants' advocate said it was a symptom of Tasmania's tight rental market, where vacancy rates in the state's three major centres – Hobart, Burnie and Launceston – range from 0.2 to 1 per cent.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-15/hobart-housing-crisis-see…
# Australia, Rent, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market.As businesses buy up rural properties, private renters struggle to find somewhere to live
Andrew Chounding ABC (No paywall)Australia is in the middle of a housing shortage, which is seeing more employers purchase accommodation to attract workers, but the move is making it harder for private renters to find a home.In the mining town of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, a resources boom has seen people flock to the region for work. However, the number of houses being built has not kept pace with the rise in workers, which has seen the vacancy rate in the town fall below 1 per cent. David Holtom and his partner work in the mining sector and plan to relocate to the Goldfields in October, but finding a house to rent ahead of their arrival has proven a challenge. ... Compounding the issue is the quality of houses in the region, with Mr Holtom saying some of the properties on offer are not at a liveable standard. "I think the biggest thing at the moment is the quality of rentals that are available," he said. "They sent us through some pictures of a house in Boulder and I can honestly say I wouldn't even rent it out for my dog, let alone human habitat."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-13/kalgoorlie-boulder-rural-…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards, Work, employment.