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
Indigenous families still homeless months after the floods, as leaders say First Nations people are being overlooked for rentals
Carly Williams ABC (No paywall)After moving accommodation five times in five months, Nyangbal and Dunghutti woman Teresa Anderson has had enough. The elder's Cabbage Tree Island home, nestled on a flood plain of cane fields in northern New South Wales, was deemed uninhabitable after the February floods. She has been homeless since. "I've been moved around five times," she told the ABC. ... As floods devastated Lismore and surrounding towns earlier this year, a sludge of sewage-contaminated water raged down the Richmond River, destroying every home in the Aboriginal community. There are 23 homes on the island — with some housing up to 12 people — and at the time every single resident of the 180-strong community was left homeless. Today, every house is still uninhabitable. According to the Jali Local Aboriginal Land Council, today, almost six months after the disaster, about 500 of the 1,296 northern New South Wales residents that are still homeless are First Nations people. ... "It's hard for us to try to get accommodation like rental houses, because once they know it's an Aboriginal family, they just say, 'no, I'm sorry, it's not available."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-12/indigenous-homelessness-i…
# NSW, Aboriginal renters, Discrimination, Housing market, Race and ethnicity.Northern Rivers Housing Crisis
The Australian Sociological Association (No paywall)The flood crisis in the Northern Rivers focused national media attention on Lismore in March 2022. This attention raised the issues of emergency needs for housing, food, medical care and assistance for animals and pets. The floods, however, extended well beyond Lismore, affecting the whole of the Northern Rivers region of NSW. Already, this region faced many challenges, not least due to the increased costs of housing due to tree- and sea-changers leaving major cities during the Covid pandemic. The region saw price rises in rentals of around 40%, pricing many locals out of the housing market, and forcing them to live in tents, cars and caravan parks. This panel discusses the aftermath of the floods, not just for Lismore, but across the whole of the Northern Rivers region, where an already vulnerable group of communities continue to suffer the effects of the floods, particularly in relation to an exacerbation of the housing crisis.
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/WhctKKXgjHWrvLstlDbQnVBR…
# TUNSW in the media NSW, Aboriginal renters, Land lease communities, Rent, Families, Home ownership, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market, Local Government, Regional NSW, State Government.Bailiff evictions in private sector rise by 39% in three months
Grainne Cuffe Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United KIngdom ... Bailiff evictions in the private rented sector (PRS) have risen by 39% in three months, according to new government figures. The figures show that 3,405 households in the PRS were evicted by bailiffs in England between April and June 2022, up 39% on the previous quarter. It follows previous figures in May that showed that the number of ‘no-fault’ evictions issued in the first three months of this year was up 41% on the same period in 2020, which was largely before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. In May, the government said it will add £10m every year to the legal aid budget available for tenants and leaseholders fighting evictions and repossessions. ... Additional research by Shelter found as the cost of living soars alongside energy bills, 64% of private renters said the current economic climate meant that, if they were evicted, they would struggle to afford the costs of moving.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/bailiff-evictions-in-p…
# International, Eviction, No-grounds evictions.The record rise in no-fault evictions shows why we need to deliver rental reform speedily and carefully to prevent homelessness
Lee Buss-Blair Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... New government statistics show that the number of people calling on councils to prevent them from falling into homelessness after receiving a ‘no-fault’ eviction notice has hit record levels. In total, 6,400 households across England were judged to be at risk of homelessness after receiving a Section 21 eviction notice from their landlord between January and March 2022. The upsurge in no-fault evictions is extremely concerning. What is less clear is whether we are seeing the consequences of the COVID-related hiatus on evictions, or whether this is in response from landlords concerned about the upcoming changes due in the Renters’ Reform Bill, a piece of legislation we very much welcome. ... Rent reform needs to be done quickly ... But it must also avoid unintended consequences that could create or prolong homelessness.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/comment/comment/the-record-rise-…
# International, Eviction, Homelessness, No-grounds evictions.Australia's empty house problem
Hilary Harper ABC (No paywall)As the number of idle, empty properties in Australia ticks past a million, and vacancy rates continue to dip, local councils around the country are taking matters into their own hands to ease the housing crisis. (ABC Radio National)
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/austra…
# Audio Australia, Rent, Housing market, Local Government.August 2022 News
Shelter NSW (No paywall)In this month's edition:
New Minister for Housing and Homelessness
Parliamentary Inquiry into homelessness amongst older people aged over 55 in NSW
Shelter NSW sponsors significant Homelessness Week event
Planning matters - North Eveleigh ‘Paint Shop’ Precinct, North Coast Regional Plan review to 2041, Penrith City Council planning proposal, Pyrmont Peninsula sub-precinct master plan finalised
Sydney Alliance convention - 'Together in Dignity'
Tamworth Regional Council – Closing The Gap strategies
Next Members Meeting - 'Housing for Older Australians'
How well does your home support people with a disability?
Sins of the City? Regional housing under spotlight at the National Homelessness Conference 2022
Increasing affordable housing - Shelter NSW steps up to support local government
NSW Flood Inquiry – Report is now public
NSW Parliament Budget Estimates in August 2022-23 – key dates
https://mailchi.mp/shelternsw/shelter-nsw-august-2022-ebulletin?…
# NSW, Affordable housing, Campaigns and law reform, Disability, Federal Government, Homelessness, Local Government, Older people, Planning and development, State Government.‘They’re asking for change’: New plan unveiled for unloved Sydney suburb
Michael Koziol The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The NSW government has unveiled plans for a major redevelopment of a public housing estate in Riverwood, near Punchbowl, which would replace 1000 ageing units with close to 4000 private and social housing dwellings. But it is likely to face another round of pushback from residents over the scale of the buildings and the proportion of private housing in the redeveloped estate. ... The government has fought several battles over public housing, most notably when it sold off property at Millers Point. In this case, the NSW Land and Housing Corporation is promising all current public housing residents in Riverwood they will be able to return if a suitable home is available, unlike those in Millers Point who could not. The work will be done in stages over 15 to 20 years and is expected to generate about 11,000 jobs and $2 billion in local investment. The finished precinct would also have 4.8 hectares of new or upgraded open space.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/they-re-asking-for-change-ne…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Estate renewal, State Government.No place like home: Will Victoria get value for its $5.3bn spend?
Clay Lucas The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The Andrews government’s spend on new housing for the disadvantaged is historic in scope. But not everyone believes it will yield just results. ... Until three years ago, [Public housing tenant William Gwynne] lived there, in an apartment with river views. ... [However] the housing that once stood on the Northcote land will be replaced by private apartments spread over five buildings – four with river views. On 20 per cent of the land once entirely devoted to public housing, a separate building will contain 106 new social housing units; its view is of High Street. ... Urban planning academic Libby Porter, from RMIT, has spent years looking at public and social housing projects. She despairs over what has transpired in Northcote, which she labels “state-led gentrification”. “The replacement of an existing community of people experiencing disadvantage with luxury housing for the wealthy in Northcote is a contemptible act of public policy,” she says. “More than 80 families have been displaced so that a private developer can make a windfall and wealthy households can have a luxury apartment with city views and creek frontage.”
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/victoria/no-place-like-home-will…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Estate renewal, Housing market.