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
August 2022 edition
.id insight (No paywall)The huge shifts being felt by communities from a combination of pandemic and climate change is resulting in a period of demographic and economic disruption that is alarming, fascinating and full of opportunity. Lots of analysis, including recap on '"Vacant" dwellings - keep calm and dig deeper'.
https://content.id.com.au/id-insight-%EF%B8%8F-2021-census-has-l…
# Australia, Climate change, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.New Zealand house prices see fastest drop since GFC, but first homebuyers still shut out of market
Eva Corlett The Guardian (No paywall)House prices in New Zealand are experiencing the fastest drop in value since the global financial crisis, but many first homebuyers remain locked out of home ownership due to an inflated market, the cost of living crisis and rising interest rates. New Zealand has been plagued by a runaway housing market for years. ...
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/03/new-zealand-house-…
# International, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.The case for degrowth: stop the endless expansion and work with what our cities already have
Kate Shaw The Conversation (No paywall)Australian cities are good at growing – for decades their states have relied on it. The need to house more people is used to justify expansion out and up, but it is the rates, taxes and duties that flow from land transfers and construction that drive the endless development of Melbourne and Sydney in particular. Property development is the single largest contributor to Victorian and New South Wales government revenues.
https://theconversation.com/the-case-for-degrowth-stop-the-endle…
# Australia, Housing market, Planning and development.Moreton Bay Regional Council push flood-risk disclosure for Queensland property buyers
Lucy Stone ABC (No paywall)Queensland councils want to mandate flood risk disclosures for property buyers, with one south-east mayor describing the move as "common sense". ... But Real Estate Institute of Queensland chief executive Antonia Mercorella said ... "And similarly, just because a property has flooded in the past doesn't necessarily mean it will flood again in the future."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-06/queensland-moreton-bay-pu…
# Australia, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Social housing tenants warned of ‘play ban’ for children in London site’s shared spaces
Harriet Grant The Guardian (No paywall)Children living in social housing flats in a multimillion-pound riverside development in London have been warned off playing in shared spaces on the site by their landlords. Parents received letters from City of London council telling them that children playing in the corridors had been recorded on a “noise nuisance app” by a neighbour, and that the games were “a breach of tenancy agreements”. Families have argued there is nowhere else for the children to play and Southwark council – which owns the land – said it was investigating whether the developer, Berkeley Homes, failed to provide play space promised in the original planning permission.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/02/poorer-child…
# International, Public and community housing, Neighbours, Planning and development.Household Resilience Program to help Queenslanders protect homes from wild weather
Sally Rafferty ABC (No paywall)Could your home withstand a wild weather event? If you are feeling nervous about the next wet season, a $20 million state government scheme could help allay those fears. ... The Household Resilience Program was first introduced in 2018 to help homes in flood and cyclone risk areas north of Bundaberg. The initiative is targeted at low-income households to replace roofs and doors, reinforce windows and tie down external structures. The government will provide up to $11,250, with owners required to stump up 25 per cent of the total cost.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-09/household-resilience-quee…
# Australia, Housing market, State Government.Budgets pushed to the brink as fixed interest loans roll off
Jessica Irvine The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)One of the first things you learn in economics is that all individuals face a “budget constraint”, under which they must balance their unlimited desires against their limited resources of both time and money. ... For many households juggling rising interest rates, it’s likely to be a bumpy transition. ... Fortunately, my home loan is fixed until the middle of next year at 1.84 per cent. The downside, however, is that when my fixed interest rate expires and I roll onto a variable interest rate, I – like many other mortgage holders – am in for a fairly significant cash-flow shock.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/borrowers-face-king-…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.Tourism groups urge action on short-stay properties
Benjamin Preiss The Age (Paywall)Tourism industry groups are asking the Victorian government to limit the number of days that properties can be listed on short-stay sites such as Airbnb to help tackle long-term rental shortages in regional areas. Towns across regional Victoria, including those popular with tourists, have struggled to attract employees as the cost of rental properties soared during the pandemic. The Victorian Tourism Industry Council and Accommodation Association of Australia argue Airbnb-style letting has reduced the number of houses available to long-term tenants and is hampering the economic recovery of businesses, some of which have been forced to limit operating hours because of staff shortages. They want Victoria to follow other states, including NSW, that are encouraging owners to put their properties on the long-term rental market by imposing limits on the number of days they can be listed on short-stay sites throughout the year.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/tourism-groups-urge-…
# Australia, Rent, Short-term holiday letting.