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
Renting: the real housing crisis
Cassie McCullagh ABC (No paywall)As rents across the city soar, issues of rental affordability and rental security loom for over a third of the population who have no other housing option. We discuss with Hal Pawson, Professor Housing Research and Policy and Associate Director at the City Futures Research Centre, UNSW. (On Focus)
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/centralcoast/programs/focus/renting…
# Audio NSW, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market.Historic Firsts Highlight U.S. Mayoral Races
Josyana Joshua (No paywall)This year’s mayoral races in the U.S. pitted incumbents and veteran city officials against newcomers with bold plans to overhaul policies on issues like policing and housing. Several were candidates who made history in their respective cities. Also, read the story here entitled: 'As Housing Costs Spike, Voters Look for Hope in Rent Control' at: [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-04/rent-control-scored-a-big-election-night-victory]. (Bloomberg CityLab)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-02/atlanta-bosto…
# International, Rent, Housing market, Local Government.Your step-by-step guide to end of lease cleaning
Lauren Vardy (No paywall)The trick to a hassle-free exit from your lease is organising your cleaning regime within a proper timeframe. Use these tips to make your next bond clean a success. (rent.com.au)
# Australia, Bond.Certifier of Sydney’s ‘worst’ apartment complex banned
Matt O'Sullivan The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A private certifier who signed off on a Sydney apartment complex – described by the state’s Building Commissioner as “probably the worst” he has inspected – has been banned for 12 months. More than a year after it began an investigation, NSW Fair Trading has disqualified Jason Storer, a certifier at Sydney company AED Group, from being registered for a year for issuing interim occupation certificates for the two-tower development in Auburn.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/certifier-of-sydney-s-worst-…
# NSW, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.Don’t retreat on stamp duty abolition, NSW: this is a reform the whole nation needs
Danielle Wood The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)This week’s comments by the new NSW Treasurer, Matt Kean, casting doubt on the future of mooted stamp duty reforms certainly reflect a cooling of enthusiasm. So what does it all mean for economic reform efforts nationally? The NSW reforms – championed by former treasurer now Premier Dominic Perrottet – held promise not only for that state but the entire nation, were other states to follow his lead. These involved slowly weaning the state off stamp duty revenue and replacing it with a broad-based land tax. The economic case is watertight: a big, one-off stamp duty payment upon the purchase of a property can be prohibitive and deters families from moving to the house or location that better suits their needs. In contrast, gradual land taxes paid each year, much like council rates, don’t distort people’s decisions. Read a report on Matt Kean's comments at: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-04/sydney-news-nsw-treasurer-backs-down-from-stamp-duty-overhaul/100591084]
https://www.smh.com.au/national/don-t-retreat-on-stamp-duty-abol…
# NSW, Housing market, State Government, Tax.Renewing Australia’s ageing housing stock key to hitting net zero, boosting affordability, report says
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Renewing Australia’s ageing housing will be key to helping the country reach net-zero carbon emissions, a new report says, and have the added benefit of improving affordability while supporting Australia’s economic recovery. With almost eight million homes across the country built before energy efficiency measures were introduced, Australia needs to ramp up retrofitting and replacement of old homes to avoid missing net-zero by a mile, a peak body for community housing providers says.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/renewing-australias-ageing-housin…
# Australia, Utilities water energy internet, Climate change, Housing market.Legal service links rising house prices to high rates of elder abuse
Liz Farquhar ABC (No paywall)Jane is in her seventies and lives on the NSW Central Coast in a small fibro house that she desperately wants her adult son to move out of. She recently sought help from a specialist service at Legal Aid, aimed at helping those affected by elder abuse. ... Legal Aid NSW has Commonwealth funding for the free Elder Abuse Service (EAS) on the NSW Central Coast. ... [Senior solicitor Mary Lovelock] said the high cost of housing was often at the heart of the abuse. "It can be an adult child standing over mum or dad on pension day," she said. "But with the recent surge in housing prices, it can involve really serious amounts of money. We've assisted many clients who've lost hundreds of thousands of dollars through different forms of financial abuse. The housing crisis has fuelled a lot of the financial abuse we're seeing."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-05/high-house-prices-linked-…
# NSW, Domestic violence, Health, Housing affordability.What if we treat homelessness like a pandemic?
Sarah Tranum The Conversation (No paywall)From Canada ... COVID-19 outbreaks in shelters and other effects of the virus forced more people to sleep rough — on sidewalks, under bridges, in encampments — making homelessness more visible. People experiencing homelessness were disproportionately impacted and five times more likely to die of COVID-19. [Yet] the solutions to homelessness are not unknown or out of reach. There are many programs and organizations creating solutions that are part of a systems-based strategy to help end homelessness in Canada. Research clearly points to three important measures: affordable housing, support programs and prevention.
https://theconversation.com/what-if-we-treat-homelessness-like-a…
# International, Affordable housing, Health, Homelessness.