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
Vienna's Radical Idea? Affordable Housing For All
(No paywall)As cities around the world grapple with a crisis of affordable housing, Vienna has been keeping it at bay. How the Austrian capital got there may offer a model strategy for cities worldwide.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41VJudBdYXY&ab_channel=Bloomberg…
# Video International, Affordable housing, Housing market.Collapse of China property giant to impact Australia's biggest export
ABC (No paywall)There are fears the collapse of one of China's biggest property companies could spark wider turmoil in the world's second largest economy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTVxMyGBW48&ab_channel=ABCNews%2…
# International, Housing market, International, Landlords and agents.‘It’s a win-win’: Home sharing scheme helps the elderly and young
Josh Dye The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Cristina Andrei has no family members in Australia. But the 33-year-old from Romania has found a new grandfather thanks to a home-sharing scheme that pairs elderly homeowners who live alone with younger people struggling with housing affordability. ... The program is facilitated by non-government organisation Holdsworth which matches the owners and sharers to find suitable home-sharing arrangements. Ms Andrei pays about $125 a week to share Mr Dubourdieu’s home, with the cost comprising $100 to cover the costs of running the program and $25 for utilities. The NSW government has recently tipped in $200,000 to the pilot program to enable more young people to have their fees waived.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/it-s-a-win-win-home-sharing-…
# NSW, Affordable housing, State Government.Why the Reserve Bank and government are in no mood to rein in property prices in booming market
Ian Verrender ABC (No paywall)[As we gear up for a federal election] housing suddenly becomes a red-hot political issue. We will, no doubt, hear promises from both sides — to help first home buyers via grants, handouts, and other subsidies. The problem is, generally, that tends to make affordability worse. Throwing money at first home buyers only adds to prices and, instead, becomes a grant to those selling their property. ... Housing problems were largely caused by factors other than monetary policy and need to be addressed elsewhere. "The factors include: the design of our taxation and social security systems; planning and zoning restrictions; the type of dwellings that are built; and the nature of our transport networks," [RBA governor]Dr Lowe said. In case you missed it, he was talking about government. ... The last federal election dealt a fatal blow to any chance of property market tax reform. With so many Australians so exposed to real estate — ATO figures suggest more than 2 million Australians own investment properties — the Opposition's policy to wind back the tax incentives became an easy target for a government desperate for an edge. Having been trounced at the election, the ALP has since dumped its real estate tax reforms, never to be resumed. That means the tax incentives are here to stay. And that means investors will continue to pour cash into residential property, driving prices higher.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-20/reserve-bank-government-n…
# Australia, Federal Government, Housing affordability, Housing market, Tax.Sydney Covid-19 block tenants told to ‘keep mouth shut’
Candace Sutton news.com.au (No paywall)Another housing tower Covid-19 cluster has emerged in a second inner-city Sydney location with one of the infected residents being told to “keep your mouth shut” about the outbreak. The new cluster – which comes a day after news.com.au exclusively revealed a Redfern housing tower had seen multiple Covid cases – is at a Darlinghurst block with a very vulnerable community. Tony Slan, one of the freshly-infected residents, told news.com.au that when he told the public housing authority about the rapidly spreading virus he was told to shut up and “mind your own business – we don’t want to scare anybody”. Worried about the health of others while he himself is suffering from symptoms, Mr Slan said: “What if someone dies?” He took it upon himself to post signs in the apartment block foyer warning residents of the outbreak, and told news.com.au he was castigated by authorities for doing so.
https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/sydney-covid19-block-te…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Health, State Government.Gove will seek reform, but the multiple crises affecting housing will not be solved with simple slogans
Jules Birch Inside Housing (Paywall)FRom the United Kingdom ... A ‘big beast’ of Whitehall, Michael Gove has been tasked with fixing the vast in-tray of the housing secretary role. He is likely to have his work cut out, writes Jules Birch. Read a simialr report in The Gaurdian at: [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/sep/15/michael-gove-housing-crisis-latest-role-cabinet-reshuffle]
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/comment/gove-will-seek-reform-bu…
# International, Housing market, Planning and development.Sydney's rain and humidity triggers outbreak of dangerous mould
Julie Power The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A useful article from March 2017 with some mould-busting tips ... Disputes between tenants and landlords [over mould] were common at this time of year, said Ned Cutcher, a senior policy officer with the Tenants' Union of NSW. They were often difficult to resolve: a landlord may blame the tenant for failing to keep the property clean or to ventilate effectively, but structural problems may make it difficult for a tenant to keep a property mould free, he said. "There are plenty of examples of properties that look good, with a new coat of paint, and after three months the mould starts again. So the fix has been cosmetic."
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sydneys-rain-and-humidity-tr…
# NSW, Repairs.Territorians feel squeeze as Darwin's house and rental prices soar after prolonged downturn
Isaac Nowroozi and Markus Mannheim ABC (No paywall)When Smitty Dornan's lease ran out on her family's rental property in the Darwin beach side suburb of Nightcliff, she was horrified to learn the landlord wanted to increase the rent by $120 a week. We were quite shocked … we thought it might go up by $50, but $120 sounded quite scary," she said. Ms Dornan, a nurse, called the real estate agent asking for a compromise but the best offer was a $100 a week increase. Darwin's rents have risen by more than 20 per cent over the past year, according to CoreLogic, a company which tracks property data. ... Ms Dornan said she loved living in Darwin and the area needs nurses, but she is struggling to come to grips with how landlords can enforce such high rental increases. "It is not fair at all," she said. "Significant rent increase especially during a pandemic really does feel like taking advantage … it is a bit sad."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-18/nt-darwin-house-prices-re…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market.