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
Homeless support services in Perth suburb at breaking point with vulnerable people turned away
Evelyn Manfield ABC (No paywall)It's a crisp five degrees outside and Prue Broughton is sleeping in her car with no heater, alongside her cat Fury and dog Rocky. She has been doing this for the last four months since she was forced to move out of where she was living. The 47-year-old searches every day for a place to call home, but there're just too many other people on the exact same mission. "I just want a house and I want my dog and my cat to have a place to live, you know?" she said. "There's so many abandoned places here in Midland, why can't we turn them into some places for accommodation?" ... [Indigo Junction] Chief executive Sharon Gough said the organisation had to turn away 6,000 families and more than 500 young people in the last year. She said since the rental moratorium lifted in March, the number of people needing help had increased. "We've never seen it jump I guess quite this dramatically," she said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-08/perth-midland-homeless-is…
# Hot topic Australia, Public and community housing, Affordable housing, Homelessness, Older people, Women.Social housing plea with rent now unaffordable for essential workers across most Australian regions
Rachel McGhee ABC (No paywall)"There are lots and lots of people living homeless who are living in overcrowded dwellings, who are living in relatives [or] friends houses, couch surfing, boarding houses, crisis accommodation centres — all classified as being homeless." New research from housing advocacy group Everybody's Home found COVID essential workers in the care and services sector are at increasing risk of homelessness. The group's spokesperson Kate Colvin said 87 of Australia's 104 geographic regions have become unaffordable for people in these jobs, with rent in these areas costing at least a third of their weekly income.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-05/qld-homelessness-week-hou…
# Hot topic Australia, Affordable housing, Homelessness, Housing market.A drop in new home loans in June is no sign Australia’s house prices will return to reality
Greg Jericho The Guardian (No paywall)Investor housing loans remain at near record levels, with strong growth across states and territories. Great tables and graphs. Check the table entitled 'The annual growth of home loans remain very strong' for 'Owner occupied' and then 'Investor'. Check the graph 'The value of investor housing loans is at near record level'. Check the table entitled 'The strong growth in home loans is widespread' for 'Owner occupied' and then 'Investor'.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2021/aug/05/a-d…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Rental stress set to worsen as lockdowns drag on
Nila Sweeney (Paywall)More than two-thirds of tenants across the country face rental stress and lockdowns are likely to make things worse, particularly for renters in NSW and Queensland, a survey from ME Bank finds. The proportion of renters spending more than two-fifths (41 per cent) of their income on rents had jumped by 8 percentage points to 68 per cent in the past six months to June, with tenants in both the capitals and regions struggling to keep up with rising rents. (Financial Review)
https://www.afr.com/property/residential/rental-stress-set-to-wo…
# Australia, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing affordability, Housing market, Regional NSW.Camden secures first injunction against Landlord to stop illegal eviction of tenants
(No paywall)From the United KIngdom ... Camden Council has become the first local authority to secure an anti-social behaviour injunction against a Landlord in order to protect private tenants from illegal eviction and harassment. The Council secured the injunction against Mohammed Ali Abbas Rasool ... at The Royal Courts of Justice on June 23, 2021. Working in partnership with the Met Police, Camden brought the case against Mr Rasool after repeated attempts to illegally evict and harass tenants at a property he owns in Kilburn. As a result of a disclosure request made by the Council to the Police, the Court also heard of similar reports made against Mr Rasool by tenants in other boroughs. The hearing proceeded without Mr Rasool, who did not attend Court, with the Judge granting the injunction in his absence. The injunction includes an exclusion zone around the property, which will remain in force until May 14, 2022, and Mr Rasool can be arrested if he enters the exclusion zone. The Council’s Rogue Landlord Taskforce is continuing to support the residents of the Kilburn property by ensuring that the order is upheld, assisting with access to their own legal advice and instructing the leaseholder to make fire safety improvements to the property. The Council’s Private Sector Housing Service is also investigating the safety and management of other properties operated by Mr Rasool in Camden. (Nearly Legal and Camden Newsroom)
https://nearlylegal.co.uk/2021/08/misc-notice-periods-evictions-…
# International, Eviction, Privacy and access, Landlords and agents.Citizens Advice Scotland warns of impending crisis for private renters
(No paywall)From Scotland ... New data has been published which highlights an increase of renters in the private sector who have been struggling to make ends meet throughout the pandemic, with concerns that this could lead to more rent arrears and even evictions after Covid-linked support is withdrawn. (Scottish Housing News)
https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/article/citizens-advice-scot…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness, Housing market.NAB launches Sharia loan product into Australian Islamic finance market tipped to be worth $250b
Emilia Terzon ABC (No paywall)Australia's finance sector is tapping into the Islamic market, with one of the country's biggest lenders launching a Sharia-compliant loan and smaller institutions vying to become the first bank for the nation's Muslim population. ... Islamic finance does home loans differently ... [Asad Ansari of local Islamic finance company Amanah Finance explains.] One of the more prevalent models used in Australia is called Ijarah Muntahia Bittamleek. This is where the Islamic financier buys the house for the client and then rents it to them over a fixed term, generally decades. Over time, the client pays off the house through rental payments, which include a profit to the financier and reflect market interest rates. Eventually, the asset is wholly paid off by the client and they own the house outright. This structure is what some may already know as "rent to buy".
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-05/islamic-banking-nab-home-…
# Australia, Home ownership, Race and ethnicity.Northern Ireland housing association becomes first to receive tenant participation accreditation
Lucie Heath Inside Housing (Paywall)Radius Housing, which manages more than 12,000 homes, has been awarded the accreditation by the charity Supporting Communities. ... The accreditation, which reflects the regulatory requirements in Northern Ireland, recognises landlords that demonstrate excellence in tenant participation and provides an in-depth assessment of its engagement practices and activities. ... John McLean, chief executive of Radius, added: “It is paramount that tenants have a meaningful say in how we prioritise and deliver our services. Right from the outset at the planning stage of new homes through handover to the creation of diverse and shared neighbourhoods, we learn so much from our tenants and welcome their input."
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/northern-ireland-housi…
# International, Public and community housing, Landlords and agents.