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
Northern Tasmanian housing demand mapped: why it's so hard to find a decent place to live
Adam Holmes (No paywall)Mr Capodici - who applies for 15 jobs a fortnight, mostly gardening work, to keep getting Centrelink payments - said there was little left over when living in social housing. "I was homeless before when I first started looking for a house. [Social] Housing always used to be cheap for people who have been on Centrelink incomes, but it doesn't seem like that anymore," he said. ... Social housing tenants are automatically charged 25 per cent of payments like JobSeeker, Parenting Payment and child support for rent. Their entire Rent Assistance is also paid to the housing manager - Community Housing - to be placed in an overall pool of funding for maintenance, repairs and vacant property preparation. ... The Tenants' Union - along with other advocacy groups like Shelter Tas - have urged the government to increase its ambition in public and social housing construction. Mr Bartl said the current level of need meant tenants who were unhappy with their living arrangements had no choice but to just cope. "Ensuring that social housing is built in and around our inner cities is imperative if we are to provide everyone with the same opportunities to access basic services including public transport, health services and educational institutions," he said. "We also need to ensure that there is enough social housing for everyone who is financially or socially disadvantaged."
https://www.examiner.com.au/story/7325334/housing-demand-mapped-…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Repairs, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.Douglas Todd: Sky-high housing prices causing psychological harm
Doulas Todd (No paywall)Ten thousand more British Columbians a year are moving out of Metro Vancouver to other parts of the province than are coming here from elsewhere in B.C. Many feel the need to escape one of the most unaffordable cities in the world if they’re ever going to put down the roots of home ownership. ... What happens, psychologically, to hard-working people denied the opportunity to own decent housing in the place they yearn to call home? Anxiety is common. So is anger. And, for many, a feeling of inadequacy. These acidic feelings are especially strong among young adults. “They feel like they’re failing, because they can’t secure their financial foundation. That gives rise to stress,” says Paul Kershaw, UBC professor of population health. (Vancouver Sun)
https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/douglas-todd-the-sou…
# International, Health, Home ownership, Housing market.Fears more tenants will be stuck in tenancies due to new housing standards
Charlie Dreaver (No paywall)From New Zealand ... A group of Wellington flatmates have received a nasty shock after discovering they're trapped in a lease because their landlord is biding time before getting the property up to the Healthy Home Standards. The standards have now come into effect, meaning landlords need to get their property up to spec within 90 days of a new tenancy. But renting and student advocates fear more people could become stuck in tenancies they do not want, in poor quality housing. (RNZ)
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/446194/fears-more-tenants-wi…
# International, Rent, Minimum habitability standards.Mortgage costs to jump as interest rate rises loom, warns CBA ahead of Reserve Bank meeting
Michael Janda ABC (No paywall)Australians could soon be paying more than $26 billion a year in extra mortgage repayments as interest rates begin to "normalise", but the Commonwealth Bank argues there are several reasons why most households will be able to cope just fine. Kate Burke in 'Domain' writes another article on the same issue at: [https://www.domain.com.au/news/mortgage-repayments-could-rise-soon-than-expected-as-banks-forecast-earlier-cash-rate-hikes-1069649/?utm_campaign=strap-masthead&utm_source=smh&utm_medium=link&utm_content=pos5&ref=pos1]
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-06/mortgage-costs-to-jump-as…
# Australia, Housing market.Nimbys are not selfish. We’re just trying to stop the destruction of nature
Ros Coward The Guardian (No paywall)Developers use this laden word when they want to obliterate wildlife and its habitats, to demonise anyone who objects
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/04/nimbys-nat…
# International, Planning and development.Single Australians a growing force in property market, says ME Bank
Euan Black The New Daily (No paywall)Single Australians have overcome rising house prices to break into the property market in droves during the pandemic. Data released by ME Bank shows that singles accounted for more than a third (38 per cent) of all loan applications received by the bank in 2020, up from 35 per cent in 2019.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2021/07/04/property-…
# Australia, Housing market.Apartment towers? No thanks
Michael Paton The Fifth Estate (No paywall)The recent catastrophic failure of the apartment tower in Miami causes one to pause and reflect on their siting and utility. My first thought took me back to the Salvation Army days of my childhood. Build upon the rock not on the sand, we sang. I much later discovered that this had echoes in the traditional siting wisdom in old fengshui texts.
https://thefifthestate.com.au/innovation/residential-2/apartment…
# NSW, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.John Lewis unveils plans to build 10,000 homes for rental
(No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Department store John Lewis has announced plans to build 10,000 rental homes over the next few years to help address the national housing crisis. Around 7,000 of the homes would be built on sites in John Lewis’s existing portfolio, while the remainder will be on new sites. The high street stalwart has said it wants to have a strong social purpose in the future, and wants to play its part in addressing the national housing crisis. (ITV)
https://www.itv.com/news/2021-07-04/john-lewis-unveils-plans-to-…
# International, Rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents.