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
New Queensland rental laws could cost landlords and tenants, industry warns
Melissa Heagney Domain (No paywall)Landlords in Queensland could face some hefty bills to fix rental properties that don’t meet the minimum standards being proposed under new rental-reform laws. But tenants’ advocates say most people living in substandard rentals won’t complain to landlords to get them fixed because they fear they will be evicted. The minimum standards are being introduced as part of new laws introduced into Queensland Parliament late last week, with landlords being required to provide working locks on all windows and doors of their properties.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/queenslands-new-rental-laws-could…
# Australia, Rent, Repairs, Housing market, Landlords and agents, Minimum habitability standards, No-grounds evictions, State Government.Old Canberra a model of cheap land and government housing
Jack Waterford Pearls and Irritations (No paywall)Canberra was once in a position to show how ordinary working Australians could get into the housing market at a fair price. That fair price, in today’s terms, was about a third of current prices. ... Those who won’t inherit and can never open the door to housing are trapped in poverty. Addressing this with housing help is cheaper than leaving them houseless; and even then they will not be getting the public subsidies housed Australians are getting.
https://johnmenadue.com/old-canberra-a-model-of-cheap-land-and-g…
# Australia, Public and community housing, History, Housing affordability, Planning and development.NSW doubles down on land tax plans, even as stamp duty windfalls prop up the budget
Ian Verrender ABC (No paywall)... a quick forage through the accounts reveals a set of books overflowing with the proceeds of one of craziest property booms in history. ... Which makes it all the more baffling as to why Mr Perrottet is so determined to overhaul the system, to replace stamp duty with an annual land tax. From an efficiency and economics viewpoint, it makes perfect sense.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-22/nsw-budget-sydney-propert…
# NSW, Housing market, Tax.Affordable rental initiative gives landlords tax deduction for discounted rents
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Melbourne renter Rebecca Shiels never expected the generosity of a landlord to help her get back on her feet. As a newly single mother, she feared for her ability to find a suitable home for herself and her young boy, in a market in desperate need of more affordable properties. ... That was until she came across a two-bedroom apartment in Ormond, in Melbourne’s south-east, advertised for $300 a week — $250 below the market rate — with HomeGround Real Estate, a not-for-profit real estate agency opened in 2014. ... Similar schemes are operated by HomeGround agencies in Sydney and Canberra, operating under Bridge Housing and Community Housing Canberra, respectively, and landlords offering rent reductions may also be eligible for land tax exemptions and capital gain tax discounts under other government measures.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/affordable-rental-initiative-give…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents.NSW Budget 2021 disappoints on housing affordability measures
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)House-hunters hoping to get into Sydney’s soaring property market could be left disappointed by this year’s state budget, with little to help more Australians onto the property ladder in the short term.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/nsw-budget-delivers-little-for-ho…
# NSW, Home ownership, Housing affordability, State Government.Six-month eviction notice period extended to September in Wales
Dominic Brady Inside Housing (Paywall)A six-month notice period for evictions in Wales has been extended to 30 September, the Welsh government has announced. The announcement represents a three-month extension to measures that were put in place to protect tenants from being evicted during the coronavirus pandemic. ... The Welsh government added that consideration is being given to further support that can be provided to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on the sector.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/six-month-eviction-not…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.Airbnb Will Temporarily Ban U.S. Listings Where Tenants Have Been Evicted for Not Paying Rent
Whitney Kimball (No paywall)Better late than never: Airbnb is preventing landlords from renting units where tenants have been evicted for not paying rent after the U.S. Centre for Disease Control’s pandemic eviction moratorium expires on June 30th. According to an analysis by think tank the Centre on Budget and Policy Priorities, 10.4 million Americans are currently behind on rent; an April census survey found that out of nearly seven million respondents behind on rent, over three million expect that they are “very” or “somewhat” likely to be evicted within the next two months. (Gizmodo)
https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2021/06/airbnb-will-temporarily-ban-l…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Short-term holiday letting.NSW budget 2021-22 Winners and Losers
Maryanne Taouk ABC (No paywall)Check out two Losers': 'Homebuyers' and 'Social housing'
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-22/nsw-budget-2021-winners-a…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Home ownership, State Government.