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
Flammable cladding on apartment complexes leaves painful legacy in Victoria months after ban
Christina Zhou ABC (No paywall)Sara Robertson used to wake up in the middle of the night thinking that she heard a fire alarm and her apartment was going to burn down. The 35-year-old teacher and her husband Alan did their due diligence and knew there were some fire safety issues before they bought their home in Melbourne's south-east in 2018. But they didn't realise just how serious the issues were until they moved in, nor were they prepared to be told their home was covered in flammable cladding.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-20/victoria-flammable-claddi…
# Australia, Asbestos, lead, hazardous materials, Home ownership.Social housing experts split over effectiveness of Canberra's new Sleepbus for vulnerable women and children
Isaac Nowroozi ABC (No paywall)Canberra's first community-funded Sleepbus will hit the road today, despite concerns from social housing providers that the temporary accommodation is a band-aid solution that fails to address the root cause of homelessness. The pink-and-black bus will be parked at the Tuggeranong Uniting Church and offers short-term accommodation for vulnerable women and children.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-19/social-housing-experts-sp…
# Australia, Domestic violence, Homelessness.‘I don’t like it’: Rising number of Sydney families becoming long-term renters
Caitlin Fitzsimmons The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)An increasing number of Sydney families are becoming long-term renters, including in established suburbs around the eastern suburbs and inner west. ... Recent analysis by the University of NSW City Futures Research Centre showed renting increased over the 25 years as a proportion of households in the inner west, eastern suburbs, north shore and northern beaches but not as much as Greater Sydney as a whole. Meanwhile, the growth in renting was greater than expected for most areas west of Homebush, including north western areas such as Erskine Park and Whalan and south west towards Campbelltown. UNSW senior research fellow Chris Martin said these areas had historically provided an opportunity for relatively affordable home ownership but “more and more of those properties are owned by landlords rather than owner-occupiers.”
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/i-don-t-like-it-rising-numbe…
# NSW, Rent, Families, Housing market.Trying to stay warm? Here’s the most cost-effective way to heat a room
Sean Naden and Nick O'Malley The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)As Sydneysiders shiver through their coldest day in nearly four decades and Melburnians get buffeted by high winds, a thermal comfort expert has suggested people can better protect themselves by getting better homes. ... Houses better designed for winter – or even retro-fitted for it – with fewer cracks, better glazing and better insulation, would have left Australians more comfortable this week, Australia’s leading expert in the niche field of thermal comfort says. Either way when the cold hit his Sydney home this week, Professor de Dear, who works with the University of Sydney’s school of architecture, opted to curl up with the cat rather than try to heat the surrounding space. This sort of direct heating is always most efficient, he says.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/sustainability/trying-to-stay…
# NSW, Utilities water energy internet, Fixtures - lights, aircon etc.Regional rents surge as mining and domestic tourism booms put pressure on vacancies
Rachel Pupazzoni ABC (No paywall)Port Hedland real estate agent Scott Lowe and his team have been busy trying to find local residents somewhere to rent. The Pilbara region, like many outside the capital cities around Australia, has seen an influx of people moving to town, and agents like Mr Lowe have been struggling to find enough homes for tenants.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-21/regional-australia-rents-…
# Australia, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market, Regional NSW.How to make your rental feel like home without losing your bond
Yasmin Jeffery ABC (No paywall)So, you're in a rental. That doesn't necessarily mean you have to settle for living in a home that isn't your aesthetic. Here's how to negotiate apartment upgrades – big and small.
https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/how-to-get-permission-for-rental…
# Australia, Rent.Welsh government commits to building 20,000 low-carbon social rent homes
Dominic Brady Inside Housing (Paywall)The Welsh government has vowed to build 20,000 new low-carbon social homes for rent and improve building safety in its five-year ‘Programme for Government’. The Labour government, led by first minister Mark Drakeford, has proposed a number of policies which it says will create a “fairer, greener, stronger and ever more successful Wales”. It said for the first time transport, planning, housing and energy policies will be informed by the government’s legally binding target of reaching net zero by 2050. Part of the Programme for Government includes the commitment to build 20,000 new low-carbon social rent homes.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/welsh-government-commi…
# International, Public and community housing, Utilities water energy internet.State government windfall tax stalls plans for new suburb
Damien Ractliffe, Patrick Elligett and Michael Fowler The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A plan to turn Sandown Racecourse into a suburb the size of Wangaratta has stalled as a result of a new state government tax that would cost the site’s owners hundreds of millions of dollars.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/victoria/state-government-windfa…
# Australia, Housing market, Tax.