Category Archives: Housing

David Pocock to use Senate balance of power to push for waiving of ACT’s public housing debt

Posted on by

Independent calls for $100m debt to be wiped as part of negotiations over Labor’s $10bn housing policy, which also faces Greens resistance

The new independent senator David Pocock will use his balance of power position in the Senate to push for the ACT government’s $100m public housing debt to be waived as part of negotiations over Labor’s new housing policy.

Legislation for the government’s new $10bn Housing Australia Future Fund also faces resistance from the Greens, with the party’s housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather saying the proposal is not “good enough” to secure support in the Senate.

Continue reading...

State government ‘disappointed’ as Queensland real estate peak body urges skirting of new eviction laws

Posted on by

Property managers are being advised to provide notices to leave when issuing fixed-term leases

Queensland’s housing department says “best practice” advice given by the state’s peak real estate body that would see every renter issued with notice to leave at the start of their lease is “disappointing” and “not in the spirit” of rent reforms.

But the tenants’ union is calling for the state government to go further, urging them to restrict the issuing of “Form 12s” and make it harder for renters to be removed without reason.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Queensland real estate body tells landlords how to skirt new no-grounds eviction laws

Posted on by

Renters express shock as property managers told to provide tenants with notice to leave at same time as new leases

Queensland’s peak real estate body has recommended property managers issue every tenant with a notice to leave at the same time as they are offered a new lease, as a way of circumventing the state’s new no-grounds eviction laws.

Renters who spoke to Guardian Australia criticised the recommendation, which they said has left them shocked and worried about their future.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Australia politics live: leaders trade question time barbs over climate and power prices; CMO ‘confident’ Covid wave has peaked as 85 deaths recorded

Posted on by

The parliament will sit at 9am – once the morning proceedings are done, it will be into the climate bill – people are getting ready to head to the galleries to watch it pass the house.

It has been a very, very long decade. There are a lot of people who need to see this, even if there is still a very, very long way for us to go to actually start acting.

The inclusion of an Objects clause that addresses targets, accountability, expert advice and the need for climate action in line with the science makes it clear that this is the beginning of a new era in Australia,” Chaney said in a statement.

Continue reading...

Australian property prices tumble at rates not seen since GFC

Posted on by

Interest rate rises lead to dwelling values falling for third month in a row with Sydney prices down 5.2% since January

Australia’s property prices are falling at rates comparable to the onset of the global financial crisis or the 1980s downturn as higher interest rates deflate demand. Sydney’s drop, though, is already more precipitous than those earlier eras.

In July alone, dwelling values fell 1.3% on average nationally, marking a third consecutive monthly decline according to CoreLogic, a property data firm. Five of the nation’s eight capitals reported falls, with Sydney down 2.2% and Melbourne retreating 1.5% while prices in Brisbane, Canberra and Hobart were also starting to slide.

Continue reading...

Zoe Daniel and Sally Sitou call for climate action in first speeches to parliament – as it happened

Posted on by

Cash: No way the Coalition will support a lower emissions target

The next interview on ABC radio RN is with the shadow employment minister, Michaelia Cash, who has a lot to say about the scrapping of the ABCC. Cash, you may remember, was one of its biggest supporters while in government.

The Coalition won more votes than the Australian Labor party.

Continue reading...

Woman who died sleeping rough in Adelaide parklands not found for three weeks

Posted on by

Services report 279 ‘actively homeless’ people in SA as ministers meet to address national housing crisis

The body of a woman who died while sleeping rough in the Adelaide parklands was not found for three weeks.

The 48-year-old woman, discovered by a man who knew her, was found in a tent in the eastern end of the parklands along South Terrace at 2pm on 22 May.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Green upgrades could cut UK energy bills by £1,800 a year, finds study

Posted on by

Homeowners can boost property value by average of £10,000, shows research by WWF and ScottishPower

Britons could cut their annual energy bills while slashing their carbon emissions and boosting the price of their home, research has shown.

A study by WWF and ScottishPower has found that installing green technologies could reduce energy bills by up to £1,878 a year and cut home carbon emissions by more than 95% over the lifetime of their installation.

Continue reading...

Mortgage holders could face large jump in repayments if interest rates increase by 3%, RBA says

Posted on by

Deputy reserve bank governor, Michele Bullock, says most Australians are ‘well placed’ to absorb impact of rate rises

Up to 30% of mortgage holders could struggle to keep up with their home repayments if interest rates were to increase by 3%, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia, which says first-home owners, late entrants to the market and low-income loan holders are most at risk.

With the bulk of low fixed-rate loans due to expire in the next two years, about half of those coming into the new variable market will face increases in their repayments of at least 40%. For those whose fixed loans expire in the middle of next year, the reserve bank estimates a median increase of about $650 a month in repayments, or a 45% increase.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Australia news live: nation records 66 Covid deaths as push for Albanese to continue pandemic leave payments and free RATs grows

Posted on by

NSW has recorded 12,228 new cases and 14 deaths in the past 24 hours.

There are 2,027 people in hospital and of those, 60 are in ICU.

Continue reading...

More than 700 aged care Covid outbreaks – as it happened

Posted on by

Cockroach alert at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane

As the Maroons and Blues prepare to face off in the State of Origin final decider tonight, another showdown is occurring between the SES and the “influx” of cockroaches in the stadium where the final will take place.

To be very clear, my government has not made this decision, this is a decision that was inherited from the former government and state governments.

I’d encourage concession cardholders to go and get the 10 free rapid antigen tests that they’re eligible for by the end of this month. There’s still a lot of time to go and do that. Of course, on top of that, there are free rapid antigen tests available in aged care facilities, across a range of areas as well in addition to that.

Continue reading...

Queenslanders miss out on social housing due to failures to build homes and inaccurate waiting lists

Posted on by

Auditor general’s report says waiting list has grown 78% since 2018 and amount of housing stock has not kept pace

Thousands of Queenslanders are missing out on social housing because the state government is failing to build enough homes, keep an accurate waiting list or manage its existing stock, a report says.

There are 30,922 households approved for social housing on the state’s housing register, which has grown by 78% since 2018.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Home buybacks in flood-prone NSW ‘cheaper’ than plan to raise Warragamba Dam wall, experts say

Posted on by

Infrastructure NSW says buybacks on Sydney’s fringe could cost $5.2bn but expert argues price would be ‘nowhere near’ that

A large-scale property buyback scheme in flood-affected parts of the Hawkesbury-Nepean valley would cost more than $5bn, according to the New South Wales government’s own estimates.

But experts have questioned the price tag, saying more targeted buybacks would be cheaper than the Coalition government’s plan to raise the Warragamba Dam wall.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Social housing tenant forced to cook in living room amid Victoria’s ‘broken’ complaints system, report says

Posted on by

Investigation recommends the state creates dedicated social housing ombudsman and makes law changes

A social housing tenant was left to cook in her living room while another was forced to shower at public facilities for months, an investigation into Victoria’s “broken” housing complaints system has found.

In a report tabled in parliament on Thursday morning, the state ombudsman, Deborah Glass, said the investigation had found a “broken complaint system”, prompting the need for a social housing ombudsman and changes to the law.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Morning mail: Boris Johnson refuses to quit, Kyrgios makes Wimbledon semi-finals, veggies to buy this month

Posted on by

Thursday: Covid-19 led Australia to record 3,105 more deaths than expected in January and February. Plus: UK prime minister told to step down by his own ministers

  • Want to get the morning mail to your email inbox every weekday? Sign up here

Good morning. A fourth Covid vaccine is to be made available to more Australians as it was revealed hospital admissions have reached their highest levels since early February. In the UK, Boris Johnson has been told by his own ministers to quit. And Nick Kyrgios is through to the semi-finals of Wimbledon.

Johnson’s woes have continued amid a string of resignations from his collapsing government and a series of senior Conservatives called for him to step down. But the PM is refusing to budge, even after a delegation of cabinet ministers met him at Downing Street to demand his resignation on a day of rapidly unfolding political drama. Follow all the latest developments as they happen here.

Continue reading...

Interest rate hikes may send about 200,000 more households into mortgage stress, says analyst

Posted on by

Households struggling with loan repayments are ‘looking at a deep hole - incomes are not rising but costs are’

Many homeowners may be forced to tighten their belts after the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted the cash rate by half a percentage point, sending an estimated 200,000 households into mortgage stress.

On Tuesday, the RBA raised the official cash rate 50 basis points to 1.35% – the highest since May 2019.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Australia live news: Jacinda Ardern meets Daniel Andrews; NSW floods ‘far from over’ as Sydney rain continues; RBA interest rates announcement

Posted on by

Jacinda Ardern meets with Daniel Andrews; Dominic Perrottet warns heavy rain forecast in NSW; federal disaster payments available to 23 flood-affected areas; RBA interest rate decision due; Victoria records 16 Covid deaths, NSW records 14, Queensland records 11. Follow the day’s news live

The federal government is making disaster relief payments available to 23 flood-affected areas in NSW, with emergency management minister Murray Watt saying the assistance would be “uncapped”.

Watt announced early on Tuesday that the federal and NSW governments were making assistance available through the commonwealth-state disaster recovery funding arrangements.

These are uncapped payments, they are demand-driven and they will be available for anyone who qualifies.

Continue reading...

Fifty-year home loans would get more on ladder but come with risks

Posted on by

Analysis: longer mortgages would unlock the bind many renters find themselves in but could be expensive

A 50-year home loan might sound depressing to some, but perhaps not if the alternative is never being able to buy a property. Long-term fixed-rate mortgages are an emerging financial product that should in theory allow first-time buyers who are currently priced out of the market to get on the housing ladder.

By spreading the repayments over longer – the average for mortgages taken out this year is 29 years – buyers should be able to borrow up to eight times their income, rather than the current average of 3.2 times, say potential providers. The loans would be backed by borrowing from pension funds and insurance companies rather than against less stable consumer deposits, to satisfy the Bank of England’s prudential requirement.

Continue reading...

No 10 considers 50-year mortgages that could pass down generations

Posted on by

Cautious welcome for idea to tackle housing crisis but experts warn of risks to those inheriting

Downing Street is exploring the idea of trying to tackle the housing crisis with ultra-long mortgages of up to 50 years that could pass between generations, allowing more people to build up equity rather than pay rent.

Mortgage experts said the idea could bring some benefits but flagged problems, including the potential to saddle children with debt, and the fact it would not tackle the fundamental issue of housing supply.

Continue reading...

Nation records 33 Covid deaths as Victoria reports fifth monkeypox case – as it happened

Posted on by

Mark Butler urges Australians to get boosters as new subvariant circulates; nation records 33 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Australia ‘deeply concerned by continuing erosion of Hong Kong’s rights’

Penny Wong, minister for foreign affairs, released a statement last night saying Australia remains “deeply concerned” by the continuing erosion of Hong Kong’s rights.

Australia remains deeply concerned by the continuing erosion of Hong Kong’s rights, freedoms and autonomy, two years since the imposition of the National Security Law.

The National Security Law has been applied broadly to arrest or pressure pro-democracy figures, opposition groups, the media, trade unions and civil society. The electoral reforms imposed by Beijing in 2021 have further eroded Hong Kong’s democratic governance.

This will be the fourth time the government has offered to make the changes, announced the changes, and then backtracked as a result of internal politics.

I’m just not sure where we go from here but our members are resolute. We are going to continue fighting to get these trains made safe, and we’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.

It’s going to be a very messy day. It’ll be a weekend timetable with other trains taken out of it.

The families of the railway workers right now could be having $3,000 deposited in their account, instead of having that money spent on modifying perfectly good trains.

Continue reading...