Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Tag: In the media

The tiny house movement is booming — so why aren’t more of us actually living in them?

Despite early forecasts of a COVID-driven slump, house prices are now surging in many parts of Australia. This is further widening the gap between the housing “haves” and “have-nots”, and we are seeing related rises in housing stress, rental insecurity and homelessness.

In Australia and elsewhere a movement has emerged that supports tiny house living as an important response to the housing affordability crisis. One of us argued in 2017:

“[Tiny houses] have significant potential to be a catalyst for infill development, either as tiny house villages, or by relaxing planning schemes to allow owners and tenants to situate well-designed tiny houses on suburban lots.”

My work-life boundary is totally eviscerated—but it’s also what’s kept me sane

Zoom call. Zoom call. Zoom call. Bathroom break. Bite to eat. Zoom call. Teams call. Then it’s a dash of real work, then open the door to my office for a breath of air. From there, it’s time to prepare for the next round of chaos: Two energetic toddlers, an equally tired-out wife, and an attention-seeking small dog. After preparing dinner, it’s a whirlwind two-hour rodeo of baths, books, and bedtime wrangling.

Of course, I’m unrealistically compartmentalizing what working from home during the pandemic is really like. But this is a reasonable enough approximation.

Queensland pensioners demanding government action on ‘unfair’ lifestyle village rent price hikes

Queensland pensioners living in lifestyle villages are demanding action from the government, following an extensive investigation into the multi-billion-dollar industry by 9News.

Residents claim park owners are unfairly jacking up their rents, while others allege big corporations are failing to honour their rental contracts.

“When you move into a village like this, you move in for retirement, you don’t move in to fight battles in QCAT or a court of law,” Paul Miller, a resident at Regal Waters in Bethania, said.

Read the original article on 9News.

Wollongong Homeless Hub joins national calls for a support package to help end rough sleeping

An Illawarra-based homelessness service has echoed national calls for a support package to help end rough sleeping. “Successful models such as Housing First used in countries like Finland show that ending homelessness is achievable and more than just a pipe dream,” Mandy Booker, manager of Wollongong Homeless Hub said.

Read the full article in the Illawarra Mercury.

Community Housing Sector Welcomes Low-Cost Funding Option

Community Housing Aotearoa (CHA) is welcoming the arrival of a low-cost funding avenue for community organisations working to provide good homes for New Zealanders.

Chief Executive Scott Figenshow says Community Finance will be a valuable addition to the range of funding options for community housing providers looking for capital to build homes.

“Access to capital and land are ongoing challenges for community housing providers so we are really glad to see the arrival of a company with strong connections in the sector and a commitment to the ethics and principles underpinning community housing,” he says.

Read the full article here.

Source: Scoop

Australian Housing Scheme Still Ambitious

It only took a relationship breakdown for one Victorian father to be forced into sleeping in his car or on a couch, while his children shared a room at his mother’s two-bedroom bungalow.

The daily routine of dropping off and picking up his two young children at school in the next town over from his mum’s made finding stable work challenging.

This hurdle was overcome when in 2018 the trio got a home with Habitat for Humanity, an international affordable housing organisation.

Read the full article in the North West Star.

New housing service launched to help older women

Choosing the right real estate property, house or new home in a housing development or community
An innovative housing support service for older women who are at risk of experiencing homelessness has been launched on Thursday (8 August).

YWCA Canberra’s Next Door service, funded by a grant of $1.9 million from the ACT Government, will work with women aged 50 and over to find and maintain affordable appropriate and safe homes.

Chief Executive Officer of YWCA Canberra, Frances Crimmins said older women were the fastest growing cohort of people experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness.

Read more on RiotACT.

Tightening the divide between populism and public housing

The aftermath of the latest federal election result has evidently revealed one thing about our society, being the worldwide trend toward “populism” and its drifting distance away from progressive ideals and policy. (For example, see Brexit, the 2016 American Presidential election, and recent French and German elections.)

Prior to the election, there was potential for the expansion of 250,000 affordable properties that would have radically reshaped our housing landscape.

Boards, peak bodies and housing policy wonks are now rapidly convening, planning and adjusting to a future without any real significant increase in funding for affordable housing, and an election where a call for action on housing policy did not resonate with voters.

Read the original article at thefifthestate.com.au

Re-imagining Affordable & Sustainable Housing in Geelong

More affordable housing options are coming to light that promote collective living and sustainable designs.

Collective housing enables a group of residents to design their own sustainable compact home at cost.

One of the speakers at Geelong Sustainability’s Clever Living seminar on ‘Innovative options for affordable housing’ is Tim Riley, founder of Property Collectives.

Mr Riley said building with a collective allows people to take control of their housing options and create higher quality living spaces at cost.

More affordable housing means homeowners aren’t weighed down by massive monthly mortgage repayments, which frees up their finances to help pay for other household expenses that are often neglected including property maintenance and gutter cleaning in Geelong.

Read the original news article here.

Anembo Affordable Homes showcases the house you can build in three hours

A Queensland company is seeing a surge in demand for its flatpack houses that are erected in less time than it takes most people to put together an IKEA bunk bed.

The houses have become increasingly popular across parts of South East Queensland because of their relative affordability and the fact that erecting them is simple and fast, according to Steve Murray of Anembo Affordable Homes.

A two bedroom 60 sqm expandable home called The Valentine was just $58,200, he said, with the firm picking up orders for the new year in places like Russell Island where land was currently selling cheap at about $19,000.

Click here to read more.

Source: News.com.au