Parents and children rarely put agreements about granny flats in writing and almost never consult a lawyer. But when these arrangements go wrong, the consequences can be disastrous and costly for all.
When prices are falling, fewer home owners will choose to sell if they can afford to stay put.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
It's natural to assume that a downturn in the property market is good news for people who've been priced out of the market. In practice, they might still not be able to buy a home.
Residents evacuated from the Neo200 building in Melbourne were unaware of the fire risk posed by its cladding.
Ellen Smith/AAP
As more and more Australians live and work in high-rise buildings, their responsibilities and roles in ensuring all occupants' safety must not be neglected.
A cake made to farewell the last tenant to leave the Sirius building, which was built in Sydney at a time when governments saw the need to invest directly in public housing.
Ben Rushton/AAP
If we recognised social housing as infrastructure as essential as transport links, schools and hospitals, not properly investing in it could become unthinkable.
The 392 apartments in Opal Tower (centre) were evacuated on Christmas Eve when residents heard loud cracks and defects were found.
Paul Braven/AAP
While Opal Tower residents are more badly affected than most, up to 80% of multi-unit buildings have serious defects. Here's what government can do right now to fix the industry.
The government has had to rethink its roll-out of Universal Credit – but small tweaks to the system won't prevent people on housing benefit from being evicted.
Things will continue to look good enough for long enough to help the government fight the election. Beyond that, the Conversation Economic Panel is worried.
Wes Mountain/The Conversation
The Conversation has assembled a forecasting team of 19 academic economists from 12 universities across six states. Together, they assign a 25% probability to a recession within two years.
Tiny houses aren't for everyone, but most people who live in them are positive about the experience. Yet planning laws still make this way of life harder and less secure than it could be.
In his speech Frydenberg repeats Scott Morrison’s warning that storm clouds hang over the global economy.
Alex Murray/AAP
As it approaches the election, the government's economic pitch on its
record is being linked to the argument that the Coalition is the best
manager in uncertain times.
It’s not all smiles and cups of tea.
Shutterstock.
Living in shared rooms is on the rise, because it's more affordable – and more profitable for landlords. But it's also a more precarious, often overcrowded and poorly regulated form of housing.
The Conversation played host to really important new ideas in 2018. Some will take years to develop. Others will never come to fruition. But they're important.
Failure by South Africa's municipalities to provide housing for the poor violates a Constitutional Court ruling.
A large majority of Asian Australians who make up an increasing proportion of the population, especially in big cities like Sydney, have experienced racism.
ketrktt/Shutterstock
Asian Australians experience high levels of racism. Almost six in ten Asia-born Australians report having had experiences of discrimination when trying to rent or buy housing.