Australia requires a minimum six-star energy rating for new housing. New homes average just 6.2 stars, so builders are doing the bare minimum to comply, even as the costs of this approach are rising.
A rally for affordable housing in Vancouver, Canada.
Mark Klotz/Flickr.
From Berlin to New York, citizens from around the world have shown that it is possible to get governments to make affordable housing a priority.
Older private renters are far more likely to experience loneliness than their counterparts in social housing and that loneliness can be acute.
Shutterstock
‘People felt totally trapped’: what it’s like to be a pensioner renting privately as Australia’s housing costs soar
The Conversation, CC BY39 MB(download)
On today's episode, Alan Morris shares some of the deeply moving stories he heard when he set out to interview older Australians in private rental accommodation and social housing about loneliness.
The public outrage at the killing of Courtney Herron, including a vigil in the park where her body was found, demands more than a knee-jerk response from government.
Daniel Pockett/AAP
The brutal killing of a young homeless woman has led to calls for more crisis accommodation. This is a short-term fix. We have to move beyond crisis management to sustained housing for people at risk.
The dangers of outdoor air pollution are now well known, but those related to the air we breathe at homes and at work are much less so, according to an international study.
Policies focused on ownership do little to help lower-income households that are struggling to pay the rent.
Iakov Filimonov/Shutterstock
The policy focus remains on home ownership, but a new survey shows slight improvements in affordability do little to help people on low incomes. Their plight calls for better social housing policy.
The Morrison government, having added a housing minister to its ranks, needs to recognise housing as having more than just economic value. Its impact on our ability to give and receive care is critical.
Topping up deposits by as much as 15 percentage points will help, but housing isn’t risk-free.
Durban’s Bhambayi township was among the areas wrecked by heavy rains, mudslides and winds that have left more than 300 people dead.
RAJESH JANTILAL/AFP via Getty Images
Rebuilding informal settlements after a disaster must be done through learning from those who live in the settlements.
This shed has been illegally converted into housing. Two prams and three mattresses are visible.
Informal Accommodation and Vulnerable Households, author provided courtesy of Fairfield City Council
With Australian city rents too high for low-income earners, increasing numbers are forced to share houses or rooms or to live in options like ‘beds in sheds’ and other illegal dwellings.
A racial wealth gap is persisting after centuries enslavement and systemic discrimination.
Hyejin Kang/Shutterstock.com
Landlords could have a big impact on public health, if they help their tenants to feel at home.
The numbers of buyers able to celebrate moving into their first home are still well down on pre-GFC levels – and low-income renters are faring even worse.
fizkes/Shutterstock
Housing policy is a stark point of difference at this election. While the government took promising steps to set up social housing finance, it has yet to give any sign it will finish what it started.
Tiny houses on display in Portland, Oregon in 2017.
Dan David Cook/Wikimedia
Professor; School of Economics, Finance and Property, and Director, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Curtin Research Centre, Curtin University
Professor of Social Epidemiology and Director of the Centre of Research Excellence in Healthy Housing at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne