The use of data from South Australia's rental tenancy tribunal for research and policy analysis: Issues of validity and efficacy

This paper examines the value for research and policy development of rental tenancy data collected by the South Australian Rental Tenancy Tribunal (RTT). The data held by the RTT are for South Australia only, but comparable organisations exist in a number of other states, such as New South Wales and Victoria. Lessons learned from South Australia could serve as a pilot for the development of a new (semi-) national framework for monitoring the private rental market.     

Labour market change and housing market segmentation in south Australia's non‐metropolitan private rental market

Abstract

This paper reports on research into the relationship between labour market change and the private rental market in non‐metropolitan South Australia for the period 1990 to 2000. It finds that there is considerable ‘stickiness’ within the market and that there has been a limited supply response to changing levels of demand. This has contributed to housing and labour shortages in some regions and over‐supply in others. Each circumstance has generated considerable dilemmas for public policy.     

Book Reviews

Abstract

This paper uses census data for 1986 and 1996 to estimate the shortage of low cost private rental stock in Australia. During this period there was a 34 per cent increase in the number of households in private rental, with a disproportionate growth in households with either low or high incomes. At the same time, however, the private rental stock affordable for these households declined significantly. This combination of increased need and decreased supply has resulted in an overall shortage of low cost stock. This shortage is exacerbated by a ‘misallocation’ of existing low cost stock, arising from its use by high income households.     

Build-to-Rent and the financialization of rental housing: future research directions

Abstract

With the expansion of institutional investors into urban rental markets, many cities have witnessed a rise in Build-to-Rent (BtR). This article reviews the financialization of rental housing literature and identifies opportunities for urban housing scholars to progress understandings of BtR through future empirical and theoretical efforts. In particular, it proposes a broadening of the housing research agenda around three analytical entry points. These entry points relate to relatively understudied structural transformations of our urban housing systems implicated in the rise of BtR, namely: (1) the diversification of build-to-sell development models; (2) the evolution of the private rental sector; and (3) labour market–housing market realignments. Comparative inquiry promises to enrich understandings of BtR by revealing how city rental accommodation and tenancies are recalibrated by the investment imperatives of institutional investors and BtR asset shareholders, and with what benefits and at what costs to whom. Such contributions will also provide rich data to progress conceptual efforts to locate BtR within broader processes of housing financialization.     

The private rental sector: Problems,prospects and policy

Abstract

Despite the neglect in research and policy for rental housing, there is a developing awareness of the problems of the private rental sector and the need for policy intervention. The paper suggests that the development of policies must proceed with caution; there are many areas where our knowledge of the problems and processes of the private rental market are insufficient for policy development.     

Rental security and the property manager in a tenant’s search for a private rental property

Abstract

This article builds on current understandings of rental security by exploring the important role of the property manager in a tenant's search for a private rental property. In the absence of any legislated right to housing, as is the case in many Anglophone societies, the decision to accept or reject a tenancy application is in the hands of the landlord, and, in many cases, the property manager, who provides expert advice to the landlord. A qualitative content analysis of blogs featured on two national websites advertising rental properties in Australia, identifies six aspects of interactions between the tenant and property manager argued to impact a tenant’s ability to secure a rental property: responsibility, making an impression, established relationships, honesty, flexibility and creative thinking. Findings suggest that understandings of rental security need to extend beyond a tenant’s experience while leasing and must incorporate experiences during the search for a private rental property.     

Labour market change and housing market segmentation in south Australia's non-metropolitan private rental market

This paper reports on research into the relationship between labour market change and the private rental market in non-metropolitan South Australia for the period 1990 to 2000. It finds that there is considerable 'stickiness' within the market and that there has been a limited supply response to changing levels of demand. This has contributed to housing and labour shortages in some regions and over-supply in others. Each circumstance has generated considerable dilemmas for public policy.     

W(h)ither Low Cost Private Rental Housing?

This paper uses census data for 1986 and 1996 to estimate the shortage of low cost private rental stock in Australia. During this period there was a 34 per cent increase in the number of households in private rental, with a disproportionate growth in households with either low or high incomes. At the same time, however, the private rental stock affordable for these households declined significantly. This combination of increased need and decreased supply has resulted in an overall shortage of low cost stock. This shortage is exacerbated by a 'misallocation' of existing low cost stock, arising from its use by high income households.     

上海地区公共租赁住房绿色设计与实践

公共租赁住房作为保障性住房的重要组成部分,其建设应以“节能省地、保护环境”为导向,在满足居住要求的前提下,提高住区的生活品质,降低建筑全生命周期的资源和能源消耗.本文以上海地区公共租赁住房为研究对象,分析公共租赁住房实施绿色技术的特点,并以上海南站地区公共租赁住房项目为例,重点分析其采用的绿色建筑技术及增量成本,对上海地区公共租赁住房绿色建筑的发展具有可借鉴性和示范意义.     

我国城镇化进程中的城市住房租赁体系建设研究

简要分析我国城市住房租赁消费的特点;从供应主体、供应对象、管理与运行三个方面探讨租赁住房供应体系存在的问题;提出引入非营利组织及住房租赁公司,与政府、私人住房所有者共同形成全覆盖、多次性、高效率的租赁住房供应体系;有条件地将非户籍人口与户籍人口合并考虑租赁住房的供应;完善土地、金融、税收等相关制度,为租赁住房发展提供良好的外部环境。     

When Tourists Move In: How Should Urban Planners Respond to Airbnb?

Problem, research strategy, and findings: The online accommodation platform Airbnb has expanded globally, raising substantial planning and regulatory concerns. We ask whether Airbnb rentals generate significant neighborhood impacts like noise, congestion, and competition for parking; reduce the permanent rental housing supply and increase rental prices; or provide income opportunities that help “hosts” afford their own housing. We focus on Sydney, the largest region in Australia with 4.4 million people in 28 individual municipalities, which has experienced both rapidly rising housing costs and exponential growth in Airbnb listings since 2011. Airbnb’s growth has raised concerns serious enough to result in a formal Parliamentary Inquiry by the state of New South Wales. We analyze stakeholder submissions to this inquiry and review local planning regulations, Airbnb listings data, and housing market and census statistics. We find that online homesharing platforms for visitor accommodations blur traditional boundaries between residential and tourist areas so Airbnb listings may fall outside of existing land use regulations or evade detection until neighbors complain. Our findings are constrained by the difficulties of monitoring online operations and the rapid changes in the industry.

Takeaway for practice: Planners and policymakers in cities with increasing numbers of Airbnb rentals need to review how well local planning controls manage the neighborhood nuisances, traffic, and parking problems that may be associated with them while acting to protect the permanent rental housing supply. Local planners need to ensure that zoning and residential development controls distinguish between different forms of short-term Airbnb accommodation listings and their potential impacts on neighborhoods and housing markets.     

华中地区公租房政策及规划建设研究

公共租赁房屋作为解决城市夹心层住房困难问题的主要解决途径,其规划建设和实施情况被广泛关注。公租房发展策略宜因地制宜,以人为本,借鉴成功地区的实践经验尤为重要。本文将概略介绍公租房内涵,再以重庆、香港、韩国三个成功实施地区为借鉴进行对比,分析河南、湖北、湖南三地公租房政策实施建设情况,为华中地区公租房规划和建设的科学有序发展提供建议。     

城市化背景下的公租房适应性设计探讨

城市化背景下,城市低收入者的住房保障问题日益凸显。该文列表分析了我国不同时期的典型保障性住房形式,指出公租房应该是现阶段保障性住房建设的重点。当前公租房建设量大、速度快,为了公租房发展的长效性,文章提出公租房应具有适应性、可持续性的规划与设计原则,并通过对一些国家和地区的保障性住房建设经验的借鉴,针对公租房的总体布局与交通配套、小区容量、配套设施、景观环境、套型设计等方面进行探讨,以期为其建设提供参考。     

对中心城市公共租赁住房政策及实施的再评价

选取较早实施公共租赁住房的深圳,较具代表性的北京、重庆和上海四大中心城市,以其公租房政策演进为研究对象,分析比较自2010年6月以来各市在供给对象的范围、租金价格的确定、管理主体的确定等七个方面的发展变化;对中央政府公租房政策进行分析;研究公租房实施必须解决的现实问题,包括住房保障立法、资金的筹集和房源的筹集等方面。     

Repackaging the poor? Conceptualising neoliberal reforms of social rental housing

This paper considers the need for conceptual renewal in comparative housing research. Since the mid-1990s, Kemeny’s model of ‘unitary’ and ‘dualist’ rental markets and Harloe’s classification of ‘mass’ and ‘residual’ social housing provision have been repeatedly recycled in comparative studies of ‘social’ and ‘public’ housing provision. Amidst international neoliberal policy mobilities, their models based on liberal welfare regimes wield particular power. Conceived during neoliberal cutbacks of public services, Kemeny’s ‘dualist’ rental market and Harloe’s ‘residual’ model of social housing similarly depict state-subsidised rental housing provision as bureaucratic, and targeted to the poor. Despite empirical change, these models are still used to describe liberal welfare regimes, and to theorise international policy convergence. Based on a review of recent market-oriented reforms of state-subsidised rental housing provision in the US, Australia and England; original neoliberal ‘sites of production’, this contribution asks whether these conceptual models still reflect the empirics. Findings diverge from the models, undermining their assumptions about how neoliberal reforms progress.     

Renting with pets: a pathway to housing insecurity?

Companion animals are rarely considered in rental policy or research. This absence belies their prevalence and growing centrality within practices of family and home, and persists despite evidence of links between companion animals and rental insecurity. This paper begins to address this gap. Through an online survey and in-depth interviews with people who rented with companion animals in Sydney, Australia, over the 10 years to 2013, the paper identifies connections between pet ownership and rental insecurity, including perceptions about the low availability and poor quality of advertised ‘pet-friendly’ properties. The paper argues that pet ownership can trigger feelings of rental insecurity, and advocates for inclusion of pet ownership as a variable impacting secure occupancy. It suggests companion animals are an escalating rental risk, their significance to their owners causing some to accept accelerating levels of rental insecurity by keeping pets without landlord knowledge. These experience impact on the ability of renters to feel ‘at home’ in rental properties.     

Band-aid or Panacea? The Role of Private Rental Support Programs in Addressing Access Problems in the Australian Housing Market

Australia has a significant private rental market with over a quarter of households renting their home from a private landlord. Many of these households are on low incomes and receive assistance from private rental support programs provided by each Australian state and territory. In spite of these large numbers, little is known about the effectiveness of policy initiatives to assist low-income private renters. Limited knowledge of the private rental support programs stands in stark contrast to the detailed research on programs established to address homelessness and problems within the public housing sector. This paper addresses this lacuna by reporting on the suite of initiatives currently funded by state governments to assist low-income households (for example, bond loans and rental deposits, advice and help with removal expenses). Based on a comprehensive study of Private Rental Support Programs (PRSPs) commissioned by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, it is argued that though policies to assist vulnerable tenants are acknowledged as a success by practitioners and clients, their effectiveness as a policy instrument is undermined by wider structural changes in the housing market. The paper concludes that the stress faced by many vulnerable households is likely to intensify over the coming years thereby compounding the pressure on state Housing Authorities to provide more comprehensive packages of support that extend beyond just a ‘one-off’ form of assistance.     

公共租赁住房融资多元化:经验与启示

分析我国进行公共租赁住房建设的经济环境,指出大规模推行公租房最大的难点在于资金压力。通过分析新加坡、韩国和我国香港地区成功推行公租房的融资实践,提出我国的公租房建设和运营应在财政资金的支持下,大力拓展各种形式的融资渠道。     

Rethinking Federal Housing Policy

Problem: Federal housing policy is made up of disparate programs that a) promote homeownership; b) assist low-income renters’ access to good-quality, affordable housing; and c) enforce the Fair Housing Act by combating residential discrimination. Some of these programs are ineffective, others have drifted from their initial purpose, and none are well coordinated with each other.

Purpose: We examine the trends, summarize the research evaluating the performance of these programs, and suggest steps to make them more effective and connected to each other.

Methods: We review the history of housing policy and programs and empirical studies of program effectiveness to identify a set of best principles and practices.

Results and conclusions: In the area of homeownership, we recommend that the federal government help the nation's housing markets quickly find bottom, privatize aspects of the secondary mortgage market, and move to eliminate the mortgage interest deduction and replace it with a 10-year homeownership tax credit. In the area of subsidized rental housing, we recommend that the current system of vouchers be regionalized (or alternatively, converted into an entitlement program that works through the income tax system), sell public housing projects to nonprofit sponsors where appropriate, and eliminate some of the rigidities in the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program. In the area of fair housing, we recommend that communities receiving Community Development Block Grants be required to implement inclusionary zoning programs.

Takeaway for practice: In general, we recommend that federal policy build on proven programs; focus on providing affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families and provide the funding to meet that goal; avoid grandiose and ideological ambitions and programs; use fewer and more coordinated programs; offer tax credits, not tax deductions; and promote residential filtering.

Research support: Partial funding support was provided by the National Science Foundation.     

经济评价视角下的公租房政策分析——基于L省D市的案例研究

公共租赁住房是我国住房保障制度的重大创新,是解决城市＂夹心层＂和流动人员住房困难的主要途径。目前,各地针对公租房建设和运营的公共政策干预一定程度上推进了公租房制度,但也不无问题。本文采用L省D市的房地产开发项目案例、技术经济指标和市场数据,运用现金流模型和项目经济评价方法,分析不同公共政策对公租房项目经济可行性的影响,并做出相应的结论和展望。