Tenants' Union of Tasmania

International Tenants Day - Monday 4th October

Posted on Monday, 4 October 2010 | Permalink

International Tenants Day co-incides with World Habitat Day and falls on the first Monday in October every year.

It is interesting that the International Union of Tenants (of which the Tenants' Union of Tasmania is a member) has called for the following:

a. Reduce subsidies, like tax relief, to home owners;
b. Strive for a minimum of 33% rental housing, of the total stock on a national level, and of which 50% should be social / public housing; 
c. Stimulate the supply of affordable rental housing, by allocation of funding and state/municipally owned land; 
d. Work against segregation and towards social cohesion by stimulating local diversity of housing types and housing tenure (rental vs. owner-occupied), and prevent the development of large areas of low-quality rental housing.
e. Focus on the quality at least as much as on the quantity; 
f. Stimulate the development of lifetime housing and housing with care and support;

Tasmania and Australia could do worse than incorporate these basic principles into housing policy, especially considering the price, quality and quantity of rental housing presently available.