The potential of new technologies to disrupt housing policy

Abstract

AHURI is a national independent research network with an expert not-for-profit research management company, AHURI Limited, at its centre. AHURI's mission is to deliver high quality research that influences policy development and practice change to improve the housing and urban environments of all Australians.Using high quality, independent evidence and through active, managed engagement, AHURI works to inform the policies and practices of governments and the housing and urban development industries, and stimulate debate in the broader Australian community. AHURI undertakes evidence-based policy development on a range of priority policy topics that are of interest to our audience groups, including housing and labour markets, urban growth and renewal, planning and infrastructure development, housing supply and affordability, homelessness, economic productivity, and social cohesion and wellbeing. AcknowledgementsThis material was produced with funding from the Australian Government and state and territory governments. AHURI Limited gratefully acknowledges the financial and other support it has received from these governments, without which this work would not have been possible. AHURI Limited also gratefully acknowledges the contributions, both financial and in-kind, of its university research partners who have helped make the completion of this material possible.

Understanding discrimination effects in private rental housing

“…Outside of these formal agreements there is a widened scope for discrimination by landlords, real estate agents, and potential housemates, each of whom have the power, based on their own prejudices and interests, to deny people a place to live (Nelson et al 2015). Private rental is further 'disrupted' by digital technologies (also see 1.2.1), which are increasingly mediating access to housing and transforming the rental sector (Fields and Rogers 2019;Pettit et al 2018). Both informal renting and digital platforms are increasingly important players in the PRS.…”

Living alone together in Tokyo share houses

“…While much has been made of the 'sharing economy' (see Richardson, 2015), in the case of shared housing, property investment and on-line matching platforms, have largely sought to enhance rent-seeking practices (Fields, 2018;Rogers, 2016). Large cities in Europe, North America and Australasia, for example, have been particularly susceptible to new digitalized economies of real estate, which have severely disrupted the balance between different submarkets and tenures (see Pettit et al, 2018). The impact of short-term lettings in these cities (i.e.…”

“…Marketing companies have been critical actors in the socio-cultural production of sheahausu. As in other contexts (see Fields, 2018;Pettit et al, 2018;Rogers, 2016) such corporations have taken specific advantage of digitalization, with the majority of rental requests handled through online portals rather than by the operator. While most companies list properties on multiple sites, including their own websites, real estate marketers do much more than simply listing vacancies.…”

“…The case of Japan is particularly salient to current debates on commodification and 'disruptive' housing technologies (e.g. Pettit et al, 2018) to the extent that resistance to non-family household formation has only recently begun to fade (Raymo et al, 2009). The rise of shared housing has thus been unexpected, requiring commercial actors engaged in profit yielding activities in the housing market to deploy new techniques aimed at redefining the meanings and practices of home.…”

The housing aspirations of Australians across the life-course: closing the ‘housing aspirations gap’

“…Alternatively research focuses on the experience of particular population groups within a segment of the housing system or in relation to a housing problem of interest, such as how people living with disability or chronic poor health can be housed well, or how such housing intersects with social policy designed to support these population groups (Wiesel, Laragy et al 2015). Important insights are gleaned from such research and evaluation studies that lead to policy development and sometimes to policy innovation (Pettit, Crommelin et al 2018).…”