Summarised Notes on The Nature Of Shelter

Resource Description

THE NATURE OF SHELTER

•     Definition:

• Shelter refers to a fixed environment, which offers security and protection, from danger and weather. Shelter varies depending on an individual’s ability to pay, and can either be private, for instance, houses and apartments, or public, for example boarding houses, public parks etc. Shelter significantly contributes to the overall function of society, the holistic development of individuals and the provision of individual rights.
• Shelter suggest having a roof over one’s head and walls around the space, so that the person sheltering inside is safe, physically comfortable and able to relax enough to rest. Having shelter aids physical, emotion and mental health by providing security.
• Society in contemporary Australia operates on a presumption that everyone has a fixed address and can be found by authority figures who may need to communicate with them Right to shelter:
• A commonly accepted view is that shelter is a basic need and that a person’s quality of life is affected directly by the adequacy of their shelter

• Right to shelter:

• Article 25 of the UDHR states that ‘everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing and housing, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, old age’.

• No country can be forced to enact legislation that would give a legal right to shelter, and successive Australian government have chosen not to grant this right. As a result, providing shelter is a personal responsibility. Individuals are expected to find and pay for their own shelter and they must provide adequate shelter for any children in their care.

• Obligation to provide shelter:

• In Australia, issues concerning housing are the responsibility of both federal and state governments.
• Federal powers to make laws about housing are limited under the Commonwealth Constitution; the federal parliament has no direct powers to make laws about housing and can only do so through its indirect powers. Therefore, most legislation relating to housing is state law.
• Both major political parties are similar in their housing policies; The Liberal/National Coalition encouraged private ownership by making laws to protect home buyers and make it easier for people to buy. The Australian Labour Party (ALP) has also facilitated private ownership by building up the numbers of homes available and assisting those who cannot afford to buy, particularly by increasing the amount of money on offer under the First Home Owner Grant.

→ FHOG introduced in July 2000, is a federal scheme that is supported by each state, which provides a grant directly to people seeking to purchase/ construct their first home.

• Australian government have indicated that they do not consider it to be the government’s responsibility to provide housing for all its citizens, seeing the provision of shelter as an individual responsibility
• Despite this, governments have endeavoured to assist the disadvantaged to varying degrees over the years, through the establishment of social housing and through legislation. The government of NSW provides and manages public housing through Housing NSW, under the Department of Human Services, to enable those on a low income to obtain shelter. Government-funded personnel including interpreters, are available to advise on rights, building and renting. Legislation protects the rights of purchasers, vendors (person selling property), landlords and tenants.

 

• Laws concerning shelter:

• Legislation concerning shelter is mainly state-based, and in NSW there is a significant body of statute law relating to shelter. The NSW Government has enacted legislation to protect the rights of purchasers and vendors during the sale of private property.

• Types of shelter:

• Private housing can be bought or rented. This type of dwelling is usually owned by individuals. A property is chosen, payment is made, contracts are signed, and a legal transfer of ownership occurs. The individual then acquires rights to privately use and control that property.
• Public housing is accommodation owned and provided by the government. The system of public housing was introduced by the Commonwealth and State Housing Agreement Act 1945 (Cth) in an attempt to ensure a good standard of accommodation for all. A person who lives in public housing has to pay rent and is called a public tenant. The federal and state governments share the cost of building and maintaining public units and houses.
• Members of the community who are aged or disabled can live in accommodation that offers specialist care in the form of retirement villages, hostels, serviced apartments and nursing homes. All provide support for residents in the form of cooking, cleaning and nursing. Residents can own a unit, rent it or pay a fee.
• Residential parks offer an alternative type of accommodation. They contain caravans or mobile homes, a toilet block, electrical supply, a small shop and man office. A person living in a residential park can set their own privately-owned caravan or mobile home up in the park and pay rent for the sit and the amenities or pay rent for a cabin or a caravan that sits permanently on the site and is owned by another person.
• Squatting is another type of shelter, which costs nothing. A squatter is a person who lives on premises without the consent of the owner. This situation may occur if a building is left vacant and it becomes known that the owner is not checking on the building. Squatters may then move in and use the shelter for free.

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Distinguish between the three types of shared/private dwellings

There are three different types of shared/private dwellings including separate dwellings which is an Individual who owns blocks of land containing houses that do not join onto other buildings. This is covered by the Real Property Act 1900 (NSW) and the Conveyancing Act 1919 (NSW). This differs from the Company title which companies buy the land and block of units. Each shareholder      in the company has the right to live in a unit but no right of ownership to the land or the unit itself this is protected under the Corporations Act 2001 (NSW) Conversely, Strata title is property which is divided into ‘lots. There are separate titles for each lot. Each owner buys a unit and has absolute rights to sell, mortgage or lease it as if it were a separate dwelling this is covered by the Strata Schemes (Freehold Development) Act 1973 and the Strata Schemes Management Act 1996 (NSW).

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LEGAL PROTECTION AND REMEDIES ASSOCIATED WITH SECURING SHELTER

• Purchasing:

• Private treaty or auction;

• A common method of securing shelter is to purchase land and a dwelling, with the purchase occurring as a private treaty or at an auction. A private treaty is a sale negotiated directly between the purchaser and vendor, with or without an intervening agency such as a real estate agent.
• In regard to an auction, an auctioneer, acting on behalf of the vendor, accepts the highest bid.

→ private treaty purchases can be a slow process, unlike an auction which is much faster

→ both methods result in the purchase of a property

→ regardless of private treaty or auction, the rights of all parties to a sale, are protected by legislation concerning the format and content of the contract of sale

→ in case of an auction there are further protections of the parties concerning the auctioneer and the way the auction is conducted

• Separate dwelling or shared space;
• Separate dwellings are individuals blocks of land containing houses that do not join onto other buildings
• Shared space is the term used to describe properties that are not completely separate from the neighbours, e.g. units and town houses, where walls, stairwells and gardens are shared by all occupants (this shared space is known as common property).
• The state provides protection for the vendor and the purchaser during the exchange of property through legislation. A standard contract of sale has been developed, real estate agents have regulated roles, the solicitor is trained to safeguard against pitfalls that the vendor or purchaser might encounter, and the Building Services Corporation has been set up as part of the Office of Fair-Trading NSW with the aim of protecting the customer.

Outline the two ways property can be obtained by a person. Include any relevant legislation.

 Private treaty – Sale negotiated directly between the purchaser and seller (with or without real estate agent). The process of buying and selling a property (conveyancing) is regulated by the Conveyancing (Sale of Land) Regulation 2010 under the Conveyancing Act 1919 (NSW).  Auction – The auctioneer (acting on behalf of the seller) who must hold a valid license, under s21 of the Property, Stock and Business Agents Act 2010 accepts the highest bid. The way an auction is conducted is governed by Part 6 of the Act. The Act aims to protect sellers and purchasers from dishonest practices.