Housing News Digest
The Tenants' Union Housing News Digest compiles our pick of items from all the latest tenancy and housing media, sent once per week, on Thursdays.
Below is the Digest archive from November 2020 onwards. From time to time you will find additional items in the archive that did not make it into the weekly Digest email. Earlier archives are here, where you can also find additional digests by other organisations.
Our main email newsletter, Tenant News is sent once every two months. You can subscribe or update your subscription preferences for any of our email newsletters here.
See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
We love sharing the news and hope you find it informative! We're very happy to deliver it for free, but if you find it valuable, can you help cover the extra costs incurred by making a donation?
Archive
Coastal erosion in England has claimed at least 183 homes in past 16 years
Matthew Pearce The Guardian (No paywall)Seaside communities along the east coast of England have lost at least 183 homes to coastal erosion and landslides over the past 16 years, figures obtained by the Guardian reveal. After councils judged properties across the Yorkshire and East Anglian coasts too vulnerable to remain safely occupied, the homes were proactively demolished. The demolitions cost £1.1m, with the Environment Agency contributing about £482,000 towards clearing 61 homes at risk of collapsing and the rest paid for by councils and at times by homeowners themselves.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/oct/13/coastal-eros…
# International, .Labour chair of housing committee calls for urgent funds for affordable homes in England
Kiran Stacey The Guardian (No paywall)The Labour chair of the Commons housing committee is urging John Healey to bring forward billions of pounds of planned spending on social and affordable homes in England, after housing associations said they were ready to build tens of thousands more. Abena Oppong-Asare called for the chancellor to allocate money from the £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) as soon as possible, rather than after the election as planned. Housing associations have said they could build an additional 41,000 homes outside London over the next 10 years if they had more government funding.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/oct/09/labour-social-af…
# International, .How much noise should we put up with? London and Copenhagen have different answers
Francesco Aletta The Conversation (No paywall)Traffic, trains, nightlife – in cities everywhere, there is a near constant background hum that most people simply get used to. But research shows that this background noise can affect your sleep, stress levels and even increase your risk of heart disease and high blood pressure. Indeed, noise is now considered the second biggest environmental health risk in Europe after air pollution. Around one in five people living in European cities are exposed to harmful levels of environmental noise.
https://theconversation.com/how-much-noise-should-we-put-up-with…
# Hot topic International, .Life in Gaza after 12 months of ‘ceasefire’
Anne Irfan The Conversation (No paywall)It’s one year since the US-brokered ceasefire for Gaza formally came into effect. On October 9 2025, Hamas handed over the 20 remaining hostages and the bodies of four Israelis who had died while being held captive. In return, Israel released almost 2,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails. The ceasefire officially began the following day, October 10, and humanitarian aid began to trickle into the beleaguered Palestinian territory. The UN security council formally endorsed the 20-point plan for the ceasefire and reconstruction of Gaza with Resolution 2803 on November 17.
https://theconversation.com/life-in-gaza-after-12-months-of-ceas…
# International, .Aboriginal tenant Joanne Jacobs wins key legal battle over housing rights
Giovanni Torre National Indigenous Times (No paywall)In a landmark decision on Friday, the Supreme Court of Western Australia found for the first time that public housing tenants across Western Australia have rights under health laws. Advocates say the decision will have implications for renters and public housing tenants across Western Australia. The case was brought against the WA Housing Authority over its ongoing failure to provide a liveable standard of housing to remote tenants. The Court found in favour of Joanne Jacobs, an Aboriginal woman and remote public housing tenant, of Wakathuni in the Pilbara. Ms Jacobs brought the case after experiencing "appalling conditions" as a tenant, including insect infestations, and malfunctioning of basic amenities, including her shower, septic facilities, exhaust fans and stove.
https://nit.com.au/09-10-2026/26889/aboriginal-tenant-joanne-jac…
# Must read, Legal significance Australia, Aboriginal renters.Fiona Dhawunymurruwuy will be evicted on Sunday, along with 120 other First Nations people: ‘There’s no place for me’
Douglas Smith The Guardian (No paywall)Three years after a failing kidney forced Yolngu woman Fiona Dhawunymurruwuy to move from her Arnhem Land home to Darwin, the place she felt most “protected from the outside” in the top end city is vanishing. “It’s a community for us. These people are connected. People know each other, people communicate, it’s a nice place to live,” the 52-year-old bilingual teacher from Millingimbi says.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/oct/10/fiona-dha…
# Australia, Aboriginal renters, Eviction.Every night, I walk the city’s streets. For someone like me, it’s safer to keep moving
Heidi Everett The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)I spend many nights walking the streets of Melbourne. You wouldn’t know it though as I’m not yelling abuse or sleeping off substances outside shops. I follow wide empty paths that a few hours ago were full of people eating, talking, taking photos. Around 3am I get tired, stop and lean against a pole, marvelling at the sky or pondering the river. I go on and on until it’s time to start the day with a well-placed coffee.
https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/every-ni…
# Must read Australia, .Confusion clouds closure of YiSSA facility as residents face reduced services and isolation
Joseph Hathaway-Wilson ABC (No paywall)Anger and uncertainty have marked the closure of Darwin's largest short-stay accommodation facility, with residents denouncing the Northern Territory government's decision to move them 100 kilometres south to the regional town of Batchelor. Up to 120 people still living at the Yilli Short-Stay Accommodation (YiSSA) facility in Marrara will be moved to new accommodation in the town of around 500 people on the edge of Litchfield National Park today.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-12/yissa-closure-protest-sho…
# Australia, Aboriginal renters, Rent.