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.
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Archive
Tenant quits lease after apartment hits almost 44C, bond refunded
Tracy Neal NZ Herald (No paywall)A tenant says the sweltering heat inside their apartment reached temperatures well into the 40s – ruining a laptop, killing pot plants and requiring medicines to be stored in a car where it was cooler. Now the tenant has been allowed to break a year-long lease and get their bond back, a month after moving in. It comes after NZME reported concerns this year that tens of thousands of Auckland families would suffer in overheating terraced houses and vulnerable people could risk “dying of heatstroke” unless construction designs changed.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/tenant-quits-lease-after-apartment…
# International, .Ireland modifies rent controls as it seeks to revive homebuilding
Reuters (No paywall)DUBLIN, June 10 (Reuters) - Ireland made minor changes on Tuesday to rent controls, seeking to strike a balance between what the housing minister described as a "doubling down" on protecting tenants from some of Europe's highest rental costs and encouraging much-needed construction. Ireland introduced the controls in 2016, initially in urban areas, to slow runaway rental costs and buy time for housing supply to catch up with demand. However, homebuilding stalled at 30,000 units last year, far below the government target of an average of 50,000 new homes a year to 2030.
https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/ireland-modifies-rent-con…
# International, .First-time homebuyers are an endangered species in the U.S.
Megan Cerullo CBS News (No paywall)The dream of homeownership is fading for millions of Americans.
Figures from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) show that only 24% of housing sales last year were by first-time homebuyers — that's down from 50% in 2010. The typical purchaser is also older than in the past, with an average age of 38, or about 10 years above historical norms. Such trends reflect the challenges of climbing on the property ladder as home prices hover near record highs, inventory remains low and with mortgage rates at their highest level in years. "There are fewer first-time homebuyers and they are older than we've ever seen, both because of headwinds inside and outside of the housing market".
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/housing-first-time-homebuyers-histo…
# International, .Living in Spain has never been more expensive as rent prices hit record highs
Marc Menendez-Roche EuroWeekly (No paywall)Living in Spain now costs more than ever. But, once upon a time, Spain was a sun-drenched land where you could bag a two-bedroom flat in Barcelona or Madrid for €650 a month — in the outskirts, but still €650. Fast forward ten years and that same shoebox now goes for over €1,200—if you’re lucky enough to even find one. Welcome to 2025, where living in Spain isn’t just hard—it’s becoming outright impossible.
https://euroweeklynews.com/2025/05/29/spains-rent-prices-hit-rec…
# Hot topic International, Rent.Four tips for home care, from vacuuming your mattress to … cleaning your dishwasher?
Madeleine Aggeler The Guardian (No paywall)I am fairly tidy. I stay on top of vacuuming and laundry; I wipe down counters and sinks. But when it comes to appliances and structural issues at home, I don’t know a thing. If you told me my AC was run by a family of small penguins who blow cold air through the vents, I probably wouldn’t believe you, but nor would I have a better explanation. Enter: Kyshawn Lane, the man behind the wildly popular Instagram account Weekly Home Check. Every week, Lane posts videos about how to care for your home and the things in it. In a calm, encouraging voice, he demonstrates how to weather-strip your doors or label your electrical circuit breaker box.
https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2025/may/30/four-tips-for-h…
# Hot topic International, Repairs, Starting a tenancy.The European village where rent hasn't been raised since 1520 - and it costs just 80p a year to live there
Esther Marshall Daily Mail (UK) (No paywall)Rents in the UK rose by nine per cent in 2024 with those living in London hardest hit by price rises. And the issue isn't unique to the UK. Rental prices hit a record high in Spain in May while rents in Ireland climbed by more than three per cent between January and March in 2025. So cash-strapped European renters might find it hard to believe that there's a housing complex on the continent where the rent hasn't gone up in 500 years. Located within the city of Augsburg, the Fuggerei housing complex was created in 1521 by a German merchant named Jakob Fugger.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-14802275/Europe-villa…
# Hot topic International, Rent.‘Nowhere Near Enough’: More Housing Needed for People Leaving Prison
Denham Sadler About Time (No paywall)The Rainbow Lodge is the oldest and largest provider of post-release housing in New South Wales. It only has room for eight people at a time. The organisation can provide its housing and programs to 32 people each year, while about 20,000 people are released from prison in the state each year. This shows the huge need for more housing for people leaving prison, a key factor in reducing reoffending and improving rehabilitation. “Generally for every person who comes here, four or five miss out,” The Rainbow Lodge manager Claude Robinson told About Time. “We just don’t get to work with enough people.” Located in Glebe in inner Sydney, the Rainbow Lodge provides three months of accommodation for men leaving prison in the state, along with case management, access to an on-site psychologist and group sessions.
https://www.abouttime.org.au/news-and-investigations/nowhere-nea…
# Must read Australia, Rent, Starting a tenancy.Queensland government to begin social housing rent reviews to free up spaces for those in 'most need'
Jack McKay ABC (No paywall)Social housing recipients in Queensland earning more than they should will soon be evicted from their homes to make way for new tenants. The state government claims there are some recipients earning well above the income limit that determines who is eligible for social housing. This includes a couple in Brisbane taking home more than $200,000 a year while paying less than $200 a week to live in their social housing unit. The government says another family in Townsville is paying less than $190 per week in rent despite earning an annual income of more than $160,000.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-09/queensland-social-housing…
# Hot topic Australia, Public and community housing.