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
Short-term rentals fuel human trafficking in Canada. One Prairie city is trying to fight back
Temur Durrani The Globe and Mail (CA) (Paywall)The teenager from rural Quebec was in her last year of high school when she went missing in 2024. Her parents reported her disappearance to police, but for weeks there was no trace of the young woman, who had just turned 18. And then, one Thursday in late March, she sent a frantic message to a friend back home. She was being held in an Airbnb in downtown Winnipeg and needed help. Court would later hear that the Grade 12 student was caught up in a human-trafficking scheme orchestrated by 24-year-old rapper Malik Regele Marc.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-short-term-rental…
# International, .Largest landlord in the US accused of civil rights violations
Tracie McMillan The Guardian (No paywall)Greystar, the largest owner and manager of apartments in the US, systematically flouts local laws designed to make housing affordable to the poor, according to civil rights complaints filed with authorities in six states and the District of Columbia. The complaints – filed this week with government agencies in California, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Virginia and Washington DC – accuse Greystar of 114 violations of state and DC fair housing laws.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/16/greystar-landlor…
# International, .Burnham pledges to end rough sleeping in England in first speech as prime minister
Kiran Stacey The Guardian (No paywall)Andy Burnham has promised to end rough sleeping in England in his first pledge as prime minister, allocating an additional £340m over three years as he seeks to replicate the homelessness schemes he rolled out in Greater Manchester. Speaking in front of Downing Street immediately after becoming prime minister, Burnham said he would try to get people off the streets “at the earliest opportunity”.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jul/20/andy-burnham-ple…
# International, .'Sharp' increase in rent prices as new rules in effect
RTE (Ireland) (No paywall)Rent prices rose as the Government's new rent reforms came into force on 1 March, according to advertised prices from property website Daft.ie. Figures show rents increased nationwide by 4.4% from December to March this year, the largest quarterly increase recorded by property website Daft.ie since 2002. Market rents are now more than one third above their pre-Covid levels and almost 80% higher than 10 years ago, while the availability of rental accommodation has increased compared with three months ago and a year ago, the report found.
https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2026/0520/1574246-rents-ireland/
# International, Rent.Largest Landlord in the U.S. Accused of Widespread Fair Housing Violations
Elizabeth A. Harris The New York Times (Paywall)Greystar, the largest apartment owner in the United States, has systematically refused to accept Housing Choice vouchers (better known as Section 8) in several states where that is illegal, according to complaints filed with state agencies and attorneys general by a national watchdog group on Monday. According to Housing Rights Initiative, “testers” trained by its organization have been calling Greystar offices around the country since October to inquire about available apartments.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/14/realestate/greystar-fair-hous…
# International, .After the sexual assault, they told her she had to leave her home
Debbie Kilroy and Tabitha Lean Women's Agenda (No paywall)Content Warning: Sexual Assault. She reported the sexual assault, spoke to police, gave statements, and endured the forensic examination, the interviews and the repeated retelling of one of the most traumatic experiences of her life. Days later, the email arrived to inform her that her lease would not be renewed. Not the man accused of sexually assaulting her that lives right next door. Her. By the time the criminal legal system had finished taking her statement, the housing provider had already begun removing her from the only place she called home.
https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/soapbox/after-the-sexual-assa…
# Australia, Eviction.Living in a glorified tent: new research shows huge energy gaps between older and newer homes
Matthew Daly The Conversation (No paywall)Every winter, millions of Australians are reminded how hard it is to live comfortably in older homes. Warm air constantly leaks out through poorly insulated ceilings, walls and floors, and through gaps in floors, windows and under doors. Heaters run day and night, sending energy bills soaring. The gap between new and old homes is huge. Since 2004, new homes across most of Australia have to meet minimum energy performance standards.
https://theconversation.com/living-in-a-glorified-tent-new-resea…
# Australia, Utilities water energy internet.How Australia’s new negative gearing rules might accidentally favour some property investors
Fei Gao and Richard Krever The Conversation (No paywall)For the best part of a century, Australian property investors have enjoyed a generous tax arrangement found in few other countries: the infamous “negative gearing”. Now, sweeping reforms to limit negative gearing to new builds and also change the way capital gains are taxed have become law. The federal government hopes to give first-home buyers a better shot at buying existing homes and at the same time redirect investor cash towards increasing housing supply.
https://theconversation.com/how-australias-new-negative-gearing-…
# Australia, .