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
Rent rebels: the tenants who fought for their rights and won
Sarah Marsh The Guardian (No paywall)The UK is turning into a country of renters – with one in five now paying a landlord monthly. Not every rental property is up to scratch, however. This week, the Guardian’s Living Hell series has highlighted the issue of unstable and unsafe housing and landlords who exploit loopholes in the system. There may not be many ways to improve poor living conditions but some tenants have taken on their landlords – and won.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/nov/18/rent-rebels-the-te…
# International, Rent, Tribunal NCAT.Australians won’t see more public housing anytime soon. Here’s why:
Ethan Gilbert Crikey (No paywall)To save public housing, it's vital to sort out the fiscal imbalance between the federal government and the states. Over the past decade in Australia, how housing for those in need is delivered and maintained has radically shifted. Public housing, which is managed and owned by state and territory governments, is on its way out. Community housing, which is managed (and often owned) by private not-for-profit organisations, is on its way in.
https://www.crikey.com.au/2024/01/16/australian-public-housing-f…
# Hot topic Australia, Public and community housing.Housing ombudsman in England calls to re-establish link between housing and health
Robert Booth The Guardian (No paywall)The housing ombudsman in England is calling for an independent royal commission “to reimagine the future of social housing” and re-establish the link between housing and health. Richard Blakeway, who handles thousands of tenants’ complaints about mistreatment, disrepair, discrimination and squalor, said that parts of the social housing sector had reached breaking point, with residents desperate and neglected.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/jan/22/richard-blakeway…
# Hot topic International, Public and community housing.When Percy saw a suburban house sitting empty, he moved himself in. Meet Australia's squatters
Michelle Elias SBS (No paywall)In a four-bedroom house, in one of Brisbane's wealthiest areas, I shed my shoes at the door of Percy's* place. He welcomes me in and shows me around. "This is the bedroom ... the walk-in wardrobe ... the guest room," he rattles off. "I had someone staying here the last couple of weeks." On the same street, a $1.75 million house - a newer home - sold around the same time he moved in. But Percy pays nothing. He doesn't own the place. He's not renting or house-sitting either. He has been squatting in someone else's house for seven months.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/article/when-percy-saw-a-su…
# Hot topic Australia, Privacy and access, Rent.Ben was evicted after six years and never told why. It's still allowed in many parts of Australia.
Jennifer Luu SBS (No paywall)In September, Ben Fitzhardinge sent an email to his real estate agency, saying he had just spoken to Western Australia's consumer watchdog, Consumer Protection. He'd been seeking advice about his rights as a tenant after a series of inspections.
Six days after the email, he received an eviction notice.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/article/ben-was-evicted-aft…
# TUNSW in the media Australia, Eviction, Tribunal NCAT.‘I considered putting my kid into care’: one London family’s fight against mould
Robert Booth The Guardian (No paywall)late-sized mushrooms have been sprouting from the living room wall in Natasha La’Bow’s council flat in Lewisham, south London. She and her son have lived with mould for years but the problem is getting worse. One day last week, she stood in the damp-reeking room and wept. “I have considered putting my kid into care but I just can’t,” she said as tears rolled down her cheeks. Her six-year-old son has recently been diagnosed with breathing difficulties and prescribed inhalers. He runs around in a superhero costume but she will not let him in the living room without a surgical mask.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/jan/10/london-family-fi…
# International, Public and community housing, Rent.Canada Caps Foreign Student Visas Amid Housing Shortage
Randy Thanthong-Knight and Brian Platt Bloomberg (Paywall)Canada is limiting a key source of its growing population by capping the number of foreign students, a move aimed at quelling public anger at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government over a housing shortage. The federal government on Monday set an intake cap for international student permits at about 360,000 for 2024, or a decrease of 35% from last year, according to Immigration Minister Marc Miller.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-22/canada-to-cap…
# Hot topic International, Rent.Landlords complain of rogue agents secretly hiking rents
David Taylor ABC (No paywall)The alarm has been sounded on real estate agents going rogue and raising rents without the knowledge of the landlord. Those affected say the amount by which the agents raise the rental price seems to be random and at the discretion of individual agencies. It coincides with a new report showing rental price increases are now beating property price rises due to the volume of Australians needing private shelter. So, what, if anything can be done about it?
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/pm/landlords-complain-of-…
# Audio Australia, Rent.