Housing News Digest
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
Agent responds to furore over Sydney landlord's $50-per-week rule for males
Carly Bass Yahoo News (No paywall)A Sydney real estate agent has responded to accusations of unlawful discrimination after a rental listing for a one-bedroom property demanded male applicants pay an extra $50 a week – due to what they claimed was a typical male trait.
A screenshot taken from the Domain website and shared on social media appears to show details about the terrace house in the inner-west suburb of Newtown. The ad stated the extra amount for males was "due to their propensity to be messier" and those who disagreed shouldn't apply.
With the small detail attracting plenty of negative attention, many were quick to point out the controversial gender rule is actually unlawful.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/agent-responds-to-furore-over-sydney-l…
# Hot topic NSW, Discrimination, Rent, Housing market.Scotland rent freeze: the loophole landlords are using
Gabriel McKay The Herald (Scotland) (No paywall)Landlords are getting around the Scottish Government cap on rent increases by exploiting a loophole in the law, tenants and activists have warned.
A temporary freeze came into effect in September 2022 in response to the cost of living crisis, which means that rents cannot be raised by more than 3 per cent. That can only be applied if there hasn’t been an increase in the past 12 months.
However, the cap can be exceeded if the tenant and landlord both agree and The Herald can reveal this loophole is being exploited to hike costs for renters.
https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/23462955.scotland-rent-f…
# Must read, Hot topic International, Rent, Housing affordability, International.Young families desert London as rents soar nearly 20%
Andrew Ellson The Times (No paywall)Annual rent growth has jumped nearly 20 per cent in London, raising fears of an exodus of young families.
The estate agent Hamptons reports that rents in inner London rose 18.5 per cent in the year to March, taking the cost of the average property in the capital’s 12 most central boroughs to £3,046 a month, up from £2,571 this time last year. Rental growth in outer London is not far behind, at 15.6 per cent.
Across the country as a whole, rent levels rose 10.8 per cent in the year to March, only the third time Hamptons’ lettings index has recorded double-digit growth since it started in 2012. The others were in February this year and May last year.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/young-families-desert-london-…
# Must read, Hot topic International, Families, Housing market, International.Spanish government to make 50,000 foreclosed homes available for rent amid housing crisis
Staff ABC (No paywall)Spain is aiming to help millions of young adults still living with their parents to rent their own homes by offering properties abandoned when its housing market collapsed a decade ago.
The rising cost of rent is set to become a key campaign issue as Spain gears up for regional ballots on May 28 and a general election later this year.
In Spain, 16 per cent of young people live independently, compared to an average of 32 per cent in Europe, according to the Observatory of Emancipation.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-19/spain-housing-crisis-fore…
# Hot topic International, Affordable housing, Housing market, International.London’s Housing Crisis Is About to Get Worse
Olivia Konotey-Ahulu Bloomberg (Paywall)Sales and construction completion levels for newly-built properties in London have plummeted to their lowest level in around a decade as buyers dry up for the capital, in the latest sign that the city’s housing market is in crisis.
In the first quarter of 2023, sales of new homes slumped by 39% compared to the same period the previous year, to 3768, according to data compiled by Molior London and seen by Bloomberg News.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-19/london-s-hous…
# Hot topic International, Rent, Housing affordability, International.How Canadian rental prices spiralled out of control
Brad Badelt City News (Canada) (No paywall)In today’s Big Story podcast, this isn’t just a big city issue. Even in smaller municipalities, the average cost of rent has skyrocketed. More and more Canadians, priced out of the housing market, are looking to rent. And, at least right now, there simply aren’t enough rental properties to go around.
Brad Badelt wrote about the state of renting in Canada for The Walrus. He’s on The Big Story to explain how improving the lot of Canadian renters may require a cultural shift away from prioritizing home ownership.
“Renting is still seen as a stepping stone to ownership, it’s not a destination unto itself,” he said, “trying to find a rental suite for a family, a 3 bedroom… is really difficult, rental suites tend to be studio apartments or one-bedrooms, and I think that’s a relic of what renting was maybe at one point in time, but certainly isn’t today.”
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2023/04/17/canadian-rent-prices-bi…
# Hot topic, Audio International, Rent, Housing affordability, International.Michael Gove’s crackdown risks killing the holiday let market
Melissa Lawford Daily Telegraph (Paywall)The Government’s buy-to-let crackdown has been painful, protracted and effective.
For years, landlords have been squeezed by a series of tax changes that have been made even worse by high interest rates.
Many small-scale landlords have sold up. Others have moved into company structures, or flocked to what for years was a small, lucrative oasis of tax perks – the holiday let sector.
But it seems the Government is lining up the short-term rental industry as the next casualty of its property investment crackdown.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/04/14/is-michael-gove-…
# Hot topic International, Housing market, International, Short-term holiday letting.Renting: Shortfall of properties creates frenzied market, surveyors say
Kevin Peachey BBC (No paywall)Fierce competition among tenants chasing a limited number of homes to rent shows no sign of abating, surveyors say.
One agent said the rental market in his area was "frenzied" as tenants tried to secure the few available properties.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said a similar picture was being seen across the UK.
It is likely to push up rents further, averaging at a 4% annual increase, adding to pressure from rising prices.