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
Facing a demand for development, Mosman Council will make its own alternative housing plan
Huw Bradshaw North Shore Lorikeet (No paywall)For months, Mosman council has been in a tough spot, caught between residents' outrage at increased development and a state planning department insistent on reaching its housing goals. What happened: Lacking the authority and resources to challenge the decisions of its superior — the NSW state government — Mosman council has chosen an alternative path: moving to develop a plan for the area that accommodates both state housing goals and residential concerns over development.
https://www.northshorelorikeet.com.au/p/facing-a-demand-for-deve…
# Hot topic NSW, .Bali Illegal Villa Rental Crackdowns: What Expats Need to Know
Jason Garrard Asia Lifestyle Magazine (No paywall)Bali is in the midst of a sweeping 2025 crackdown on illegal villa rentals to foreigners. Local authorities have identified over 40 unlicensed tourist accommodations – including private villas and guesthouses – across hotspots like Canggu, Uluwatu, and Ubud. In one high-profile operation in July, officials even demolished 48 unauthorized cliffside villas and businesses at Bingin Beach for violating permits and zoning rules. These enforcement actions underscore Bali’s determination to rein in illicit rentals that bypass taxes and regulations.
https://www.asialifestylemagazine.com/bali-illegal-villa-rental-…
# Hot topic International, .Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure: City of Ryde calls for more as it surpasses housing targets
Huw Bradshaw North Shore Lorikeet (No paywall)Ryde councillors have called on the state government for hundreds of millions to be invested into local infrastructure, as the number of dwellings within the LGA grows. What happened: Among local council areas lagging behind on state housing targets, the city of Ryde has excelled at building new housing for the Greater Sydney region, overshooting their target of 5,790 new homes by almost a thousand. However, councillors argue the infrastructure necessary to support these houses is missing.
https://www.northshorelorikeet.com.au/p/infrastructure-infrastru…
# NSW, .Social housing maintenance shake-up opens opportunity for new entrants
Australian Financial Review (No paywall)Efforts to improve social housing in NSW are paying off, according to the CEO of Homes NSW, the state government body established in 2024 to take charge of the vast sector. Tasked with tackling decades of underinvestment and maintenance issues, Homes NSW manages a portfolio of 95,000 properties that house more than 250,000 tenants. Rebecca Pinkstone, the agency’s inaugural CEO, describes her organisation as “the biggest landlord in the southern hemisphere”.
https://www.afr.com/property/commercial/social-housing-maintenan…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Rent, Repairs.Social landlords in England now forced to fix emergencies within 24 hours
Chris Osuh The Guardian (No paywall)The first phase of Awaab’s law, which promises to protect tenants from dangerous social housing conditions, comes into force in England on Monday, in memory of a two-year-old boy who died after exposure to mould in his home. The new legal duties compel landlords to fix emergency health and safety hazards within 24 hours of reporting, investigate significant damp and mould within 10 working days of being notified, make properties safe in five working days after inspection and write the findings to tenants within three working days of inspection completing.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/oct/27/social-landlords…
# International, Disasters, Public and community housing.Zohran Mamdani ran on a promise to freeze rent. Here's how NYC's mayor can control the rates.
Renee Anderson and Jeff Capellini CBS News (No paywall)New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani earned a decisive election victory with a campaign built on affordability, notably a promise to freeze rent for the city's 2 million residents living in rent-stabilized apartments. From the rent freeze, to other promises, including free buses, city-owned grocery stores and universal child care, time will tell whether his proposals will become reality. So what is rent stabilization, and how can the mayor influence the rates?
https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/zohran-mamdani-new-york-cit…
# Hot topic International, Rent.Bay Area mobile home park residents worried about unintended effects of new housing law
John Ramos CBS News (No paywall)One of California's new housing laws, Senate Bill 79, is carrying unintended consequences that have Sunnyvale mobile home park residents worried they could lose their homes. Gail Rubino is a mobile home activist who has been fighting to keep rents affordable, and when she heard about the passage of SB 79, which would allow new large-scale developments within half a mile of a passenger rail station, she knew she had to act.
https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/bay-area-mobile-home-p…
# International, Land lease communities.Private rent in Britain now swallows 44% of the average wage
Rupert Jones The Guardian (No paywall)Average private rents in Great Britain have climbed to record highs, with the amount tenants are being asked to pay in some hotspots rising more than 25% in a year, data shows. The typical advertised private rent outside London for properties coming on to the market rose to a record £1,385 a calendar month in the third quarter of this year, according to the property website Rightmove. The average London rent reached a new high of £2,736.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/oct/27/private-rent-brita…
# International, Rent.