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
Curry, bagels … and AI? Londoners fight plan for huge datacentre in Brick Lane
Matthew Taylor The Guardian (No paywall)Campaigners in east London are opposing plans for a datacentre in Brick Lane that they say will worsen the area’s housing crisis and drive long-term residents away. The road, famed for its curry houses and 24-hour bagel shops, is the latest flashpoint in the rapid rollout of datacentres across the UK that aims to meet demand created by artificial intelligence. The Brick Lane datacentre, proposed to cover 5,200 sq metres, would be used for automated “high-frequency trading” in London’s nearby financial district.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jul/07/london-campaign-…
# International, .Far from waging war on the south, PM Burnham could improve the lives of Londoners. Here’s how
Polly Toynbee The Guardian (No paywall)When the “king of the north” called London “the world’s greatest capital city” this week, it didn’t reassure those who fear that Andy Burnham represents that old national grievance, the north-south divide. The right warned southerners that he was coming to tax their extravagant properties until the pips squeaked. The idea that London is reviled as a swelling boil or a vampire sucking life from the provinces long pre-dates William Cobbett. Go north of Watford, go east or south-west, and populists can always raise a hiss against the capital. Envy and loathing come in many political shapes: for the right, London is the citadel of left-leaning elitism and also the multicultural crime-ridden swamp of Trump-Vance fabrication.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/03/andy-burnh…
# Must read International, .Airbnb data identifies illegal social home sublets
Meghan Owen BBC (No paywall)Local councils and Airbnb have begun sharing data to identify the illegal subletting of social homes on the short-term rental platform. The scheme, coordinated by the Cabinet Office's fraud team, allows councils to cross-check social housing records against Airbnb listings in an effort to tackle what the government calls "social housing fraud." It is suspected nearly 6,000 social homes in England are illegally sublet on short-term rental platforms, according to the Tenancy Fraud Forum, a not-for profit organisation.
# International, Public and community housing.Pacific urged to act on housing crisis
Ema Ganivatu Island Business (No paywall)NEARLY half of Fiji’s housing stock is in average to poor condition, with thousands of families left vulnerable to climate-related disasters, Fiji’s Minister for Housing and Local Government, Maciu Nalumisa, has warned. Speaking at the Pacific Housing Forum in Suva, Nalumisa said the Pacific was facing a deepening housing crisis driven by rapid urbanisation, affordability pressures and increasing climate risks. He told around 100 participants that about 24 per cent of Fiji’s urban population currently lives in informal settlements, while rising demand for housing continues to outpace supply nationwide.
https://islandsbusiness.com/news-break/pacific-urged-to-act-on-h…
# International, .Can America fix its housing crisis?
ABC (USA) (No paywall)Congress passed the most significant housing affordability bill in decades, then Trump cancelled it. #PlanetAmerica explains why home ownership has become out of reach for so many.
# Video International, .Lived experience is often dismissed – but we should recognise it as a form of expertise
Snita Ahir-Knight and Hazel Godfrey The Conversation (No paywall)Institutions increasingly invite people to contribute their lived experience. Government agencies appoint patients to advisory panels and call on communities for their views on policy. Health New Zealand employs peer support workers and universities seek lived experience in research. These initiatives acknowledge that lived experience matters. But there is a catch. In many cases, it is still treated as perspective or testimony rather than as a form of expertise.
https://theconversation.com/lived-experience-is-often-dismissed-…
# International, .Tenant wins right to keep cat after landlord’s refusal ruled unreasonable
Pulse Tasmania (No paywall)A Tasmanian landlord’s concerns that her tenant’s cat could damage a renovated property, affect its sentimental value and worsen allergens have been rejected by a tribunal. The tenant had asked for permission to adopt an indoor cat named Celeriac at her rented three-bedroom home. The landlord refused, saying the house had been built by her grandfather and more than $34,000 of work had been done in 2022, including sanding floorboards and installing new flooring. She took the matter to the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT) to decide whether her refusal was reasonable.
https://pulsetasmania.com.au/news/tenant-wins-right-to-keep-cat-…
# Australia, Pets, Tribunal NCAT.Indigenous housing progress staring into funding abyss
Abe Maddison National Indigenous Times (No paywall)Urgently needed long-term funding to address the housing crisis in remote Aboriginal communities will be vital if Australia is to hold off abject and worsening First Nations poverty. It is a message that has been personally delivered, with a delegation of Elders highlighting the critical importance of funds for sustainable accommodation, infrastructure and essential services on homelands during a meeting with powers that be in Canberra. Aboriginal Housing Northern Territory chief executive Leeanne Caton says the group received ''a lot of positive responses'' from ministers and bureaucrats. '
https://nit.com.au/06-07-2026/25198/indigenous-housing-progress-…
# Australia, Aboriginal renters.