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
Landlord rented property unfit for human habitation to sister-in-law
Jack Horsnell 1 News (No paywall)A landlord in Northland has agreed to pay his sister-in-law nearly $6000 after renting her a property described as being in a state of disrepair and unfit for human habitation. At the Tenancy Tribunal, the man admitted that the dwelling, which sat empty on his property, was not intended to be a place someone could live in. The woman lived in the dwelling between May 2021 and March 2024, and little maintenance was done over the course of her tenancy. An investigation into the property was launched by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's Tenancy Compliance and Investigations Team in 2023 after it received a complaint from a social assistance provider's employee.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2025/06/12/landlord-rented-property-unfi…
# Hot topic International, .Welcome for housing pledge - but is it too late for some?
Tarah Welsh Yahoo News (No paywall)Danielle has moved four times in the last nine months with her three children. They became homeless after receiving a section 21 "no fault" eviction order from their landlord, and since then their local council has placed them in a shared house, as well as in hotel rooms. Despite the government's promises to fund more affordable and social housing, Danielle told the BBC she doesn't expect a council house to become available "any time soon". In Wednesday's Spending Review, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced her plan to deliver the government's manifesto pledge to build 1.5 million new homes this parliament.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/welcome-housing-pledge-too-195018671.h…
# Hot topic International, Eviction, Public and community housing, Rent.I’m a public housing tenant — Labor must learn from the Greens’ common sense
Fiona Ross Crikey (No paywall)As a public housing resident, in Victoria we’ve lost two of the best advocates in Adam Bandt and Samantha Ratnam, who were both narrowly defeated at the federal election. The electorate of Melbourne contains large swaths of public housing, including high-rise towers, which are home to extensive multicultural communities. Bandt, in his 15 years as the member for Melbourne, had a long record of assisting countless individuals and families with an array of complex social problems. He has been an approachable and responsive politician.
https://www.crikey.com.au/2025/06/13/reader-reply-labor-greens-p…
# Must read Australia, Public and community housing.'The homeless have rights': Kully Bay awaits action as government's 'eviction' date arrives
Natalie Croxon Illawarra Mercury (Paywall)There was anxiety but an underlying attitude of defiance among the people who live in the car park at Kully Bay on Friday morning, as the state government's deadline to leave arrived. On May 18, campers at the site received notices informing them that they had to leave the King Street site within 28 days or face potential "compliance and enforcement action".Friday marks the final day.
https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/8991216/campers-at-kul…
# NSW, Land lease communities.Frustrated tenant builds online tool to help renters understand their rights
Caroline Williams Stuff (No paywall)A software developer has built a free online tool to help tenants, inspired by his experience of being mucked around by a landlord. When Ali Harris was a student, he says he and his flatmates asked their property manager to fix a mouldy floor in one of their Auckland rental’s bedrooms. Three months later, the mould remained. It was only when the flatmates began asking about paying reduced rent that the landlord took action. At the end of the tenancy, the property manager assured the flatmates they wouldn’t need to clean up the back yard, but then wanted to use their bond to pay for the work.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/home-property/360722601/frustrated-tenan…
# Must read International, Rent, Starting a tenancy.Housing development rejected over 'manipulation'
Anttoni James Numminen BBC (No paywall)Plans to build 23 homes on a plot of land in Scarborough have been rejected over concerns about the "manipulation" of affordable housing rules. Andrew Winter's application for five dwellings on Scalby Road as well as a separate outline plan for up to 18 homes was blocked at a council meeting. North Yorkshire Council planners said the site had been artificially subdivided, resulting in the number of dwellings proposed "being lower than the threshold for affordable housing". A report to the planning committee said the applicant had indicated the "whole quota of affordable housing" would be provided on the site for 18 dwellings but "there was no guarantee any permission would be implemented".
# Hot topic International, .Land power: who has it, who doesn't, and how it will shape our future
ABC (No paywall)Over the past two centuries, nearly every society has reallocated land ownership and property rights. If humanity is to flourish over the next century, Michael Albertus says we need to entirely rethink our relationship to the soil (or concrete) beneath our feet.
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/latenightlive/land-power-…
# Audio International, .Explainer: How the Government's new rental reforms will impact tenants
Daire Fitton CorkBeo (No paywall)The Government has announced a series of major rental reforms which will take effect in March next year. This follows a recent report showing that the average rent had exceeded €2,000 per month nationwide, with rents in Cork city about 10% above that national average. So, with many struggling to keep up with rising prices, how could this new legislation impact tenants? On the tenant side, the bill aims to expand rent controls, strengthen security of tenure, and end 'no fault' evictions amid the ongoing housing crisis. The legislation also includes a number of measures aimed at boosting investment in the residential sector by incentivising the construction of new apartments.
https://www.corkbeo.ie/news/how-governments-new-rental-reforms-3…
# Hot topic International, Eviction, Rent.