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
Broken lift leaves woman stuck in flat for six days
Dan Moffat BBC (No paywall)A woman said she has been driven "stir crazy" after being left stuck in her flat for almost a week because of an out of order lift in her building. Sonia James is one of a number of residents at the Ty Derw retirement housing complex in Sketty, Swansea, that have been impacted. The 63-year-old has arthritis, fibromyalgia, high blood pressure and asthma, and cannot use the stairs in her building. The housing association in charge of the building, Caredig, said it was conscious of the impact on residents, and was working to resolve the fault as quickly as possible.
# Must read International, Rent.Singapore’s World Famous Public Housing System Is Strained by an Overheated Market
Low De Wei Bloomberg (Soft Paywall)Singapore is one of the three most expensive cities for real estate, according to Julius Baer. It is also one of the world’s most affordable cities for housing — better than Tulsa, Oklahoma — consultancy Demographia says. How is this possible? The paradox of the tiny nation’s property market has fascinated urban planners for decades. Born in 1960 from a dire overcrowding crisis, the government’s wildly successful Housing & Development Board has produced one of the world’s highest home-ownership rates: over 90%. Effectively, it lowered the bottom rung on the property ladder for young citizens, offering subsidized, well-maintained public housing that are in stark contrast to the dilapidated, crime-tainted public projects in many other cities.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-03/singapore-hdb…
# Hot topic International, Public and community housing, Rent.Man fined for housing 18 people in three-bed home
BBC (No paywall)A landlord has been ordered by a court to pay £37,000 after 18 people were found living in a terraced house in north London. Charles Egbiremolen, 57, was operating eight bedsits without a licence in a converted three-bedroom terraced house in Fairmead Crescent, Edgware. Egbiremolen was found guilty of nine offences at Willesden Magistrates' Court on 25 November and sentenced at the same court on 5 February. A spokesperson for Barnet Council said they would "not tolerate landlords who flout the rules".
# Must read International, Rent, Share houses.DOJ says companies schemed to keep rent high
Fox 9 (No paywall)The U.S. Department of Justice is accusing major property management companies of conspiring to keep rent prices high with anti-competitive practices. FOX 9's Mike Manzoni has the full story.
# Video International, Rent.Affordable rent scheme comes with 300 new homes
Rebekah Wilson BBC (No paywall)A total of 300 new homes will be built across Northern Ireland under a new rental scheme, the Department for Communities has said. The intermediate rent model will offer a below-market rate to help those on lower incomes who earn too much to qualify for social housing but are priced out of the private sector. The homes will be built by property company Maple & May and it is hoped the first tenants will be in place from late 2026.
# Hot topic International, Rent.How New Rent Control Laws Have Changed the Landscape
Liz Brumer-Smith U.S News (No paywall)High-demand, low-inventory housing markets like San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and New York City have used rent control laws for decades to help manage the market and prohibit landlords from excessively raising rents. While rent control laws are usually decided and implemented locally, landlords and tenants should be aware of significant changes in 2024 that expanded the scope of certain regulations. If you own or rent property in an area governed by rent control laws, here’s a look at important updates and how they have impacted the rental landscape.
https://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/articles/how-new-rent-…
# Hot topic International, Rent.To achieve real growth, the NZ government needs to relax the rules around housing
James Graham The Conversation (No paywall)Prime Minister Christopher Luxon wants New Zealand to “go for growth”. But his plan, focused on reforming foreign investment, planning and competition laws, as well as boosting the tourism and mining sectors, is hampered by a fundamental reality of New Zealand’s economy: much of the country’s capital is tied up in unproductive (and expensive) housing. While this issue is not new, with New Zealand’s economy once described as “a housing market with bits tacked on”, the solution may lie in making housing more readily available through deregulation and policy reform.
https://theconversation.com/to-achieve-real-growth-the-nz-govern…
# International, Rent.Centuries-old leasehold system to be abolished in England and Wales
Kiran Stacey The Guardian (No paywall)The housing minister has promised to abolish the centuries-old leasehold system in England and Wales before the end of this parliament, as the government takes the next steps towards an outright ban on new leasehold developments. Matthew Pennycook said he was committed to ending the feudal-era system – which applies to 5m homes in England – after years of complaints from leaseholders about crippling service charges and crumbling buildings. With some leaseholders complaining about the slow pace of action by this government, ministers will on Monday lay out a series of proposals to make it easier for homeowners to jointly own the buildings they live in.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/mar/03/centuries-old-leas…
# Hot topic International, Rent.