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
Housing crisis 'robbing children's childhoods'
Esme Kenney BBC (No paywall)Children are being "robbed of their childhoods" as people wait an average of 5.2 years for social housing in Oxford, a homelessness charity has said. Oxford City Council is fifth in the ranking of UK councils with the longest waiting times -more than two years above the national average, with 3,443 people on the waiting list. Crisis Skylight Oxford said it had about 20 new people registering for support each week. Linda Smith, cabinet member for housing and communities, said the authority was doing what it could to ease the housing crisis, with funding set out for 1,600 new council houses.
# Hot topic International, Public and community housing.The cannabis farm scandal: how a rogue lettings agency destroyed countless homes
Sirin Kale The Guardian (No paywall)When Hajaj Hajaj decided to rent out his house in south London in the summer of 2020, his daughter, Kinda Jackson, urged him to use a reputable lettings agent for peace of mind. Her father had enough on his plate. Hajaj, a 79-year-old retired garage owner, is the primary carer for his wife, who has Alzheimer’s disease. The income from the rental property in Lewisham is effectively Hajaj’s pension, which he uses to pay for her care. So, when a manager from Imperial Property Group contacted Hajaj about his Gumtree listing, Hajaj arranged to meet them. A sharp-suited British Asian man named Shan Miah arrived in a sports car. He was in his late 20s or early 30s, charming and confident. He boasted of his business interests in Dubai. “He was doing very well for himself,” Hajaj says.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/feb/20/the-cannabis-far…
# International, Eviction, Rent.Scammers listing fake properties for rent near areas impacted by LA wildfires
CBS News (No paywall)Lauren Pozen speaks with the Pasadena man who found his property listed for rent, despite not actually doing so. She finds that it's part of a bigger scheme that could be targeting victims of the Los Angeles wildfires.
https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/video/scammers-listing-fake-p…
# Video International, Disasters, Rent, Starting a tenancy.Ministers scrap DWP program allowing landlords to tap into tenants’ benefits
Patrick Butler The Guardian (No paywall)Ministers are to scrap a controversial “computer says yes” program that automatically approves landlord requests to deduct hundreds of pounds from tenants’ universal credit benefits without their consent. Last month, a judge ruled that the “click-screen” program used by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to process tens of thousands of deduction requests each year was unlawful. It came after a challenge brought by tenant Nathan Roberts who argued it was an “abuse of process” that the DWP did not ask him before docking £500 from his benefits at the request of his landlord, with whom he was in dispute over repairs.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/feb/25/ministers-scrap-…
# Must read International, Security and safety.What the interest rate cut means for renters
Jacob Shteyman AAP (Soft Paywall)Jim Chalmers is hoping Australia's landlords will be kind-hearted enough to help ease the cost-of-living for their tenants by passing on rate cuts. The Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates for the first time in more than four years on Tuesday, in a move that was immediately passed on by major lenders. The 25 basis point reduction in variable home loan rates will save someone with an average mortgage more than $100 a month.
https://aapnews.aap.com.au/news/what-the-interest-rate-cut-means…
# Hot topic Australia, .Landlords are worried about rent controls. Will Labour introduce them to cap record-high rents?
Liam Geraghty The Big Issue (UK) (No paywall)The right-wing think tank linked to Liz Truss’ disastrous mini-budget has warned against bringing in rent controls to curb sky-high private rents. The Institute of Economic Affairs’ research claims that rent controls do far more harm than good – a stance that has sparked controversy with pro-renter campaigners. The think tank said a review of 196 academic studies over 60 years across 100 countries showed harmful consequences of introducing rent controls. Most studies – 56 out of 65 the group analysed – showed that rent controls succeed in lowering rents for controlled units, the IEA found. But 14 out of 17 studies found that rent control leads to higher rents in properties where rents aren’t controlled.
https://www.bigissue.com/news/housing/rent-controls-labour-housi…
# Hot topic International, Rent.LOCAL NEWS Report says it's cheaper to buy a home in Detroit than to rent one, but for how much longer?
Paula Wethington CBS News (No paywall)If you are considering whether to rent or buy your home in Detroit, the latest listing data might surprise you. Detroit and Pittsburgh are the two cities in the top U.S. 50 metropolitan areas where it was cheaper to buy a home than rent a home during January, Realtor.com reports. The calculations do not include property taxes and insurance. The typical home list price in Detroit was $239,950 during January; resulting in a monthly mortgage payment of $1,252 compared with the median rent of $1,313. For Pittsburgh, the median home list price was $229,700 in January, with a monthly mortgage payment of just $1,199. During that same time, the median rent in the Pennsylvania metro area was $1,413.
https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/cheaper-to-rent-or-buy-detr…
# Hot topic International, .Amendments to Residential Land Lease Communities Act
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)As reported in Outasite 12, the laws governing residential land lease communities changed in 2024. We have updated our factsheets to reflect the changes. Many residents in land lease communities have started to receive notices from their operators around some of the more notable changes to the Act. If you’re a home owner who has received notice of a change to your fixed method or by-notice method of site fee increase, and are not sure if it complies with the new requirements, contact your local Tenants Advice service for advice.
https://www.tenants.org.au/thenoticeboard/news/further-amendments
# NSW, Land lease communities.