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
Putting design first: six social housing projects from around the world
Maddie Thomas The Guardian (No paywall)The social housing of last century often calls to mind towering blocks of flats, poorly maintained with dark, pokey and cold units. But alongside a rise in community living, the 21st century has brought quality construction, sustainability, and quality of life to the forefront of social housing design. Australia’s commitment to and funding for social housing stock is limited. But by 2037, Australia is estimated to have 1.1 million people seeking social housing. Professor of architecture and head of the University of NSW’s school of the built environment, Philip Oldfield, says that for an investment in social housing to match cosmopolitan cities like Paris or Barcelona, more housing of quality needs to be built.
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/article/2024/jul/20/put…
# Hot topic International, Public and community housing.English Housing Survey 2022 to 2023: security of tenure - fact sheet
UK Government (No paywall)The English Housing Survey collects data on household moves, including whether households have moved in the last 3 years, their previous tenure, their reasons for moving (such as eviction) and how evictions were carried out. New to the 2022-23 EHS, the survey also collects data on private renters’ security of tenure and their outlook on their current housing situation, such as whether they feel safe from eviction, feel confident making long-term decisions, feel secure enough to be invested in the community and whether their current accommodation feels like a home.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-housing-survey-…
# Must read, Research alert International, Eviction, Rent.Rent regulation didn't trigger mass sell-off, decreased rent a bit, large landlords say
NL Times (No paywall)Large landlords, who together own many tens of thousands of rental properties in the Netherlands, said that the Affordable Rent Act only impacted their rents to a very limited extent. The law, therefore, also did not trigger a mass sell-off of rental homes as it did among smaller, private investors, NOS reports. Since July 1, the Netherlands has been regulating mid-priced rentals that used to fall in the private sector. They now fall under the same points system that applies to social housing. A maximum rent of 1,158 euros applies to new contracts based on what the home has to offer. Many private landlords are selling their rentals as soon as the tenant leaves, saying that the rental income is too low after rent regulation took effect.
https://nltimes.nl/2024/07/19/rent-regulation-didnt-trigger-mass…
# Hot topic International, Rent.Edinburgh urged to copy Barcelona’s ban on Airbnb-style rentals
Adam Forrest inews.co.uk (No paywall)Edinburgh should bring in a Barcelona-style ban on short-term holiday rentals listed on platforms such as Airbnb, housing campaigners have said. The Spanish city’s mayor announced last month that it would phase out all holiday rentals by 2028 in a bid to boost residents’ access to housing. With Edinburgh facing a housing crisis, the Living Rent tenants’ union told i that it wanted Edinburgh City Council to introduce a similar crackdown to bring thousands of holiday homes in the Scottish capital back into residential use.
https://inews.co.uk/news/scotland/edinburgh-urged-copy-barcelona…
# Hot topic International, Rent.New Zealand on track to soon have more renters than homeowners
Radio NZ (No paywall)Fewer than half the population are likely to own a home in the next 25 years, according to new research. A Deloitte report, commissioned by Westpac, found less than 60 percent of New Zealanders currently owned their home - and this number would continue to decline, based on current trends. The report found shared home ownership options like shared equity, rent-to-own and leasehold could help tens of thousands of people into home ownership. It said 152,000 low- and middle-income New Zealanders could be eligible for shared home ownership pathways, but only roughly 53,000 were aware of these options.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/522913/new-zealand-on-track-…
# Hot topic International, Rent.Renters are struggling more than homeowners in America’s tough housing market, report says
Bryan Mena CNN News (No paywall)Washington - Homeowners in America aren’t the only ones struggling with an unaffordable housing market. Renters are also bearing the brunt. A report from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies released last week showed that both homeowners and renters in recent years have become increasingly burdened by climbing housing costs. The report, based on an analysis of existing data, said that nearly one in four households that own a home “are now stretched worryingly thin.” The cost burdens are even worse for renters.
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/23/business/stocks-week-ahead-am…
# Hot topic International, Rent.Buying vs. renting in Canada's home market: housing panel
Bloomberg (No paywall)Ron Butler, mortgage broker at Butler Mortgage, Bob Dugan, chief economist at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Lauren Haw, broker of record and industry relations officer at Zoocasa, join BNN Bloomberg to discuss real estate.
# Video International, Rent.Biden housing plan seeks to curb rent increases by penalizing landlords
Rachel Leingang The Guardian (No paywall)President Joe Biden wants to curb rent increases by penalizing landlords who hike rents beyond 5% each year, but he needs the help of Congress to put the plan into action. The Biden administration will announce the idea in Nevada on Tuesday along with a host of other housing-related policies, including an influx of funds to add more housing in Nevada and elsewhere and a plan to use public federal lands for affordable housing near Las Vegas.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/16/biden-re…
# Hot topic International, Rent.