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.
Our main email newsletter, Tenant News is sent once every two months. You can subscribe or update your subscription preferences for any of our email newsletters here.
See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
We love sharing the news and hope you find it informative! We're very happy to deliver it for free, but if you find it valuable, can you help cover the extra costs incurred by making a donation?
Archive
Tenants ‘pushed out’ of their homes as private landlords hike rents by more than 20% overnight
Vicky Spratt (Paywall)Tenants have told i they could be forced to move to a new town or city as their rent spirals above runaway inflation. Campaigners and tenants’ unions are calling for emergency rent freezes and warning that landlords are “pouring petrol” on the cost-of-living crisis by hiking up rents across the United Kingdom. (inews.co.uk)
https://inews.co.uk/news/housing/tenants-pushed-out-of-their-hom…
# International, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market.‘A big no-no’: Warning after Sydney family bring outdoor charcoal makeshift heater inside
Sarah Keoghan The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Six people have been rushed to hospital in Sydney’s west on Tuesday morning after an outdoor charcoal makeshift heater was brought indoors to keep them warm, causing suspected carbon monoxide poisoning.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/family-rushed-to-hospital-fo…
# NSW, Utilities electricity water gas.High Court quashes council’s decision not to house person with NRPF under Everyone In
Lucie Heath Inside Housing (Paywall)A London council acted unlawfully when it refused to accommodate a person with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) during the pandemic, a High Court has ruled. ... In this case, Lambeth Council was challenged by Desiree Cort, a 68-year-old woman from Guyana, who at the time had no immigration status in the UK and NRPF, meaning she would not normally be eligible for help with her housing.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/high-court-quashes-cou…
# Legal significance International, Homelessness, Local Government.Cashed up and employed: RBA says households can withstand higher rates
Shane Wright and Rachel Clun The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The Reserve Bank believes highly indebted households will withstand a substantial increase in interest rates, but a report has found rising inflation will add financial pressure on lower-income households and lead to more mortgage holders falling behind on repayments. As one of the nation’s biggest lenders said it expected the RBA to lift interest rates by two percentage points over the next four months, bank deputy governor Michele Bullock used a speech in Brisbane to reveal the institution believed the biggest risk to home buyers would be a sharp lift in the unemployment rate. Also, read Gareth Hutchens's article entitled: 'RBA says borrowers can handle interest rate rises, but experts warn mortgage repayments will surge' in ABC at: [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-19/reserve-bank-says-households-will-handle-rate-rises/101250390]. Read Amy Remeikis's article entitled: 'Mortgage holders could face large jump in repayments if interest rates increase by 3%, RBA says' in 'The Guardian' at: [https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jul/19/mortgage-holders-could-face-large-jump-in-repayments-if-interest-rates-reach-3-rba-says]. Read Matthew Elmas's article entitled: 'Monthly mortgage bills could rise by another $650. But the RBA’s not worried yet' in 'The New Daily' at: [https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2022/07/19/mortgage-rba-outlook/]
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/cashed-up-and-employed-r…
# Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market, Work, employment.We have downsized to a smaller home and it has freed us to live the life we want
Damian Barr The Guardian (No paywall)Downsizing is, let’s be clear, a privileged problem – and not one I ever expected to have. I grew up in a series of well-built council houses in Scotland at a time when Margaret Thatcher might turn up with the keys in exchange for a sports bag of dirty fivers if you exercised your right to buy. My parents never could or would. A “bought hoose” was a distant dream, even as “luxury units” mushroomed around our village, neat new boxes popping up where slag heaps once sat. They triggered my aspiration, but also made me feel ashamed.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/19/we-have-do…
# International, Families, Home ownership, Housing market, Personal stories.Housing associations take action to protect residents during heatwave
Grainne Cuffe Inside Housing (Paywall)Inside Housing has spoken to several social landlords that say they have been checking in on tenants aged over 65, as well as those with disabilities, to make sure they can cope in the extreme heat. They have also been posting NHS advice across their social media. England is under its first ever red warning for extreme heat, which means even fit and healthy people are at risk of death. Temperatures may reach 40°C.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/housing-associations-t…
# International, Public and community housing, Climate change, Disability, Older people.House prices are falling, so which buyers can get a better deal?
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Falling property prices and reduced competition for homes are helping buyers get more bang for their buck, as home values in about four in 10 suburbs fell over the past quarter. But many buyers still have to compromise when searching for their next home, experts say, because of cuts to borrowing capacity and a pullback in the number of homes listed for sale, reducing their level of choice.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/house-prices-are-falling-so…
# Australia, Housing market.How Sydney’s big wet is seeping into our homes, old and new
Tawar Razaghi Domain (No paywall)Saturated Sydney apartment blocks will be tested during another week of rain, as buildings that have never leaked before start to leak. The unusually wet year has caused unprecedented issues with mould and water ingress in apartments old and new, experts say, and extra rain could now cause damage.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/how-sydney-s-big-wet-is-see…
# NSW, Repairs, Strata, Sydney.