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
California Just Passed the First State Social Housing Legislation in the US
Richard Marcantonio Jacobin (No paywall)Earlier this month, California passed a bill requiring the state to produce a study and recommendations on expanding the state’s social housing sector. Organizers hope it will be the first step in providing de-commodified shelter on a large scale. On October 7, California governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 555, the Stable Affordable Housing Act of 2023. The legislation commits the state of California to producing a study on the prospects for creating “a robust sector of social housing that offers below-market rents affordable to households of all income levels who are unable to afford market rents and that is permanently shielded from the speculative market.”
https://jacobin.com/2023/10/california-social-housing-legislatio…
# Legal significance International, Public and community housing.'The least affordable housing market in recent memory': Why now is a great time to rent
Daniel de Visé USA Today (No paywall)United States of America: Generations of consumers have embraced homeownership as part of the American dream. Lately, though, it looks more like a pipe dream. “Housing is becoming a luxury good,” said Christopher Mayer, a Columbia University economist. The upside? It’s a great time to rent. The spiraling costs of homeownership have turned the perennial rent-vs.-own equation on its head. In most of the nation’s largest cities, renting is now far cheaper.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/02/16/housing-market-f…
# Hot topic International, .Where it’s cheaper to live in an island resort than rent in Auckland
Thomas Bywater NZ Herald (No paywall)The fact that living on an island resort might be the cheaper option to renting in New Zealand will only support feelings of many rent-payers in Auckland and Wellington. According to Tenancy Services NZ, the median weekly rent in Tamaki Makaurau rose by $40 to $650 last year. In Wellington the median rent floated around $605, up 34 per cent over the last decade.
This is either incredibly depressing news or, for some travel-loving individuals, an opportunity.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/where-its-cheaper-to-live-in-a…
# Hot topic International, Rent.At a CT co-op, unique model keeps housing affordable
Ginny Monk CT Mirror (No paywall)Connecticut: Sonjia Gomes had just given birth to her daughter when she saw a news story about a house fire on the television screen in her hospital room. When the footage featured a shot of smoke engulfing the building, Gomes realized it was her house. On that day, more than 30 years ago, she and her infant became homeless. But after about nine months of staying in temporary homes, Gomes found refuge in a townhouse-style unit in a development that had just opened, after seeing an advertisement about the affordable housing option.
https://ctmirror.org/2024/01/04/waterbury-ct-affordable-housing-…
# Must read International, Public and community housing, Rent.The Curmudgeon of Rivington Street
Ronda Kaysen The New York Times (Paywall)As his apartment on the Lower East Side crumbled, a former Club Kid resented the moneyed millennials who filled his building. Then he let them in on a secret that transformed their lives.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/30/realestate/rivington-street-l…
# Hot topic International, Rent.Here’s What Rent Costs Around the U.S.
Liz Brumer-Smith U.S News (No paywall)How much rent can get you across the country has changed dramatically after rental rates soared in the last few years. The pandemic ushered in an era of remote working, which allowed people to reconsider where they call home. Many moved to locations with more favorable weather or a lower cost of living. The rental market showed some small signs of cooling in December, when typical rents in the U.S. settled in at $1,957, according to the most recent Zillow Observed Rental Index (ZORI). That’s a slight (0.2%) dip from the previous month. However, rents are still up 3.3% from a year ago.
https://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/articles/heres-what-re…
# Hot topic International, Rent.Rents fall nationwide for third straight month as demand cools, report shows
Elizabeth Napolitano CBS News (No paywall)Millions of Americans are getting a measure of relief when it comes to keeping a roof over their head: After skyrocketing during the pandemic, rent is falling nationwide. According to a new report from apartment marketplace Rent.com, the national median rent for residential properties fell 0.78% in December of 2023 compared to a year ago — the third consecutive month in which rental prices have fallen across the U.S.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rent-apartment-fall-demand-cools/
# International, Rent.Key to negotiating a better rent
Leo Patterson Ross for the Daily Telegraph Daily Telegraph (No paywall)What can you do if you receive a significant rent increase? First, check the increase is legal. Both NSW Fair Trading and the Tenants’ Union have great info to help check the form but the key requirement is generally increases have to either come with 60 days’ notice or be written into your fixed-term contract. In ‘periodic’ agreements rent also can’t be increased less than 12 months since the last increase. Unfortunately back-to-back fixed term contracts can be and are used to get around this – a loophole the government has indicated they will fix. Next, it’s time to prepare to negotiate or challenge at the Tribunal. Many people are surprised that there is not actually a legal limit on the size of a rent increase in NSW. It is up to you to challenge an increase for being excessive.
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/property/how-to-negotiate-a-lo…
# Must read, TUNSW in the media NSW, .