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
Maricarmen Abascal, Spanish pensioner at heart of nationwide protests, dies
ABC (No paywall)The 87-year-old Spanish woman whose eviction sparked nationwide protest has died. Maricarmen Abascal was hospitalised after she was evicted from the apartment she had lived in for seven decades. She was expected to return home as soon as she was discharged, after accepting a deal with the company that owned her apartment. "Although a historic agreement was reached that would have allowed her to return to her home, this solution came too late," the Madrid Tenants' Union said. "It was an entirely avoidable situation following a harrowing ordeal."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-08/spanish-pensioner-whose-e…
# Hot topic International, Eviction, Rent.Housing protests erupt in Barcelona after Spanish PM calls early election
ABC (No paywall)Protests over Spain's entrenched housing crisis have erupted in Barcelona just hours after Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced an early election. Mr Sánchez's announcement on Monday came after his government suffered a legislative defeat over emergency housing measures in the Spanish parliament on Friday. Following the announcement, tens of thousands of people marched on the streets of Barcelona to demand housing relief, while protesters in Madrid continued to camp on the Puerta del Sol square.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-06/barcelona-protests-spain-…
# Hot topic International, .Tenant called a tramp by housing firm worker
Martin Lindsay BBC (No paywall)A social housing tenant called a "tramp" by a worker from his home's management company, who used an expletive with the slur, said it had left him feeling worthless and "like scum". The customer, who the BBC has agreed not to name to protect his daughter's identity, said the insult had been the final straw after months of reporting mould in his home to the company. Beyond Housing runs 15,000 properties across the Tees Valley and North Yorkshire, some rented to people on low incomes or benefits. It said it had apologised profusely to the customer "for the totally unacceptable behaviour".
# International, .Renters TV star Prudence Morrall’s company breached rules across 20 tenancies
Al Williams NZ Herald (No paywall)Renters TV star Prudence Morrall is in hot water after failing to maintain multiple rental properties. Morrall is the sole director of the Christchurch-based Good Girls Property Management and has appeared on the television show about renting in New Zealand. The company has accepted it committed multiple breaches of the Residential Tenancies Act by failing to ensure compliance across 20 tenancies, including an unlawful termination.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/renters-tv-star-prudence-morralls-…
# International, .Portland Real Estate Is Such a Mess That All Housing Is Affordable Housing
Rebecca Picciotto The Wall Street Journal (Paywall)PORTLAND, Ore.—The rental market here is so depressed that something almost unthinkable is now commonplace: Six-figure earners are paying some of the same rents as lower-income residents who qualify for subsidized housing. Market rents in Portland have stagnated at the same time that rent limits for government-subsidised affordable apartments have risen. That means rents for affordable housing are growing faster than the prices for market-rate apartments.
https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/portland-real-estate-is-such-a-m…
# International, .Collapse of an affordable housing dream
John Lorinc Globe and Mail (Paywall)It was, and may still be, the home-building industry’s version of the chicken-and-egg quandary. When Leith Moore, an architect and infill developer, in 2021 decided to take a run at constructing modular housing, his firm tapped into a stream of small-scale affordable projects backed by governments or non-profits aiming to build quickly. Their “volumetric” components – rooms, effectively – could be built in a factory, then assembled on site.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/real-estate/article-collapse-of-…
# International, .New mandatory register for Airbnb and other short-term lettings to open in December
James Cox Irish Times (No paywall)A new register for people who rent out properties for short-term lets on online platforms such as Airbnb is to open on December 1st. Regulation of short-term letting has proved controversial in Ireland and other countries, and the Government will attempt to bring clarity to the sector in a forthcoming Bill. Minister for Tourism Peter Burke announced the publication of the Short Term Letting and Tourism Bill on Tuesday. It will establish a new regulatory framework for short-term accommodation, in line with EU regulations.
https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2026/10/06/new-mandatory-regi…
# International, .Mount Isa Indigenous housing group to be wound up as administrators appointed
Tim Little ABC (No paywall)Terminally ill and mostly housebound, Leonie Reading has spent the past 11 years in the same Mount Isa house, expecting to leave her home "in a coffin". But since her home was sold at auction in September after the collapse of the Indigenous housing corporation that owned the property, she has been spending precious time finding somewhere else to live. "It's just pushed me way past my coping point and this last few months have taken its toll on me and my body," she said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-07/mount-isa-indigenous-hous…
# Australia, Aboriginal renters, Rent.