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
VIDEO: Sydney retains title of most expensive rental market
ABC (No paywall)The median rent in Sydney is now $150 more a week than it is in Melbourne despite official land values in NSW falling. Columbian student Andrea Lagudo has been hunting for weeks…
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-09/sydney-retains-title-of-m…
# Hot topic NSW, .As a Syrian I feel the pain of Palestinians as their homes and lives are destroyed. This is domicide
Ammar Azzouz The Guardian (No paywall)For those who survive the destruction of their home, the pain and grief often endure. Some people who are forcibly displaced wait in exile to return to the places from which they were uprooted, to homes that are now ruins. History shows us that some people wait a lifetime. Meanwhile, many of those who remain in war-torn cities grieve for their beloved ones who were killed at home and lie beneath the collapsed buildings, unable to be buried in dignity.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/30/syrian-pal…
# Must read International, Discrimination, Security and safety.People around the world are living in non-traditional housing to cope with rising cost of living
Jenny Cai and Angelica Silva ABC (No paywall)From living out of a hotel room to a houseboat in a marina, some people are turning to "non-traditional" methods of housing to put a roof over their heads. These types of living arrangements often represent a shift in lifestyle choices. But for some in major cities around the world, it's a forced decision due to limited options amid rising cost-of-living pressures. While studying in Hong Kong over the past year, Tiffany Lu chose to rent a hotel long-term instead of an apartment.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-27/alternatives-to-tradition…
# Hot topic International, .New Zealand tenant who found neighbour hiding in ceiling cavity wins compensation
Stuff NZ 9 News (No paywall)A housing tenant in New Zealand who reported 25 incidents involving neighbouring renters, including finding a person hiding in his ceiling cavity and threats of violence, is to be compensated. Felino Turner and his partner moved into a unit in Auckland managed by Central West Property Management in April 2023. The unit was one of three in a converted weatherboard house, which shared a common yard. Turner told the tenancy tribunal that problems with the tenants at Unit 3 and their associates began when he had a washing machine delivered to his doorstep the day after his tenancy began.
https://www.9news.com.au/world/new-zealand-tenant-found-neighbou…
# Hot topic International, Rent, Security and safety.'Scumlord' who needs to be shut down, or housing crisis hero?
Sinead Gill Stuff (No paywall)New Zealand: Property investor Lee Bennett has been accused of “scumlord” behaviour, and expects the outcome of a government investigation will make him a public enemy.
But he says he’s helping to solve the housing crisis and has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on refurbishments since the inquiry began.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/better-business/131585767/scuml…
# Must read, Hot topic International, .73-year-old boarded up inside his Chicago apartment sparks investigation
9 News (No paywall)Rudolph Williams said he was home in a Chicago suburb when he realised the doors and windows to his courtyard-style apartment had been boarded up with plywood, locking him inside. “I didn’t know exactly what was going on,” the 73-year-old said in describing how he tried to open his blocked door. “What the hell?” His ordeal — chronicled by his nephew on now-viral videos — has generated a firestorm of criticism about rental conditions at the dilapidated low-income apartment complex in Harvey, Illinois.
https://www.9news.com.au/world/video-of-73-year-old-man-boarded-…
# Must read International, .CT Voices Call for Zoning Reforms and Renter Protection to Curb Cycle of Evictions and Homelessness
Hugh McQuaid CT News Junkie (No paywall)Connecticut Voices for Children called Wednesday for a series of zoning and land use policy changes as well as greater protection for renters in an effort to break a “vicious cycle” of evictions and homelessness exacerbated by the state’s deficit of affordable housing. The nonprofit think tank released the latest in a string of reports on Connecticut’s housing crisis.
https://ctnewsjunkie.com/2024/01/17/ct-voices-call-for-zoning-re…
# Hot topic International, Rent.International students say they want to study in Canada, but staying is a problem if they can't find housing
Vanessa Balintec CBC (No paywall)Incoming George Brown international student Harshal Bhasgauri says he's dipped into his family's savings in India to pay months of rent in advance just to get a shot at finding a place to live in Toronto for the school year. Even then, he says the past four months of searching for housing were filled with unanswered and rejected rental applications, leaving him wondering why he was invited to come to Canada if there was no housing available.
"I am always moments away from like a mental breakdown, just from the stress of wondering if I'm going to be homeless," said Bhasgauri, 24.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/international-students-affected-b…
# Hot topic International, .