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
'Staggering' rise in older Kiwis renting predicted
Radio NZ Radio NZ (No paywall)A doubling of the number of retirees who will be forced to rent over the next 25 years means New Zealand has to urgently rethink how it supports older people's housing needs, the Retirement Commission says.
The commission has just completed a survey of older people's housing status.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/494200/staggering-rise-in-ol…
# International, Long-term tenant, Older people.Financial support to keep people with disabilities housed falls short of what's needed: advocates
Vanessa Balintec CBC (No paywall)on Kitchen, a resident of Barrie, Ont., remembers when disability benefits were enough to get by.
But that changed in recent years after rents started to rise — far outpacing the almost $1,700 that Kitchen, who has borderline personality disorder, gets each month from the Ontario Disability Support Program.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/housing-people-disabilities-incom…
# International, Affordable housing, Disability.Revealed: Britain’s council housing shame as majority of councils fail to build a single home
Holly Bancroft The Independent (No paywall)The majority of local authorities have failed to build a single council home in the past five years, according to shocking analysis that lays bare the scale of the social housing paralysis.
There are now more than 1.2 million families on the waiting list for properties, but figures show that in 2021/22 only a third of England’s local authorities completed any new build homes.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/council-housing-…
# International, Public and community housing, Housing affordability.We all want better for our children than we had – but Britain’s housing crisis is crushing that dream
Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett The Guardian (No paywall)Before we decided to have a baby, I thought a lot about what being a mother would be like, but there were some respects in which my imagination failed me. Both are related to my living environment.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/21/children-b…
# International, Eviction, Campaigns and law reform, Housing market, No-grounds evictions.Renters have stepped up efforts to address the housing crisis — it’s time for property managers to do the same
Grant Alexander Wilson The Conversation (No paywall)CANADA: Three years ago, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, I published an article on what it means to prioritize needs over wants in times of economic crisis.
https://theconversation.com/renters-have-stepped-up-efforts-to-a…
# International, Landlords and agents.Vienna’s housing strategy—How this city became one of the most equitable and affordable in Europe -
Annabelle Quince ABC (No paywall)Australia is facing a housing crisis - there is a shortage of affordable housing, essential workers can no longer live in the areas they work, and families are finding themselves homeless. While our politicians are struggling to come up with ideas to solve this crisis, one city that has managed to develop a housing strategy that works for most of its citizens - Vienna.
Guests
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/rearvision/rear-vi…
# Audio International, Public and community housing.We asked two experts for their solutions to the rental crisis. This is what they came up with
Daniel Jeffrey 9 News (No paywall)Ask three different people about how to solve Australia's rental crisis and you'll likely get three different answers.
So, after asking two housing experts whether the cost of renting was likely to ease next year and whether the federal government's signature housing policy was enough of an intervention – spoilers: probably not and definitely not, respectively – 9news.com.au invited them to offer up some policies that would address the issue.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/rental-housing-crisis-australi…
# Hot topic Australia, Eviction, Rent, Short-term holiday letting.Sydney going backwards on housing: NSW premier
Duncan Murray AAP (No paywall)NSW has fallen behind other states in addressing housing shortages despite being the most in need of new homes.
The state is building five new dwellings for each 1000 residents every year, compared with roughly eight to nine per 1000 residents a year in Queensland and Victoria.
"This is Australia's biggest state. We're Australia's largest city. We have the largest increase in rents and we've also had the largest increase in house prices," Premier Chris Minns said on Wednesday.
https://www.perthnow.com.au/business/commercial-property/sydney-…
# Must read, Hot topic NSW, Affordable housing, Housing affordability, State Government.