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
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.NSW rental pain: Households spending more than 35 per cent on rent
Jessica Wang news.com.au (No paywall)Households in NSW are spending the most of their household income on rent, with one housing data expert warning conditions were the toughest he’s seen in more than 20 years.
NSW renters are spending more than 35 per sent of a household’s weekly income on rent, new data from Suburbtrends has revealed.
The worrying statistic comes as welfare groups warn a household is in rental stress if more than 30 per cent of its income goes towards rent.
Suburbtrends founder Kent Lardner said people “across the board” were falling under rental strain in “one fell swoop”, with conditions the toughest he’s his 20-year-plus career.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/renting/nsw-rental-p…
# Hot topic, Research alert NSW, Housing affordability, Housing market, Planning and development.Walgett Aboriginal elders demand housing help 18 months after men's homeless shelter demolished
Kenji Sato ABC (No paywall)Aboriginal elders in Walgett are demanding more housing support from the state government more than a year after the town's only men's shelter was demolished.
The NSW government bulldozed Namoi House in January last year to make way for domestic violence units, but construction ground to a halt due to a budget blowout.
The absence of support in the town comes as new Homelessness NSW data shows Walgett has the worst rates of homelessness in the state.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-17/walgett-shelter-demolishe…
# Hot topic NSW, Aboriginal renters, Campaigns and law reform, Planning and development.