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
Will we finally see the housing reforms we sorely need?
Adam Antonelli The South Sydney Herald (No paywall)One doesn’t need to look far to notice the housing crisis gripping Australia – it’s the subject of daily media coverage and news commentary.
Rent increases have far outpaced wage growth, increasing over 10 per cent in Sydney over the past 12 months. Prospective homeowners are locked out of the inner and middle rings of the city as house prices regain momentum following consecutive interest rate rises. Mortgage home occupiers, having taken advantage of low-cost mortgages when interest rates were low, are struggling to meet repayments and are living in after-housing poverty. The most jarring symptom of the crisis is the growing number of rough sleepers on our city streets. Those sleeping in their cars, couch-surfing or living in overcrowded, unsafe housing are less visible.
https://southsydneyherald.com.au/will-we-finally-see-the-housing…
# Hot topic Australia, Campaigns and law reform, Housing affordability, Planning and development.Airbnb has lost its way. Even the chief executive agrees
Lee Tulloch The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Airbnb was launched in 2008 as an online marketplace for short and long-term stays. The name is short for AirBedandBreakfast.
The launch has been so successful that any short-term rental is now colloquially referred to as an “Airbnb”, even though there are now several companies occupying the same space.
https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/reviews-and-advice/airbnb-has-l…
# Must read, Hot topic International, Housing affordability, International, Short-term holiday letting.Do New York’s Affordable Housing Lotteries Fuel Segregation?
Mihir Zaveri The New York Times (Paywall)For decades, affordable housing in New York City has followed a seemingly simple rule: To make new development more palatable, half of new affordable apartments must first be offered to people already living in the area.
The policy, put in place in 1988 by Mayor Ed Koch, was designed to benefit low-income communities.
It has since been used by politicians to push major neighborhood transformations, like the redevelopment of Greenpoint and East New York, while addressing fears of displacement. San Francisco, Minneapolis, Portland and Austin have adopted similar strategies as housing costs rose and gentrification accelerated.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/23/nyregion/nyc-affordable-housi…
# Hot topic International, Affordable housing, International, Planning and development.Westchester tenants could soon get attorneys for eviction proceedings
Eduardo Cuevas lohud.com (No paywall)Compared to landlords, renters are drastically underrepresented by attorneys in eviction cases. But they could soon access free legal representation in Westchester County under a bill that lawmakers moved forward.
On Monday, the county Board of Legislators unanimously passed an “Access to Counsel” bill to guarantee legal representation to low-income households facing eviction. More than nine in 10 landlords in eviction proceedings have attorneys, whereas less than 10% of renters have legal representation, according to estimates by the Westchester Right To Counsel Coalition, which has long advocated for the policy.
“It’s the right thing to do to even the playing field,” Legislator Damon Maher, D-New Rochelle, told USA TODAY Network New York.
https://www.lohud.com/story/news/2023/05/19/westchester-ny-to-gi…
# Hot topic, Legal significance International, Eviction, Rent, International.Squeezed by your rent? A third of tenants spend at least HALF of their take-home pay on housing
Myra Butterworth Daily Mail (UK) (No paywall)Tenants are spending an alarming percentage of their salary on their rent, new data has revealed.
While 81 per cent of tenants spend more than 30 per cent of their take home pay on rent, 34 per cent spend at least half of their salary.
These tenants are labelled as being 'severely rent burdened', in the research by flat share site SpareRoom.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/property/article-12114829/Third-tena…
# Must read, Hot topic International, Rent, Housing affordability, International.‘Granny flats’ play surprising role in easing California’s housing woes
Erica Werner The Washington Post (No paywall)State and local policies have made accessory dwelling units easier to build in recent years, and homeowners are signing up in droves.
LOS ANGELES — When Heather Millstone moved from Baltimore to Los Angeles and started house-hunting, she had one major goal: A home with a yard big enough to build another, smaller house so she could rent out one of the properties to supplement her income.
A few blocks away, Lali Grewal and his wife, Anne Marie, made a similar calculation when they moved to the city last summer. They’re now living in a tiny but cozy home behind a bigger house they’re fixing up to rent out.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/05/21/adu-granny-fl…
# Hot topic International, Rent, Housing market, International.The Germans curing loneliness with homes for young and old
Volker Witting Deutsche Welle (No paywall)Multigenerational housing projects — with young and old living under one roof — are becoming increasingly popular in Germany. Having a diversity of ages in one home can improve lives, especially as the population ages.
Breakfast together is part of the daily ritual. Those who can, come down to the bright common room on the first floor at 9 o'clock. Not all eleven members of the communal living group on Mendelstrasse, Berlin are always there. But most are. "Here I always have someone to talk to," says Heidemarie Mehlau. "We live together despite all our differences." And that's a good feeling, says the 80-year-old. Especially when you need help or are sick, she says, it's a good feeling to have a community behind you.
https://www.dw.com/en/the-germans-curing-loneliness-with-homes-f…
# Must read, Hot topic International, International, Older people, Personal stories.To Pay Rent in Medieval England, Catch Some Eels
Leah Hamilton Atlas Obscura (No paywall)JOHN WYATT GREENLEE, A MEDIEVAL historian focusing on cartography, never intended to become the “Surprised Eel Historian,” as he dubs himself on Twitter. When he first proposed his Ph.D. project on eels, it was declined. Greenlee went ahead and studied eels anyway, and his passion for these wormlike, elongated fish has now managed to capture the fascination of others. Greenlee specifically looks at the role eels played in medieval English economy and culture—a role far more important than many would think. In medieval England, eels essentially became currency.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/medieval-eel-rent-map-engl…
# Research alert International, History, International, Personal stories.