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
Pets in Crisis program helps people under threat of violence keep their pets while finding safe homes
Keane Bourke ABC (No paywall)When Kerry Herd no longer felt safe living in her own home, she was faced with a difficult choice.
Go into a refuge, but be forced to give up her cat, or stay in her home and continue fearing for her safety.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-26/pets-in-crisis-helping-pe…
# Australia, Housing affordability.More social and affordable housing is the only solution to Australia’s rental crisis
Maiy Azize The Guardian (No paywall)A boost in social housing benefits everyone – people in housing stress get the homes they need and building new homes creates jobs and opportunities.
For the first time, Australia is entering the new year with a prime minister who grew up in social housing.
Yet as Australians face a rise in living costs, soaring rents, and crashing vacancy rates, we are also bidding farewell to a key housing affordability measure.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/15/more-socia…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Affordable housing, Federal Government, Housing affordability.Queensland housing market in free-fall as question of legacy arises
Danielle Kutchel Pro bono Australia (No paywall)As the 2032 Olympics creep closer — and as the Queensland state government asks for feedback on what their legacy should be — there is a sense of urgency amongst Queensland’s housing advocacy organisations.
The sector is calling for urgent action to help address the shortfall of housing stock, especially for renters and those on lower incomes or experiencing homelessness.
https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2023/01/queensland-housing-…
# Must read Australia, Eviction, Public and community housing, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market.Meet The Spy Tech Companies Helping Landlords Evict People
Nick Keppler Vice (No paywall)The growing ‘proptech’ industry is now explicitly marketing surveillance tech as a way to evict tenants and raise rent.
Some renters may savor the convenience of “smart home” technologies like keyless entry and internet-connected doorbell cameras. But tech companies are increasingly selling these solutions to landlords for a more nefarious purpose: spying on tenants in order to evict them or raise their rent.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgy9k3/meet-the-spy-tech-compani…
# Must read International, Privacy and access, Landlords and agents, Renting culture.The majority of unhoused people don't stay on the street. Many more are like Sarah.
Ethan Ward USA Today (No paywall)Beneath a glaring porch light over her grandmother’s driveway, Sarah Fay is on her smartphone, searching once again for a place to sleep for the night.
As is often the case when she needs a place and has not already burned through the last of her monthly income, the 28-year-old scrolls through Priceline.com in search of a bed and four walls.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2022/12/27/los-angeles-insec…
# International, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Work, employment.Incoming Rep. Max Frost Plans to ‘Couch Surf’ in DC Because He Can’t Get an Apartment
Jamila Bey BET (No paywall)The rental market in Washington, DC is notoriously expensive and hard to navigate. Even the first Gen Z member of Congress is having such trouble navigating the system, he’s still without a Washington address as the House comes to session.
Florida Democrat Maxwell Alejandro Frost, representing Central Florida’s 10th Congressional District, said on a Sunday morning news show that he still hasn’t gotten a lease since being elected in November.
https://www.bet.com/article/7kgc6y/the-newly-elected-florida-dem…
# International, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Work, employment.Irish Housing Crisis Adds to Stress for Firms Recruiting Abroad
Peter O'Dwyer Bloomberg (No paywall)Ireland’s acute housing shortage is adding to problems faced by larger firms as they try to lure talent from abroad, according to the head of the country’s state agency for business.
“It’s a big pinch point,” Enterprise Ireland CEO Leo Clancy said in an interview. “We’re a full employment economy as things stand today, more or less. That means that we need to still bring a lot of talent to Ireland, and that’s where housing bites specifically.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-17/irish-housing…
# International, Affordable housing, Housing affordability, Work, employment.Aotearoa’s housing often unsuited to Pacific families
Stats NZ Stats NZ (No paywall)Often Pacific peoples live in large households, which can have benefits for language transmission and loneliness, but due to the affordability and availability of suitable housing, in 2018 nearly 40 percent lived in a home that required additional bedrooms for the number of people living in it, Stats NZ said today.
https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/aotearoas-housing-often-unsuited-…
# Research alert International, Discrimination, Families, Human rights, Race and ethnicity.