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
Proposal that would have restricted Airbnb short-stay housing voted down by Albany council
Briana Fiore ABC (No paywall)Some councillors at a West Australian tourist destination have tried to restrict short-term rentals to affluent areas along the coast, reserving inner-city properties for permanent residents.
But the overall City of Albany council last night voted down a motion that would have deemed areas hugging the shoreline such as Middleton Beach and Emu Point as "suitable" locations for hosting short-term accommodation.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-14/airbnb-accommodation-prop…
# Australia, Housing affordability, Short-term holiday letting.So your landlord wants to put your rent up? Here's why and what you can do
Isabelle Lane SBS (No paywall)Rising rents in many parts of Australia are putting pressure on households already struggling with the cost of living.
Rents have risen in all eight state and territory capital cities over the past year, data from Domain’s September 2022 rental report shows.
Rents in the combined capitals soared by an average of 12.8 per cent for houses and 16.7 per cent for units year-on-year in September.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/so-your-landlord-wants-to-pu…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media Australia, Rent.THE OBVIOUS ANSWER TO HOMELESSNESS: and why everyone's ignoring it
Jerusalem Demsas The Atlantic (No paywall)When someone becomes homeless, the instinct is to ask what tragedy befell them. What bad choices did they make with drugs or alcohol? What prevented them from getting a higher-paying job? Why did they have more children than they could afford? Why didn’t they make rent? Identifying personal failures or specific tragedies helps those of us who have homes feel less precarious—if homelessness is about personal failure, it’s easier to dismiss as something that couldn’t happen to us, and harsh treatment is easier to rationalize toward those who experience it.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/01/homelessnes…
# International, Affordable housing, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market, Human rights.UK rental market: I’ll give you 24 months’ rent, a present and a CV. Please can I be your tenant?
Megan Agnew The Times (No paywall)As landlords cash in on an acute shortage of homes by asking for record sums, those competing for the keys will try anything
Whenever a listing goes online, the phone at the letting agency Martyn Gerrard rings off the hook.
For some rentals on its website, 40 prospective tenants are fighting for the right to move in — in 2018 the ratio was five to one. Some make offers before seeing the property, others write personal statements explaining why they are the perfect fit.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/490848e8-78b6-11ed-8f77-a37cd…
# Hot topic International, Housing affordability, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Veterans Sue VA, City of LA for Failure to Provide Adequate Housing
Sarah Hall Invisible People (No paywall)Earlier this month, officials announced that veteran homelessness dropped 11 percent between 2020 and 2022. But Los Angeles, once called the homeless capital of the US, seems to have missed the memo.
In a lawsuit filed on behalf of 14 veterans experiencing homelessness against the Department of Veterans Affairs, attorneys for the plaintiffs say that the VA’s Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System’s (VAGLAHS) plans for the West Los Angeles Medical Center (WLA) and Community Living Center Campus are woefully inadequate.
https://invisiblepeople.tv/veterans-sue-va-city-of-la-for-failur…
# International, Homelessness, Strong communities.Untaxed – how governments lure capital into real estate and feed the housing crisis
various Investigate Europe (No paywall)European governments give huge tax benefits to real estate investors and owners - a policy that is common in many member states despite all political differences. Over the past months, Investigate Europe’s team analysed the taxation and loopholes for real estate investments in several European countries. This lures billions of euros to the overheated real estate market.
...
Investigate Europe spoke to people behind the figures, victims of the housing crisis in many European countries. The reporters also confronted national governments with the tax privileges and their social costs. Read those findings, human stories and political answers in our newest investigation, #Untaxed.
https://www.investigate-europe.eu/en/2022/untaxed-real-estate/
# Must read International, Housing affordability, Housing market, Human rights, Landlords and agents, Tax.Six month delay to Scottish short-term lets licensing scheme
BBC BBC (No paywall)The deadline by which hosts of short-term lets in Scotland need to get a licence has been delayed by six months.
The scheme, which could see fines of up to £2,500 imposed on people who rent out property without permission, was set up by the government in October.
It is aimed at reducing the impact of Airbnb-style lets on local communities and the availability of housing.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-63916032?…
# International, Housing affordability, Short-term holiday letting.NSW to investigate ways to end bidding wars over rental properties
Tamsin Rose The Guardian (No paywall)Bidding wars for New South Wales rental properties could be outlawed after the state’s customer service minister, Victor Dominello, ordered an urgent review of interstate efforts to curb the widespread practice.
Peak housing bodies have long been calling for a ban on rental bidding to bring the state into line with Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania, where advertised rents are set and cannot be bid up by prospective tenants, or listed as a range.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/05/nsw-to-in…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media NSW, Rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents, State Government.