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
No-fault evictions: 200,000 renters in England served notices in three years
Robert Booth and Jem Bartholomew The Guardian (No paywall)More than 200,000 private renters in England have been served eviction notices without doing anything wrong in the three years since the government first promised to ban the practice, housing campaigners have claimed. Every seven minutes, a tenant has been landed with a no-fault eviction notice since Theresa May’s Conservative government first committed to scrap them in April 2019, according to research by Shelter, the housing charity. Tenants have told of the shock, stress and thousands of pounds of unexpected bills caused by the practice, which means private renters can be evicted with two months’ notice and without the landlord giving a reason. Grainne Cuffe also writes on this issue for 'Inside Housing' at: [https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/private-renter-served-no-fault-eviction-notice-every-seven-minutes-new-research-finds-75194].
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/apr/26/200000-private-ren…
# Must read International, Eviction, Rent, No-grounds evictions.Federal Labor to continue funding housing across remote Northern Territory if elected
Jesse Thompson ABC (No paywall)Federal Labor has promised to extend a housing funding agreement intended to reduce widespread overcrowding in remote Indigenous communities across the Northern Territory if elected next month. ... In a media release, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney said the investment in remote housing would improve the livelihoods of Indigenous Territorians. "Spending on health, education and employment will offer a much bigger return if we also improve access to safe and adequate housing in remote Australia," she said. Also, check out Cameron Gooley's article in 'Th Sydney Morning Herald' at: [https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/labor-commits-100m-to-better-housing-in-remote-nt-communities-20220426-p5aga3.html].
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-27/federal-labor-remote-hous…
# Australia, Aboriginal renters, Housing market, Race and ethnicity.In 2019 inequality was a big federal election issue. Now it’s off the radar
Josh Nicholas, Katharine Murphy and Maya Pilbrow The Guardian (No paywall)In the 2019 election, inequality was a major campaign theme. ... In the run up to polling day, the then Labor leader Bill Shorten declared inequality killed hope. ... But after voters rejected that agenda in 2019, Anthony Albanese overhauled both the policy and the rhetoric. [Read on] You will find in this article a useful table on 'Housing Stress' by 'Electorate'.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/datablog/2022/apr/28/…
# Australia, Rent, Families, Home ownership.New effort to combat Toledo eviction crisis
WTVG Staff (No paywall)From the United States ... The Lucas County Commissioners and local leaders announced plans to fortify protections against eviction on Thursday. During a press conference held at the One Government Center, representatives of various organizations including the Homelessness Board, Pathway, Inc., The Fair Housing Center United Way of Greater Toledo, and Legal Aid of Western Ohio rallied together forming the Eviction Prevention League. ... Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said the city will hire a Landlord Tenant Services Manager. The new position will assist with addressing housing security issues prior to landing eviction status. “Fewer and fewer persons in eviction court is a goal. Greater housing security for our community is a goal,” Lucas County’s Commissioner Gary Byers said.
Commissioner Pete Gerken echoed his fellow board members sentiments, saying eviction prevention is a high priority.
https://www.13abc.com/2022/04/21/new-effort-combat-toledo-evicti…
# Video International, Eviction, Campaigns and law reform, Homelessness.Mortgage holders in outer suburbs could face ‘huge cliff’ as inflation and rates rise, experts say
Peter Hannam The Guardian (Paywall)Outer suburban electorates of major cities, already home to many of Australia’s most financially stressed households, are facing a “huge cliff” in coming years as their fixed-rate loans expire and they are hit with higher interest rates, analysts say.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/apr/28/homeowner…
# Australia, Families, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.Why the Road Is Getting Even Rockier for First-Time Home Buyers
Sophie Kasakove The New York Times (Paywall)From the United States ... About 2.5 million households shopping for a first home will be shut out of the market this year, estimates Nadia Evangelou, senior economist with the National Association of Realtors. That amounts to 15 percent of all first-time home buyers. In an already daunting market, investor purchasing is adding to the obstacles.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/23/us/corporate-real-estate-inve…
# International, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market, Landlords and agents.‘Sick of overdevelopment’: Backlash over plans to build 6300 homes in one Sydney suburb
Andrew Taylor The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A Sydney council is facing a backlash over plans for buildings up to 20 storeys to cater for the city’s booming population as the area’s state MP says residents are sick of continued overdevelopment. Campsie, in the City of Canterbury Bankstown, is forecast to grow from having 24,500 residents in 2016 to more than 39,000 in 2036. More than 6300 new homes will be built to house the area’s population under the draft Campsie Town Centre master plan.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/sick-of-overdevelopment-backlash…
# NSW, Housing market, Local Government, Planning and development.Will this brute of a building herald a new assault on London’s skyline?
Rowan Moore The Guardian (No paywall)Developers swoop on areas like the south bank. The onus is on planning officers to reject ugly schemes. ... There’s a bend in the Thames that gives special prominence to the buildings along it. Here, between Waterloo and Blackfriars Bridges, the south bank of the river bulges outwards, such that anything that stands there takes its place among the north bank’s array of monuments – the Houses of Parliament, Somerset House, St Paul’s Cathedral. If the elaborate British planning system has any ability to influence the quality of architecture in sensitive locations, it should be evident in a place like this. If not, then places of equal importance all over the country are in danger.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/24/londons-so…
# International, Housing market, Planning and development.