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
Climate change: Consumer 'confusion' threatens net zero homes plan
Matt McGrath BBC (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Government plans to decarbonise homes are too complicated and confusing, according to a coalition of consumer and industry groups. They've written to the prime minister to say that current schemes to adapt homes go wrong far too often. The open letter, from Citizens Advice and others, calls for more financial support for making changes. Otherwise, they argue, efforts to curb emissions from millions of homes in the UK will be at risk.
# International, Public and community housing, Utilities water energy internet, Climate change, Housing market.‘Draughty and inefficient’ homes are worse for climate than cars
Liam Geraghty (No paywall)Homes are bigger polluters than cars, ministers have been warned in a plea to boost England’s climate change fight by retrofitting social homes. Homes produce 58.5 million tonnes of CO2 every year, the National Housing Federation (NHF) has calculated, equivalent to the output of 28 million cars – more than the 27 million currently on the country’s roads. The figures show it is crucial to start making homes more efficient, said Kate Henderson, NHF chief executive. (The Big Issue)
https://www.bigissue.com/latest/homes-pollute-more-than-cars-and…
# International, Public and community housing, Utilities water energy internet, Climate change, Housing market.‘Blistering temperatures’: Dark roofing banned on Sydney’s urban fringe
Angus Thompson The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Dark roofing will be banned in Sydney’s south-west growth area in an attempt by the NSW government to dial back the heat island effect while providing sorely needed new homes. Lighter coloured roofs will be a mandatory part of the planning controls for the Wilton area, busting the march of Colorbond Ironstone that has long been synonymous with Australian urban sprawl. Residential lots must also be big enough for a tree in every backyard under a new set of rules applauded by urban-heat scientists as a step towards addressing rising temperatures following the grim picture painted by the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/blistering-temperatures-dark…
# Hot topic NSW, Climate change, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards, State Government.Single mortgage rate rise would put one in 20 home owners into financial hardship, survey shows
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)A single mortgage rate rise would be enough to push one in 20 home owners into financial hardship, a new survey [by Finder] shows, as ongoing lockdowns hit the savings buffers of those who have lost work during the pandemic. ... [Ms Julia Davis of the Financial Rights Legal Centre] said 'So far, foreclosures have not been an issue' but she felt a rate rise would push more than 5 per cent of borrowers into hardship, given the levels of existing financial stress. She noted that about 40 per cent of NSW households were in mortgage stress last month ... 'It’s pretty tragic, plenty of people who have called us were finally back on their feet in early 2021, and back to regular payments … now they’re back to having no income and can’t afford anything, and the banks are sending them to us.'
https://www.domain.com.au/news/single-mortgage-rate-rise-would-p…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Home ownership.Neighbours have right to retrieve lost balls, cats under new Belgian law
James Crisp The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A new property law comes into force [in Belgian] on September 1 that will allow people to retrieve a ball or wandering pet from a neighbour’s garden without asking for permission. Under current rules, the neighbour can refuse access.
https://amp.smh.com.au/world/europe/neighbours-have-right-to-ret…
# International, Privacy and access.Why lockdowns aren’t suppressing house prices
Clancy Yeats The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)So, why is the market behaving so differently this time around? And if the economy is taking a hit from the lockdowns, why isn’t the housing market? Property watchers say prices are still rising because demand for homes remains surprisingly strong and the supply of properties for sale is falling.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/investing/why-lockdowns-aren-t-supp…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.England: Planning system perpetuates racism
(No paywall)New research ... has found that the planning process in England is reinforcing racial inequality, despite having clear potential to support the needs of ethnic minority residents. ... The team found that planners and housing professionals lack the confidence, skills and resources required to actively address racial inequality in housing, perpetuating socially conservative outcomes and limiting opportunities for achieving racial equality. The findings also revealed a view within the planning profession that formal equality of treatment is sufficient in the pursuit of social justice, but it is not translating into equality of outcome for multiple groups. ... Public consultation opportunities were found to reinforce existing unequal power relationships by favouring those with the time, knowledge, and confidence to participate. The evidence showed that not enough is being done to engage residents from ethnic minority, low-income and other less frequently heard groups. (Scottish Housing News)
https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/article/england-planning-sys…
# International, Planning and development, Race and ethnicity.Government launches £4m Community Housing Fund
Nathaniel Barker Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United KIngdom ... A £4m grant programme has been launched by the government to fund community-led schemes for affordable housing. The money is intended to help meet costs associated with pre-development such as legal advice, design work and planning applications. Ministers have not said how many new homes they hope to be supported through the fund. The government previously ran a £163m Community Housing Fund, but it closed at the end of 2019 with only a fraction allocated following long delays in opening the bidding.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/government-launches-4m…
# International, Affordable housing, Housing market.