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
What if universal rental assistance were implemented to deal with the housing crisis?
Alex Schwartz and Kirk McClure The Conversation (No paywall)If there’s one thing that U.S. politicians and activists from across the political spectrum can agree on, it’s that rents are far too high. Many experts believe that this crisis is fuelled by a shortage of housing, caused principally by restrictive regulations. Rents and home prices would fall, the argument goes, if rules such as minimum lot- and house-size requirements and prohibitions against apartment complexes were relaxed. This, in turn, would make it easier to build more housing.
https://theconversation.com/what-if-universal-rental-assistance-…
# Hot topic International, Rent.Are rents affordable in Amsterdam? Not if you are a newcomer
Amber Howard The Guardian (No paywall)When I moved to Amsterdam, I felt incredibly lucky to find an illegal six-month sublet 15 minutes by bike from the centre, secured through a friend of a friend. The cost was €1,000 a month – a bargain by market standards but still well over double what my downstairs neighbour, Henrika, paid under the lifelong social housing contract she had obtained four decades earlier. In the intervening years, Amsterdam had shifted from a pinnacle of inclusivity and progressive housing politics to one of Europe’s most unaffordable markets.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/30/rents-amst…
# International, .Deadline for Healthy Homes: What tenants and landlords need to know
James Ball 1 News (No paywall)Aotearoa, New Zealand: Time is up for landlords who have failed to bring their properties up to standard, with all New Zealand rental homes now legally required to comply with the Healthy Homes Standards from today. The standards, passed into law in July 2019, introduced minimum standards for heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture ingress, drainage and draught stopping. They came into force gradually, but from July 1, 2025, all new and existing tenancies must abide by the rules.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2025/07/01/deadline-passes-for-rental-st…
# Hot topic International, Rent.NZ rental homes must now be Healthy Homes compliant as deadline arrives
Stuff (No paywall)From July 1, every private rental home in Aotearoa must meet the Healthy Homes Standards, a law introduced in 2019 to make homes warmer, drier, and healthier. But with winter underway and thousands still living in cold, damp homes, there are concerns about how many landlords have actually met the mark. Ava Whitworth has the story.
# Video International, .Tenancy advocate says $7200 fine for landlords breaching Healthy Homes standards too low
Anne Gibson NZ Herald (Paywall)Landlords can be fined a maximum $7200 for breaching Healthy Homes standards from July 1, an amount questioned by one sector adviser. Sarina Gibbon, founder of Tenancy Advisory, which works with landlords and tenants, said the penalty was too low. “It is not much at all when you weigh up…”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/property/tenancy-advocate-says-7200-f…
# International, Rent.Spanish court rejects Airbnb appeal and keeps order to block 66,000 ‘rule-breaking’ listings
Euronews Travel Euro News (No paywall)A Spanish court rejected an appeal by Airbnb yesterday, leaving in place an order to block almost 66,000 rental listings that the government said violated local rules. The government has said the platform's short-term rentals in city centres and tourism hot spots are contributing to Spain’s housing crunch while the country welcomes record numbers of visitors. Last month, Spain's government ordered Airbnb to block 65,935 listings in the country after the Consumer Rights Ministry flagged them for violations. It said Airbnb had to immediately take down 5,800 of them.
https://www.euronews.com/travel/2025/06/20/spanish-court-rejects…
# Hot topic International, .Kicked out for coming out: more than half of LGBTIQ+ flatmates face discrimination for their identity
Brodie Fraser and Mary Buchanan The Conversation (No paywall)People who belong to the LGBTIQ+ community say flatting is fraught with difficulties that go well beyond learning new routines and sharing space with strangers. Our new research on the flatting experiences of the LGBTIQ+ community found many experienced discrimination – with some opting to sleep rough rather than remain living with discriminatory flatmates. Our survey results highlight the ongoing challenges faced by this community, and the choices they face when it comes to their living arrangements.
https://theconversation.com/kicked-out-for-coming-out-more-than-…
# Must read International, Discrimination.Tenancy Tribunal orders landlord Jake Sim to pay tenant $3500 for unlawful entries, breaching his peace
Tara Shaskey NZ Herald (No paywall)A man leaving his home for work at 6.30am went to jump into his work van but unexpectedly found his landlord sitting in it, drinking a handle of beer. On another occasion, the landlord, Jake Sim, left a note for the tenant on the bench saying: “It’s fixed ya w[h]inging pr**k” after going to the property to fix a heatpump". The incidents were a part of a bigger tenancy issue in which Sim turned up at the property intoxicated and banging on the doors, and on other occasions, unlawfully let himself in. According to a recently released decision, the concerned tenant began setting “traps” to catch Sim in the act and also changed the locks, which, legally, he was not allowed to do.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/tenancy-tribunal-orders-landlord-j…
# Hot topic International, Privacy and access, Rent, Security and safety.