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
Affordable housing plans spark parking concerns
Ruth Lucas BBC (No paywall)Plans for new affordable housing have sparked concerns over parking conditions in the area. Bracknell Forest Council's planning committee approved plans to demolish 63 garages on land at the rear of Shepherds Lane in Bracknell, Berkshire, to build three two-storey homes and five bungalows in their place. Twenty parking spaces would also be provided for future residents. Councillor Peter Frewer said the proposed development would "create parking issues more than anything else". The affordable homes would be run by provider Abri, which merged with Silva Homes last year. Each one would have a private garden and a footpath, linking Shepherds Lane and St Anthony's Close, would be created.
# International, Rent.Tasmanian renters are coughing up thousands more a year
Alison Foletta Mercury (Paywall)Hobart is one of three capital cities to buck the national rent trend of rents rising under 0.5 per cent. While some capital cities had a decline in rent, Hobart’s rent increased by 1.5 per cent, well above the national average of 0.4. Overall still a concerning sign according to Tenants Union of Tasmania principle solicitor Ben Bartl. “It is extremely concerning that rents in Tasmania have risen over the last year with the average renter paying around $1200 more per annum compared to twelve months ago,” he said.
https://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/tasmanian-renters-ar…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent.Climate change is forcing us to rethink our sense of ‘home’ – and what it means to lose it
Talia Fell and Codie Condos Distratis The Conversation (No paywall)The Los Angeles wildfires are causing the devastating loss of people’s homes. From A-list celebrities such as Paris Hilton to an Australian family living in LA, thousands of houses have been destroyed, leaving their owners shocked and grieving. And climate science points towards figures that suggest more such events are waiting. These events strip away precious memories created over many years, and sometimes over lifetimes. They prompt us to ask: what does it mean to lose the place I care most deeply about?
https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-forcing-us-to-reth…
# Must read International, Disasters.Finland's housing policy has shrunk homelessness rates. Could Australia do the same?
Kathleen Farmilo SBS (No paywall)On a quiet residential street in central Helsinki, Finland, sits an eight-storey apartment complex. It’s modern, well-designed and akin to the sort of block you'd find in any Australian city. The complex features a spacious courtyard with communal gardens and a small basketball court, balconies with large glass windows, plus a conveniently located cafe and bar right next door. It also boasts two unusual design features: instrument storage and practice rooms where residents can play music together. This is Jallukka, a block of affordable rental houses built to serve people who have struggled to find housing in the private market.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/finlands-affordable-housing-…
# Must read International, Public and community housing, Rent.Airbnb criticises Spain’s new rental rules: Data shows crackdowns on owners don’t stem overtourism
Joanna Bailey Euro News (No paywall)Amsterdam brought in new rules for Airbnb hosts in 2022 and the results are revealing. Short-term rental booking platform Airbnb has hit back at Spanish restrictions on rental properties, stressing that they will have severe repercussions for both income and jobs. Citing research undertaken by Oxford Economics in late 2024, Airbnb warns of 400,000 jobs being put at risk by the regulations, alongside almost €30 billion of income. The Spanish government implemented new regulations on short-term rentals on 2 January. Any property owner wishing to rent out their house is now required to be registered in a national database and obtain a permit before they can list their property on booking platforms.
https://www.euronews.com/travel/2025/01/22/airbnb-criticises-spa…
# Hot topic International, .The strange loophole that transformed Berlin from tenant’s paradise to landlord’s playground
Tim White The Guardian (No paywall)From London and other overpriced cities, we often look to Berlin as a beacon of progressive housing politics. Renting in the capital, as some 84% of households do, is associated with secure, unlimited, rent-controlled tenancies. Berliners have rallied behind moves to freeze rents and expropriate hundreds of thousands of apartments from corporate landlords. But in the last few years, Berlin’s housing crisis has escalated to unprecedented proportions, with median asking rents across the city rising by 21.2% in 2023 alone. Far from “poor but sexy”, as it was once dubbed by its own mayor, Berlin now has one of the most overheated property markets in the world.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/22/berlin-hou…
# Hot topic International, Rent.England’s renters are about to gain more rights, but until then landlords may exploit weak regulation even more cruelly
Nick Bano The Guardian (No paywall)Last month, I was working with a young homeless family on England’s south coast. The local council had found them a privately rented flat with an agreed rent, and provided a “landlord incentive” payment of £1,500. But, when the council emailed the landlord to confirm the arrangements, he replied to say that he was increasing the rent by £100 a month because “the market is moving in that direction”.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/17/england-re…
# Hot topic International, .L.A. housing prices expected to grow after fires amid already existing crisis
CBS News (No paywall)The housing crisis has long been an issue for Los Angeles thanks to high rent prices and a limited supply of homes. Prices are only expected to grow after the devastation caused by the wildfires raging in the area. Economic justice organization "Strategic Actions for a Just Economy" executive director Cynthia Strathmann joins "The Daily Report" with more.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/la-housing-prices-expected-grow-af…
# Video International, Disasters.