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.
Our main email newsletter, Tenant News is sent once every two months. You can subscribe or update your subscription preferences for any of our email newsletters here.
See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
We love sharing the news and hope you find it informative! We're very happy to deliver it for free, but if you find it valuable, can you help cover the extra costs incurred by making a donation?
Archive
After a hurricane, what are your rights as a renter in Florida?
Rebecca Liebson Tampa Bay Times (No paywall)Widespread flooding in the wake of Hurricane Helene has rendered thousands of homes in Florida unlivable. While many homeowners have started to clean up damage and file insurance claims, for renters the next steps aren’t quite as clear. The state’s landlord-tenant laws don’t mention hurricanes specifically, but there are certain protections that can come in handy for renters affected by natural disasters. Here’s everything you need to know.
https://www.tampabay.com/hurricane/2024/10/03/after-hurricane-wh…
# Hot topic International, Disasters, Rent, Repairs.Behind the Accidentally Resilient Design of Athens Apartments
Feargus O'Sullivan Bloomberg (No paywall)On first glance, a typical Athens polikatoikia doesn’t necessarily look like the answer to a host of urban issues. Built quickly and on the cheap — mainly from the 1950s to the 1980s — these modernist apartment buildings (pronounced “Pol-i-kat-i-KEE-A”) line street after street in the Greek capital, their repeated concrete facings and endless lines of unfurled balcony awnings giving the city an appearance of remarkable consistency. They may lack the elegance of Athens’ earlier neo-classical housing, but they have helped to create a city that is vibrant, socially integrated and (until recently) affordable, in which most residents’ housing offers broadly good living conditions. It’s probably fair to say, however, that the buildings have managed all this more or less by accident.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-07-15/the-design-hi…
# International, Public and community housing.Affordable housing is vanishing. Are these landlords to blame?
CBC ()Canada lost more than half a million affordable rental units in a decade, and experts say it’s because 'financialized landlords' are turning housing into investments. CBC The National investigates the impact of the growing industry and what it means for renters.
# Hot topic, Video International, Rent.Most Australians agree there should be a cap on rent increases - but there's a catch
April Glover 9 News (No paywall)Most Australians agree rental laws should impose a cap on rent increases for tenants. According to a nine.com.au reader poll, the majority of Aussies would be happy to see a limit on how much a landlord can raise the rent in every state. The survey found 67 per cent of 539 users* want to see a change in the country's rental laws to reflect this. Just 22 per cent of people said they didn't want a limit on how much a landlord can legally increase rent, while 11 per cent said they were unsure. According to the Rental Pain Index, the average rental increase in Australia by July 2024 was 10.29 per cent.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/should-rental-laws-cap-rent-in…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent.When can tenants challenge evictions?
ABC (No paywall)How do tenancy tribunals balance the competing needs of tenants and landlords? And why is Victoria - from a tenants' perspective - ahead of the pack? Guests: Tanya Lakic, Lawyer, Peninsula Community Legal Centre; Leo Patterson Ross, CEO, Tenants' Union of NSW.
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/lawreport/tenants-and-lan…
# TUNSW in the media, Audio Australia, Rent, Tribunal NCAT.Australia has an extraordinary 13 million spare bedrooms. Here’s how to use at least some of them to ease the housing crisis
Lyndall Bryant The Conversation (No paywall)While there’s little relief in sight for Australia’s housing crisis, with new projects years away from completion, there appear to be as many as 13 million unused spare bedrooms across the country. In a new briefing paper for the QUT Centre for Justice I suggest that, at least in the interim, these spare rooms ought to be part of the solution. Here’s where you find them. The census says about 3.2 million Australian homes have one spare bedroom, another 3 million have two spare rooms and 1.2 million have three spare bedrooms or more.
https://theconversation.com/australia-has-an-extraordinary-13-mi…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent.Renting taskforce lands in Fitzroy
Consumer Affairs Victoria (No paywall)Consumer Affairs Victoria’s renting taskforce carried out a blitz in and around the Fitzroy area on Saturday, as it continues its important role of checking that advertised rental properties meet mandatory minimum standards. The taskforce visited properties in the inner north, where there’s high demand for rentals. It’s the taskforce’s second blitz, following one carried out in Clayton in August. Victoria’s 14 rental minimum standards cover aspects of properties people would reasonably expect, like structural soundness, a functional kitchen and windows that open.
https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/latest-news/renting-taskforce-la…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent.Older women 'speed dating' for the ideal flatmate due to soaring rental costs
Danielle Mahe, Chloe Maxwell and Nicole Dyer ABC (No paywall)Dozens of single women aged over 50 anxiously wait to meet their match at a Gold Coast cafe. But they are not here to find the perfect partner. Instead, they are looking for a flatmate. "This is speed dating for housemates," announces event host, Helene Newson. She created it after struggling to find an affordable rental on the Gold Coast, which has one of the highest median rental prices in the country.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-07/speed-flatmating-housing-…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent.