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
How a group of Toronto tenants turned to a risky last resort and got a ‘huge victory’
Sharif Hassan The Star (No paywall)TORONTO - In the middle of the small crowd — near the tents, the lineup of kids awaiting face painting, the snack table — stood a jubilant Chiara Padovani. “When I say ‘tenant, you say ‘power,’” she commanded to several dozen tenants, who chanted back with gusto. What looked like a summer block party in front of two north-end Toronto apartment buildings last month was a celebration of what renters who withheld payments for months called a “huge victory.”
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/how-a-group-of-toronto-tenants-…
# Hot topic International, Rent.The world's biggest 3D housing neighbourhood just opened. What can Australia learn?
Hannah Murphy ABC (No paywall)Texas in the United States is in a housing crisis. A report by Harvard University found locals were spending 30 per cent of their income on rent, and a US family had to earn $US100,000 ($148,000) a year at least in order to buy a home in some of the state's most popular cities. Research associate Daniel McCue said home ownership was becoming a distant dream for many Americans. "The costs of buying a home have left home ownership out of reach to all but the most advantaged households," he said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-22/should-australia-3d-print…
# Must read International, Rent.Could the "YIMBY" movement fix America's affordable housing shortage?
Ash-har Quraishi, Amy Corral, Scott Pham, Ryan Beard CBS News (No paywall)More U.S. cities and states are starting to say "yes, in my backyard" as they struggle to meet the housing needs of growing populations. The "YIMBY" movement is a political effort to tackle the country's housing shortage by increasing the housing supply with strategies like changing zoning codes and other regulations that limit home density. The United States is millions of homes short of what's needed to meet demand, according to the national nonprofit group "Up for Growth." Minneapolis resident Bernice Duncan has been searching for a new home with more space for more than five years.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/affordable-housing-shortage-yimby-m…
# Hot topic International, Rent.Progress being made on criticised rental scheme
George Thorpe BBC (No paywall)Landlords in Jersey are getting a clearer picture about standards expected of their homes from a new code of practice, an association said. Jersey Landlord Association (JLA) members attended a presentation on Thursday with government officials to discuss the Rented Dwelling Licensing Scheme. The JLA previously criticised Jersey's government for not consulting with them before it was published and for making the document "difficult to read" and not useful for landlords and tenants. Following the first of these meetings, JLA chairman Guy Morris said some of the issues had been clarified.
# International, Rent.Labour’s housing challenge as planning permission at record low
Daniel Wainwright & Ben Chu BBC (No paywall)The number of housing projects given the go-ahead by councils in England reached a record low in the final months of the last government. Planning permission data for the year to June showed only 31,562 housing proposals were granted - 8% down in a year. Experts say developers are reluctant to put in planning bids because of costs and a lack of confidence in the market - highlighting the challenge for Labour which is pledging an additional 1.5 million homes in five years. The government said it was committed to its target, and was working to ‘unblock’ stalled projects.
# International, Rent.NSW Government announces Rent Check tool to help renters compare properties in similar suburbs
Molly Magennis 7 News (No paywall)Renters in New South Wales can now use a free rental comparison tool developed by the state government to help them identify if what they are being asked to pay is fair. Developed by the NSW Rental Commissioner, Rent Check uses the latest bond data to compare the prices of rental properties in a particular suburb across metro and regional areas. All users need to do is enter a postcode, and answer a series of questions about the property (if it’s a home or unit, how many bedrooms) as well as the property’s current rent, or how much the renter is willing to pay.
https://7news.com.au/news/nsw-government-announces-rent-check-to…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent.The worrying trend of landlords banning tenants from working from home
Emma Guinness The Independent (No paywall)Landlords have come under fire for banning prospective tenants from working from home, resulting in calls for new legislation to protect renters. In what appears to be a new trend, adverts for shared homes have been appearing, specifying that the potential new occupant must not work from home. Now, the charity Generation Rent has called upon the new government to impose regulations to stop the practice, which is arguably given force by Section 21 “no-fault” eviction powers.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/landlord-housing…
# International, Eviction, Rent.How did a Tory promise to end no-fault evictions become stalled?
Mary Dejevsky The Independent (No paywall)Conservatives pledged in the 2019 manifesto to abolish Section 21 notices, which allow landlords to evict tenants without giving a reason. No-fault eviction, as it is called, has been one of the biggest complaints of tenants, and the abolition of Section 21 notices has long been a central demand of tenant and homelessness campaign groups, such as Shelter.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/politics-explaine…
# Hot topic International, Eviction.