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
Renters need $300,000 more superannuation in retirement than home owners, report finds
Jason Dasey ABC (No paywall)Older Australians who retire without owning a home will need about double the superannuation of those with a paid-off property if they want to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle, research has uncovered. Advocacy group Super Consumers Australia warned renters were "at real risk of retirement disaster" if the federal government failed to act. The report highlighted the wealth gap, quantifying how much extra those who rented would need in super to match the quality of life of someone who owned their home.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-09/renters-need-twice-more-s…
# Australia, Rent.Techno Park residents win zoning battle to remain in Williamstown affordable housing estate
Jesse Thompson ABC (No paywall)Residents of an affordable housing estate in Melbourne's industrial west have won the legal right to remain in their homes, years after they were first threatened with eviction because of a zoning issue. The tenants live in a former migrant hostel known as Techno Park, which sits in the shadow of a row of decommissioned Mobil fuel storage tanks in Williamstown. Having moved in under the impression the homes were lawful, many were blindsided when their local council ordered them to immediately leave in May 2023, claiming it had become aware people were living in the industrial-zoned area.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-10/techno-park-affordable-ho…
# Australia, Eviction, Rent.Europe’s housing crisis is fuelling the rise of the far right. Our research shows how to address it
Tarik Abou-Chadi, Silja Häusermann and Björn Bremer The Guardian (No paywall)
Europe’s housing crisis is fuelling the rise of the far right. Our research shows how to address it
Tarik Abou-Chadi, Silja Häusermann and Björn Bremer
The mantra of ‘build, build, build’ misses something crucial: that few can afford these new homes
Report: European progressives must tackle housing crisis to beat far right, say researchers
Thu 27 Nov 2025 23.00 AEDT
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Housing costs across Europe have become a growing burden for many households, both for those trying to buy and those trying to rent. Over the past decade, property prices have surged faster than incomes in many European countries. The same is true for rents, which have increased exponentially in large cities but have also increased substantially in suburban areas and smaller university towns. Given how much housing costs affect Europeans’ quality of life, it is comparatively absent from the agenda of progressive political parties.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/27/far-right-…
# International, Rent.No space for culture: ‘matchbox housing’ leaves residents unable to honour customs in a South African town
Sinenhlanhla Memela and Philippa Irvine The Conversation (No paywall)In South Africa, urban planning is influenced by western-centric and colonial planning, including social housing, building technologies, architectural form, master plans, zoning, and land tenure systems. The colonial and apartheid planning policies and practices from the 1930s gave European settlers the sole rights to live, work and be educated in urban areas, where they had complete freedom of movement. On the other hand, the presence of African people in urban settlements was strictly controlled through pass laws, spatial segregation, and systems of land tenure that restricted them from living in towns and cities.
https://theconversation.com/no-space-for-culture-matchbox-housin…
# International, .The death of the living room: ‘It’s hard to invite people over – not everyone wants to sit on a bed’
Leah Harper The Guardian (No paywall)ithout a living room, your world becomes quite small,” says Georgie, a 27-year-old climbing and outdoor instructor. When she moved into a house-share with four strangers in 2023, she wasn’t worried about the lack of a living room. “I kind of thought it would be fine – I didn’t have that many options, and the house was by far the cheapest.” The property she rented was in Leeds, and what had once been a lounge had gradually been turned into an inaccessible storage space. To make things worse, the kitchen was tiny: “By the time you put a table against the wall, you couldn’t sit or stand without getting in the way of the sink or the oven.”
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/nov/26/the-death-o…
# International, .What new pet bonds mean for renters, as they are now in effect
Caron Copek Stuff (No paywall)New rules take effect for tenants with pets from December 1. Politicians who made changes to the Residential Tenancies Act said it gives tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property. “These reforms are a win-win for tenants and landlords and are a pawsitive step forward,” Housing Minister Chris Bishop said. The minister went quite hard on the animal puns. “Pets are part of the family for many households. Around 64% of Kiwi homes include at least one. Anyone who’s tried to find a pet-friendly rental knows how ruff it can be.”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/home-property/360904185/what-new-pet-bon…
# International, Pets, Rent.European Commissioner Jørgensen: Housing crisis needs 'holistic approach'
Euro News (No paywall)In an interview with Euronews, EU Housing Commissioner Dan Jørgensen calls upon investors, authorities and market players to work together to find a solution for an emergency impacting more and more EU citizens. In order to help tackle the housing crisis, the European Commission is working on proposals that would boost the construction of new homes, loosen state aid rules and remove bureaucratic barriers. “What we are trying to do is to have a holistic approach,” European Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen said on Euronews’ flagship interview programme The Europe Conversation.
https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/11/28/eu-commissioner-ho…
# International, Rent.Bay Area nonprofit wants to create permanent housing for homeless inspired by Texas community
Max Darrow CBS News (No paywall)In Santa Clara County, there is hope for a new community to help house the homeless, following a unique strategy currently being used in Texas. Aside from a few remaining traces of life, the once bustling, enormous homeless encampment at Columbus Park is now quiet. That reality is admittedly, kind of odd, to Ray Solnik. "It's gone," he said. "It has just disappeared, which feels weird." But necessary, he says, for a new reality to take shape.
https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/seeds-of-hope-bay-area…
# International, Rent.