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
Barry Plant property manager tells landlords to ‘always put your rent up’ to help tenants avoid market pricing
Harrison Christian news.com.au (No paywall)A real estate agency has caused controversy after it released a tip for landlords telling them to “always put your rent up” as a favour to tenants so they don’t get priced out of the market. In the since-deleted video, a property manager for Barry Plant Korumburra was asked for a “market tip for the day”. “My tip is for landlords this time – always put your rent up, even if it’s just slightly, $5 is enough,” the property manager replied.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/landlord/barry-plant…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media Australia, .Australia has a $1 solution for the global housing crisis: a pattern book of architecturally designed homes
Kelly Burke The Guardian (No paywall)An Australian government faced with a housing crisis has launched an inexpensive, quick-fix plan that has caught the attention of countries around the world. For just one Australian dollar anyone can download a set of architect-designed housing templates, which in New South Wales – Australia’s most populous state and its most expensive – have already been preapproved by the state government for fast-track development.
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/sep/27/australia-h…
# Australia, .‘Total panic’: the effect of no-fault evictions on renters in England
Geraldine McKelvie The Guardian (No paywall)When Sarah Ladyman was made redundant from her job as a horticulturist earlier this year, her one-bedroom flat was her sanctuary. Then, her landlord attempted to raise her monthly rent from £775 to £900. She took her case to a rent tribunal – only to be served with a no-fault eviction notice. No-fault eviction notices – officially known as section 21 evictions – mean private landlords can oust tenants who have done nothing wrong.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/sep/27/total-panic-effect…
# International, Eviction.In Barcelona, rent control shows promise - but short term rentals limit progress
Olivia Haber Greenwood Shelter Force (No paywall)One year ago, Catalunya became the first and only region in Spain to respond to its rental crisis with rent control measures. Since then, average rents in the region have dropped slightly. But listings on popular online rental platforms have soared in cost, and short-term leases—a way for landlords to get around the law—have spiked. Under the law, new rents in high-cost areas must remain under an official price index when the property owner is a large landholder, and landlords can’t raise rents between tenants.
https://shelterforce.org/2025/04/03/in-barcelona-rent-control-sh…
# International, Rent.The huge shift between landlords and renters as rentals stay vacant in Wellington
Mary Argue Radio NZ (No paywall)A glut of vacant rentals in the capital city has shifted the dynamic between landlords and renters, with some tenants knocking close to $100 off their weekly rent. Landlords are offering all kinds of incentives to entice people to viewings, and those who are looking for a home have found they've got their pick of the bunch. Property experts say it's a stark contrast to a couple of years ago, when the market was a "little bit crazy the other way," with rents rising every year.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/574172/the-huge-shift-betwee…
# International, .The challenges facing New Zealand’s biggest landlord
Madeleine Chapman The Spinoff ()Social housing in New Zealand is in a state of flux as Kāinga Ora halts building projects and councils ponder the feasibility of being landlords for the most vulnerable. On the eve of Matariki in June, Kāinga Ora quietly issued a media release to “a limited number” of journalists confirming that it would halt 212 housing developments (about 3,500 homes) and would be selling off approximately 40 hectares of land. The decision was combed through by Newsroom’s Jonathan Milne a week later (as covered by The Bulletin at the time).
https://thespinoff.co.nz/the-bulletin/29-09-2025/new-zealands-bi…
# International, Public and community housing, Rent.Councils to be given power to impose rent caps
Angus Cochrane Yahoo News (No paywall)Councils in Scotland will be able to cap rent increases on some properties at a maximum of 6% under a bill backed by MSPs. Local authorities will be able to introduce controls in specially designated areas under the government's Housing (Scotland) Bill. The legislation - which was passed by 89 votes to 28 - will also require local authorities to act more quickly when tenants are at risk of homelessness, and introduce measures designed to help victims of domestic abuse.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/councils-given-power-impose-rent-20422…
# International, Rent.Rent for $1 a Month? Egypt Says No, Ending a System That Aided the Poor
Vivian Yee and Rania Khaled The New York Times (Paywall)For decades, hundreds of thousands of Egyptian families have lived in apartments for as little as less than a dollar a month, including in some of Cairo’s most expensive neighborhoods. Even as inflation surged and the currency’s value plummeted, they passed down their rental contracts from generation to generation. But that security came at the expense of landlords who saw valuable properties going for next to nothing and the housing problems officials say it created.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/07/world/middleeast/egypt-afford…
# International, .