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
In California, About the Only Way to Get a House Is to Inherit One
Nicole Friedman and Veronica Dagher The Wall Street Journal (Paywall)Inheritance is one of the last reliable ways for younger Californians to own their first home. About 18% of all property transfers in the state last year, representing nearly 60,000 homes, were made through inheritance, according to a recent analysis by real-estate data firm Cotality. That share is a record for California in data going back to 1995, up from 12% in 2019. It is also roughly double the national share of 8.8% last year. Cheryl Norris, a 76-year-old who works as an independent antique dealer, has owned a pair of homes in Northern California for decades.
https://www.wsj.com/economy/housing/in-california-about-the-only…
# International, .‘I charge my adult kids £300 a month to live with me’: how families share costs
Alice Kantor The Guardian (No paywall)When her 27-year- old son and 24-year-old daughter moved back home, Tricia Carter decided to ask them to pay rent. The 63-year-old, who lives in south London, charges them £300 each a month to cover bills including electricity and groceries. She has a comfortable income, but their contributions help to keep the books balanced. The money is also a way to make her children aware of the financial burden of living somewhere, she says.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/feb/28/charge-adult-kids-…
# International, Rent.Councils’ temporary housing costs to more than double by 2029-30, says LGA
Jessica Murray The Guardian (No paywall)The cost to councils of providing temporary accommodation for homeless people in England is projected to more than double to almost £4bn by 2029–30, the Local Government Association (LGA) has said. The national membership body for councils found that since 2017-18, local authorities across England had spent almost £1.5bn more on temporary accommodation (TA) than had been reimbursed in housing benefit from the government.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/03/council-temporar…
# International, .Tenants rights: What you need to do with your lawn before you move in
Taylor Troeth realestate.com.au (No paywall)Tenants are being warned to document the state of their lawns and gardens to avoid being stung with pricey bond claims. How your lawn and garden is looking at the start of your lease may be the last thing on your mind after moving into a new rental property, but this small act could be the difference between you getting your bond back or not. NSW Tenant’s Union chief executive officer Leo Patterson Ross said taking photos and noting conditions of lawns at the start of a lease is one way renters can protect themselves from landlords and property managers attempting to make unreasonable bond claims when the agreement ends.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/tenants-rights-what-you-need-…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media NSW, Rent.Call for change after Aussie renter 'kicked out' of home after simple request to landlord
Courtney Greatrex Yahoo News (No paywall)An Aussie renter claims she is being "kicked out" of her home after making a simple request to her landlord. Annaliese Todd was in tears as she explained she made a request to her property manager asking to look after a friend's dog while they are overseas for six months, but the request instantly backfired. The Sydney single mum claims that on the same day, she was told the landlords want to move back into the property, so her family would be required to vacate. "I've been kicked out of my rental," she said online, explaining her request.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/call-for-change-after-aussie-renter-ki…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media NSW, Eviction, Pets, Rent.'A video about my rental termination has gone viral. This is what really happened.'
Annaliese Todd Mama Mia (No paywall)Sometimes, you're just going for a walk, you pick up your phone and you hit record on TikTok to vent. The next minute, you're on the news. Does that happen to anyone else? Well, it happened to me. I don't have that standard reflex where I just vent to a friend when life gets messy. I'm a storyteller. I process the world through a lens and a keyboard. It's cathartic, and in the case of my current living situation, it's become a lightning rod for the "Great Australian Rental Divide".
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media NSW, Eviction, Pets, Rent.Sydney to get its first new inner-city suburb in decades as Glebe Island becomes Bays West
Daisy Dumas and Penry Buckley The Guardian (No paywall)Sydney will have a new inner-city suburb – known as Bays West – within a decade, giving the public access to Glebe Island’s waterfront, the home of Sydney’s last working port, for the first time in more than 100 years. The New South Wales government on Tuesday announced that a long-awaited overhaul of the state-owned land, directly above the under-construction Bays Metro station and near the western end of the Anzac Bridge, will proceed, delivering 8,500 new homes. Bulk port operations, including cement, gypsum and sugar handling, will cease by 2030.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/mar/02/sydney-ne…
# NSW, .Why being 55 and homeless led Michelle to start a housing revolution
Lisa Edser The Senior (No paywall)A 55-year-old woman is campaigning for the federal government to step in and make blanket rules to recognise tiny homes as a way to ease homelessness and the housing crisis, after finding herself in dire straits. Michelle Cook has been advocating for older women at risk of housing insecurity and wants councils around the nation to have "consistent" laws and regulations when it comes to allowing caravans and tiny homes to stay on private land indefinitely.
https://www.thesenior.com.au/story/9183912/an-advocate-wants-to-…
# NSW, .