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
Social housing funds set for 140 new city homes
Caroline Gall BBC (No paywall)Up to 140 new council homes in Wolverhampton will be designated as social housing, thanks to a £6m grant. The funding is being used to convert properties on 14 development sites, and will help families out of temporary accommodation and off waiting lists, City of Wolverhampton council said. The money is coming via a £40m social housing accelerator fund launched in 2025 by Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, and is managed by West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). "This additional funding from the WMCA will allow us to make a significant number of new council homes affordable for residents on low incomes," said cabinet member for housing, councillor Steve Evans.
# International, Public and community housing.Almshouse to haunted student digs: historic Newcastle building to become affordable homes
Mark Brown The Guardian (No paywall)It was built 300 years ago as an almshouse for men who did some of the most backbreaking and dangerous work on the River Tyne. Most recently it provided fun, if chilly, accommodation for students. Now a new chapter is to be written in the history of a building considered the most at-risk structure in Newcastle, with the announcement of £4.6m lottery money to convert it into affordable housing. It is an ambitious project being watched closely by others across the UK, grappling with the problem of what to do with important but derelict and difficult listed buildings.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jan/20/historic-newcast…
# History International, .What can Australia learn from Europe’s housing plan?
Vivienne Milligan and Hal Pawson The Conversation (No paywall)The European Commission recently released its first-ever Affordable Housing Plan. Property prices have outpaced incomes across Europe over the past decade. Home ownership has been pushed out of reach for many. But for economically successful cities and tourist regions, price and rent trends have been even more stark. For example, the commission reports that “in cities and regions in high demand, even one third of average income is often not sufficient to pay the rent on a 25 square metre apartment”.
https://theconversation.com/what-can-australia-learn-from-europe…
# International, .‘Absurd’: decent homes standard for England’s private renters will not be enforced until 2035
Jessica Murray The Guardian ()Labour’s promise to make private rented homes in England fit for habitation will not be enforced for almost a decade, a decision campaigners have described as “absurd”. The timeline means landlords will have until 2035 to implement a new decent homes standard (DHS) in their properties, which will include “robust standards” to combat disrepair, damp and energy inefficiency. On Wednesday, the government published its plans for a reformed DHS for social rented homes, as well as a DHS for the private rented sector for the first time, confirming that both will need to be implemented by 2035 at the latest.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/jan/28/decent-homes-stand…
# International, Utilities water energy internet.NSW government calls for rethink on capital gains tax discount to ease housing affordability
Tom McIlroy The Guardian (No paywall)Generous capital gains tax rules have pushed up property prices and damaged housing affordability, the NSW government says, warning the discount benefits wealthy investors at the expense of first-time buyers. NSW Treasury has told a federal parliamentary inquiry into the 50% CGT discount that tax concessions including negative gearing “skew incentives towards property investment” and undercut policies, including first home buyer assistance. The inquiry – led by Greens treasury spokesperson, Nick McKim, and being watched by the Albanese government – could put renewed pressure on Labor to wind back the discount ahead of the next election.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jan/13/nsw-gover…
# Must read NSW, .Concerns domestic tenants required to share excessive personal data to secure leases
Adelaide Miller ABC (No paywall)Tenants are being forced to hand over excessive personal data when applying for rental properties, with new research warning that applicants' personal information could be at risk in the event of a data breach. The report from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) found some rental applications on property technology (or "prop tech") platforms included up to 50 questions — more than was reasonably required to assess suitability.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-29/concerns-tenants-sharing-…
# TUNSW in the media NSW, Privacy and access.‘Affordability ceiling’: Sydney house rents hit a record high $800 a week
Alice Uribe Domain (No paywall)The cost to rent the typical Sydney house is at a new high while unit rents remain at a record as some tenants hit a ceiling in what they can afford to pay for a home. The median asking rent for a Sydney house jumped to $800 a week, up 3.9 per cent or $30 a week over the year to December, to notch a fresh record, the latest Domain Rent Report, released on Thursday, showed. Asking rents for a typical Sydney unit were $750 a week after rising 7.1 per cent, or $50 a week, over the year. While also a record, the cost stayed on par with the previous quarter.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/affordability-ceiling-sydney-hous…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent.Portable bonds scheme for NSW renters quietly delayed after flagged rollout missed
Miriah Davis ABC (No paywall)A key election promise from the Minns government to make moving rental homes easier amid the cost of living crisis has been quietly delayed. An Australian first, the portable bonds scheme was announced as part of a suite of rental reforms that the Labor Party took to the 2023 state election. The initiative would allow for the digital transfer of a bond from one property to another, alleviating renters of the financial stress of having to come up with another bond before their old one is returned. NSW Rental Commissioner Trina Jones told the ABC in August 2024 the government at the time was looking for a vendor "to bring the scheme online", with the rollout due for late-2025.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-29/nsw-minns-government-port…
# TUNSW in the media NSW, Bond.