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
Poor families' living costs have surged during pandemic, UK study finds
Patrick Butler The Guardian (No paywall)More than a third of the UK’s poorest families have seen their already meagre incomes squeezed during the pandemic because they have had to spend more on food, gas and electricity, and home schooling, a study has revealed. The Resolution Foundation thinktank found that while UK household spending broadly dropped and financial savings increased during the Covid crisis, this was not the case for many low-income families, who saw basic living costs surge. The government had failed to provide effective support for the poorest families, it said, and with the third lockdown expected to last months, it urged ministers to retain the £20 pandemic top-up to universal credit beyond April, as well as boost other benefits for the low-paid.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jan/11/poor-families-li…
# Hot topic International, Coronavirus COVID-19, Families, Welfare.Hundreds of homeless people pushed back on to streets of London during first lockdown 'due to lack of support'
May Bulman (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... One in five rough sleepers plkaced in Greater London Authority hotels under Everyone In left accommodation due to 'unmet support needs', finds London Assembly Housing Committee. (Independent)
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/homeless-rough-s…
# Hot topic International, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness.Regional house prices soaring due to coronavirus exodus from cities but some locals now living in cars
Rachel Clayton ABC (No paywall)House prices in regional and coastal Australia have skyrocketed in the past year as families and retirees have swapped European holidays for new homes, but it is creating a crisis in one Queensland region. ... Noosa Hinterland local Donovan Biss has been watching the market for months and says the new buyers, the majority coming from Melbourne and Sydney, have pushed renters out of town. "Renters are being kicked out," he said. "A lot of people are close to homelessness."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-13/house-prices-2020-rise-in…
# Australia, Affordable housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.Danish banks are offering 20-year, fixed-rate mortgages with zero interest. Here’s why
Matt Johnson The New Daily (No paywall)Borrowing money from the bank without paying interest sounds like a pipe dream. But it’s not in Denmark, where home owners can fix their mortgage at 0 per cent interest for the next two decades. ... Will Australian banks ever offer zero-interest home loans?
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/your-budget/2021/01/12/austra…
# Australia, Housing market.The Sydney suburbs where you should be renegotiating rent
Aidan Devine (Paywall)Tenants are being urged to renegotiate their rent as international border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic continue to put downward pressure on the rental market. Advertised apartment rents in Sydney have dropped by nearly 10 per cent over the past year, while house rents dropped by an average of 6.4 per cent, data from SQM Research revealed. (realestate.com.au)
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/the-sydney-suburbs-where-you-…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.A Tiny Public Housing Authority Offered Residents the Vaccine. Could Others Follow Suit?
Jared Brey (No paywall)From the United States ... Central Falls became the first city in Rhode Island to offer the [Covid-19] vaccine publicly, and the Central Falls Housing Authority was the first organization to administer it. On the last Wednesday of the year, the housing authority offered the vaccine exclusively to its own residents and staff, and to people with housing choice vouchers. Read on ... (Next City)
https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/a-tiny-public-housing-authority…
# Hot topic International, Public and community housing, Coronavirus COVID-19.LGBTQ+ Canadian baby boomers in need of safer housing in senior years
Jacqueline Gahagan and Ren Thomas The Conversation (No paywall)From Canada ... Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us the importance of having safe and adequate housing. ... Yet when it comes to vulnerable older Canadians, there are a number of alarming policy gaps in existing efforts to address their unique housing needs and concerns. Canada’s first National Housing Strategy, released in 2017, promises to address disparities in housing, particularly in relation to housing affordability and homelessness. ... However, the strategy lacks a direct focus where we have yet to see improvements for many vulnerable Canadians, specifically older LGBTQ+ populations.
https://theconversation.com/lgbtq-canadian-baby-boomers-in-need-…
# International, Discrimination, Housing market, Human rights, LGBTIQ+, Older people.Sydney unit rents fall to lowest since 2013: Domain Rent Report
Kate Burke Domain (Paywall)Sydney unit rents have recorded their steepest drop in more than 15 years, new data shows, giving tenants in some pockets the chance to negotiate hundreds of dollars off asking prices. ... [Nevertheless] with further cuts made to JobSeeker and JobKeeper in January, and further support payment cuts to come in March, [Better Renting executive director] Mr Dignam said there would be many renters who would struggle to make ends meet.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/sydney-unit-rents-fall-to-lowest-…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent, Affordable housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Federal Government.