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
More than 75% of homes across the U.S. are unaffordable, study finds
Megan Cerullo CBS News (No paywall)Homeownership is increasingly out of reach for most U.S. families as the gap between people's earnings and home prices widens, according to a new analysis. More than 75% of homes across the country are unaffordable for the typical household, Bankrate said in a report. The personal finance firm defines a home as affordable if the annual housing costs do not exceed 30% of a household's income.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/affordable-housing-home-prices-bank…
# International, .Europe’s housing costs akin to ‘new pandemic’, warns Barcelona mayor
Ashifa Kassam The Guardian (No paywall)The soaring cost of housing is akin to a “new pandemic” sweeping across Europe, the mayor of Barcelona has said, as he and 16 other city leaders urged the EU to respond to the crisis by unleashing billions in funding for the hardest-hit areas. The EU is expected to present its first-ever housing plan on Tuesday, after consultations with experts, stakeholders and the public. For months, those on the frontlines of the crisis have warned the problem is too big to ignore.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/dec/15/europe-housing-c…
# International, .Airbnb fined £56m by Spain for advertising unlicensed properties
Faarea Masud BBC (No paywall)The Spanish government has fined property rentals giant Airbnb €64m (£56m) for advertising unlicensed apartments. It also said that some of the properties advertised in the popular tourist destination were banned from being rented. The fine means that Airbnb has to withdraw the adverts promoting unlicensed properties. Although the Consumer Affairs Ministry said the fine cannot be appealed, Airbnb said it intends to challenge it in court. Spain, one of the most visited countries in the world, has a buoyant tourism economy but that has fuelled concerns about unaffordable housing, as high demand from visitors raises the price of housing, pushing local people out of the market.
# International, .EU to regulate short-term rentals in plan to tackle affordable homes shortage
Jennifer Rankin The Guardian (No paywall)The European Commission has announced it will regulate short-term rentals and seek to curb speculation in the housing market, under the EU’s first-ever plan to tackle a shortage of affordable homes. Housing is largely a matter for local and national authorities, but the issue has climbed up the EU agenda, as soaring rents and housing costs have priced out young people, key workers and families from many European cities. Dan Jørgensen, the EU’s first commissioner for housing, said European democracy was at stake: “If we don’t solve this issue, we risk leaving a void that extremist political forces will take.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/16/eu-to-regulate-sho…
# Hot topic International, .The slow death of social housing – and its original purpose
The Guardian (No paywall)Your editorial (The Guardian view on England’s social housing system: failing the very people it was built for, 10 December) claims that “social homes were supposed to be for those who couldn’t afford private rents”. That’s not so. Most council estates, such as Becontree and Harold Hill, were built following the first and second world wars to house ordinary working families when decent housing was in dire straits. Privately rented properties were often of poor quality and devoid of basic amenities.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/dec/15/the-slow-death-o…
# International, Public and community housing.Landlord faces nightmare clean as £40k rent unpaid
BBC (No paywall)A landlord owed over £40,000 in unpaid rent from a tenant who left piles of rubbish all over her property says the experience has been a "nightmare". Single mother-of-two Nevena Khediri decided to rent out her family home in Camberley after her marriage broke down. The tenant who the BBC is not naming, eventually left the property in an "indescribable" state, Ms Khediri said. "The drawers of the kitchen can actually be pulled out so more stuff can be piled on top. There's bread, and some sort of rotting cheese. The fridge has cobwebs."
# Video International, Rent, Repairs.Ministers ‘break word’ on protecting nature after weakening biodiversity planning rule
Helena Horton and Kiran Stacey The Guardian (No paywall)The government has broken its promise to protect nature by weakening planning rules for housing developers, groups have said. While developers once had to create “biodiversity net gain” (BNG), meaning creating 10% more space for nature on site than there was before the building took place, the housing minister Matthew Pennycook announced exemptions to this rule on Tuesday. Under the new rules developments under 0.2 hectares are exempted from the policy. Analysis from the Wildlife Trusts has found that this means a combined area across England the size of Windsor forest will now not be restored for nature.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/dec/16/ministers-weake…
# International, .Sydney loses half its Airbnbs as listings surge drives up regional rents
Lydia Kellner realestate.com.au (No paywall)Sydney’s Airbnb market is in freefall, with a dramatic exodus of short-term rental properties reshaping the city’s accommodation landscape. But while this might signal a glimmer of hope for long-term renters in the harbour city, it’s simultaneously fuelling a housing catastrophe in regional Australia, where a relentless “holiday gold rush” by investors is pushing local communities to breaking point. According to a report by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Sydney has witnessed a staggering 48.3 per cent drop in Airbnb listings since 2019. Melbourne isn’t far behind, experiencing a significant 23.8 per cent decline.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/sydney-loses-half-its-airbnbs…
# NSW, .