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
Renters Rights
Australian Greens Mirage News (No paywall)The Greens (WA) have announced a list of key demands to strengthen renter's rights and shift the power balance away from property developers, landlords and real estate agents. Housing will be a top priority for the Greens (WA) in the next term, with recent data showing Western Australia is now the epicentre of the national housing crisis1 after four years of the Cook Labor government.
https://www.miragenews.com/renters-rights-1401408/#google_vignet…
# Must read, Hot topic Australia, .'There is no surplus after the cost of our rent'
Susana Mendonça and Lauren Stanley BBC (No paywall)Andy Coley's story is an increasingly familiar one for London families in the private rental sector. The 48-year-old spends £2,200 a month renting a three-bed house in Hither Green, south-east London, with his wife and children. "The cost of our rent means there's no leftover surplus of anything," Mr Coley said. "It's all being spent on the week to week and month to month. Any spare money gets sucked into the now and not the future." His experience echoes the findings of a survey by pollsters Ipsos, commissioned by London Councils, which found that 75% of Londoners put the cost of living as their top concern last year.
# Must read International, Rent.Nearly 1m children in UK at risk of poverty due to housing costs – report
Donna Ferguson The Guardian (No paywall)Nearly 1 million children in the UK are at risk of falling into poverty or will face financial hardship as a result of rising rents, shortfalls in government housing support and underinvestment in new social housing, according to a new report. The study by the Institute for Public Policy Research thinktank suggests the government’s failure to commit to raising the local housing allowance (LHA) will push 90,000 more families into financial hardship or poverty over the next year. It estimates 925,000 children are expected to be affected by shortfalls in government housing support by March 2026.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/feb/03/children-poverty…
# Must read International, Rent.Councillors announce social housing rent increase
Roland Sebestyen BBC (No paywall)Rent for council tenants in Sheffield is set to go up after councillors approved an increase. From April, rent for all council dwellings will rise by 2.7%, while the service charge for sheltered housing, burglar alarm charges and furnished accommodation charges will go up by 1.7%. Sheffield City Council's strategy and resources policy committee approved the changes on Wednesday. The committee heard the additional revenue would generate more than £5m in the year to April 2026, with some of the extra income being used to fund repairs, fire and gas safety works and tackling damp and mould issues.
# Hot topic International, Public and community housing.Rising rents force small businesses out of historic downtown Grapevine
CBS News (No paywall)Rising rents are forcing several small businesses in historic downtown Grapevine to close, raising concerns about the future of Main Street's unique charm.
https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/video/rising-rents-force-small-bus…
# Video International, Rent.Rent caps needed as part of reforms, says Corbyn
James W Kelly & Helen Drew BBC (No paywall)Rent controls should be introduced among other planned reforms to help tackle spiralling costs for London's tenants, Jeremy Corbyn has said. The government has said it is "transforming rights" with its Renters' Rights Bill, which includes bans on no-fault evictions and bidding wars, limiting rent rises to once a year and allowing tenants to challenge excessive increases. But the former Labour leader, who now represents Islington North as an independent, told BBC London the reforms would still allow landlords to make "excessive profits" and leave tenants "exploited". The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) said reforms must be fair for both renters and landlords.
# Hot topic International, .What the new residential tenancies law means for renters
Stephanie Ockhuysen 1News (No paywall)After the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill passed its third reading in Parliament in December, changes to tenancy laws are taking place from this month. The Government says the bill aims to encourage more rental properties onto the market. In a statement at the time of the bill passing, Housing Minister Chris Bishop said from 2017 to 2023 rent had risen by $170 per week, the social housing waitlist had increased by about 20,000 families, and thousands of families were living in emergency housing motels. He said the changes are part of the Government’s plan to fix New Zealand’s housing crisis. "The suite of sensible pro-tenant and pro-landlord changes in the Bill passed into law by Parliament will give landlords confidence to re-enter the market and tenants more ability to secure a rental home – including for their beloved household pet.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2025/01/24/what-the-new-residential-tena…
# Hot topic International, Eviction, Public and community housing.Calls for Govt intervention as pensioners stretched to cover rent
Henry McMullan 1News (No paywall)Two charities are calling for the Government to step in and help pensioners struggling to pay the rent as research shows it is getting harder for people to afford housing. A recent Massey University study shows a single pensioner on a "no frills" budget had a weekly spend of $564.25 in the provinces and $687.84 in metro areas. The pension for those living alone was currently $519.47, meaning receivers were often spending more than they were earning in a given week. The study also examined how much savings on average was required for retirement.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2025/02/04/calls-for-govt-intervention-a…
# Hot topic International, .