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.
Our main email newsletter, Tenant News is sent once every two months. You can subscribe or update your subscription preferences for any of our email newsletters here.
See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
We love sharing the news and hope you find it informative! We're very happy to deliver it for free, but if you find it valuable, can you help cover the extra costs incurred by making a donation?
Archive
'I worry about where I'll live in the new year'
Calum Grewar BBC (No paywall)A family facing eviction from their home say they intend to "make the most" of their last Christmas at the property. In July 2023, Claire Griffin and several neighbours were given Section 21 notices telling them to leave their rented homes, former military accommodation, in Catterick Garrison. In total, 13 families on the same street received eviction letters telling them the landlord was selling their homes, and Claire's is the last family left on the estate. She told the BBC she was "content" to have a home for Christmas, but "I still feel worried about where I'm going to be in the new year". Claire said the next stage in her eviction process was to "go to the courts and argue our case… that I have two sons and have nowhere else to go".
# Must read International, Eviction.Two-thirds of workers in England can’t afford private rent. If that’s not a crisis, what is?
Phineas Harper The Guardian (No paywall)This Christmas, bailiffs have been busy. Evictions in England and Wales rose by 11.2% compared with the same period last year, leaving thousands of families without a home in the coldest months. Now, new research has revealed that private landlords in England are charging such high rents that nearly two-thirds of workers are struggling to pay it. The study, commissioned by the housing charity Shelter, found that nearly 4.5 million people are falling behind on their rent or having trouble covering its rising cost. It is gloomy news for the government, which has put fixing Britain’s chronic housing-affordability crisis at the heart of its agenda, but under whose watch life for private renters continues to deteriorate.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/dec/31/england-wo…
# Must read International, .Boy, 12, says 'no-fault eviction' was misery
Gemma Sherlock BBC (No paywall)A 12-year-old boy whose family was forced out of their home due to a "no-fault eviction" said his "heart sank" when he was told they had to move. Jack, from Liverpool, was told they would no longer be living in their home and would have to give up their pet dog, after they received a Section 21 notice. They are used by landlords to evict tenants with two months' notice, without any reason needing to be given. Jack said he was left "devastated" after the family discovered they could not afford a private rental property, forcing them into temporary accommodation. They have since been rehomed. The family was sent to a hotel with one room that contained two beds, a television and a kettle.
# Hot topic International, Eviction.‘Upsetting and frightening’: what’s really behind the door of your holiday rental?
Shane Hickey The Guardian (No paywall)Becky Stewart* and her partner were getting ready for the first full day of their short break in Barcelona when a group made up of police, social workers, council staff, a judge and a locksmith came into their flat and told them to leave within two minutes. It transpired that the place they were staying in, along with other travellers who had taken rooms, was an unlicensed rental property. And the people advertising it on Booking.com had not paid their rent for months, prompting the morning raid by the authorities, who were not even aware that tourists were staying there.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/jan/06/upsetting-and-frig…
# Hot topic International, .Hundreds gather in London to protest against capital’s ‘soaring’ rents
PA Media The Guardian (No paywall)Demonstrators gathered in London on Saturday to protest against the capital’s “soaring” rents. Rising rents are destroying communities, said organisers the London Renters Union (LRU). The group said the event came amid a growing wave of renter-led demonstrations across Europe to highlight the impact of high rents and to demand controls. LRU said up to 500 people marched through central London on Saturday, on one of the biggest shopping days of the year, to protest “against soaring rents” and “exploitation” of tenants.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2024/dec/14/hundreds-gather-in…
# Must read International, Rent.UK rent soars by £3,240 since pandemic, says Zoopla
Kevin Peachey BBC (No paywall)Average annual rent on a newly let property is £3,240 more expensive than at the end of the coronavirus pandemic, according to figures from Zoopla. Rent began to soar in 2021 because of high demand from tenants after lockdowns were lifted and limited numbers of available properties. The annual cost of renting has gone up by 27% in those three years, compared with a 19% rise in average earnings over the same period. However, the rate at which rents are rising is now the slowest for three years, the property portal has said, as potential tenants face limits on what they can afford.
# Hot topic International, Rent.Gen Z Indonesians opt for renting over buying amid rising housing costs: Reports
Ni Made Tasyarani Asia News Network (No paywall)JAKARTA – As affordable housing becomes less accessible, Indonesians born between 1997 and 2012, known as Gen Z, are more inclined to rent rather than buy a property, several reports have found. Two out of three Gen Z respondents are pessimistic about the prospect of buying a house within the next three years, according to a survey by Inventure in September. Around 80 percent of them cited surging house prices as the primary reason. Contributing factors include insufficient income, unstable employment and a preference for experience-based consumption such as concerts, holidays and gadgets. Others especially pointed to difficulties in obtaining a mortgage and existing debt burdens that prevented them from taking out housing loans.
https://asianews.network/gen-z-indonesians-opt-for-renting-over-…
# Hot topic International, Rent.Canadian landlords accused of rent rigging using AI software
CBC (No paywall)A proposed class-action lawsuit alleges over a dozen Canadian landlords and property managers have been part of a price-fixing scheme involving YieldStar, a controversial AI software that’s also at the heart of a U.S. Department of Justice case.
# Video International, .