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
Britons warn of dangers of shared home ownership scheme as Australian government mulls Help to Buy plan
Bridget Rollason ABC (No paywall)Paul Afshar says his biggest regret is buying his one-bedroom apartment through a shared home ownership scheme. "Initially I was over the moon. Unlike a lot of my friends, I didn't get any financial help from my parents, so being able to get a foot on the property ladder, I was elated," he tells the ABC. "Then it became the start of a 17-year nightmare." To break into the property market, Mr Afshar purchased a 25 per cent share of his apartment in East London for 195,000 British pounds ($386,000) in 2007 and split the rest with his local housing association.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-17/australian-shared-home-ow…
# Must read, Hot topic International, Rent.Services overwhelmed as 3 million at risk of becoming unhoused, says Homelessness Australia report
Isobel Roe ABC (No paywall)The rising cost of living and rates of rental stress have left about three million Australians at risk of homelessness, a more than 60 per cent increase since 2016, a new report by Homelessness Australia has found. Homelessness Australia has commissioned modelling of the number of Australians struggling with complicating factors such as low income, rental stress or low social resources, and says people with two or more of those factors are 'at risk' of becoming homeless. The group's CEO Kate Colvin will launch the report at Parliament House in Canberra today, where she will criticise governments for underfunding service providers experiencing unprecedented pressure.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-18/three-million-australians…
# Hot topic International, .With the right incentives, ‘Mum and Dad’ landlords could help deliver affordable housing
AHURI (No paywall)With 90 per cent of all property investors in Australia being small-scale ‘Mum and Dad’ investors, governments are keen for them to participate in providing affordable housing. New AHURI research has found that landlords who are participating in schemes that provide affordable housing are positive about their experiences. It also found that more landlords may be interested if they were aware of these opportunities. The research was undertaken by researchers from University of South Australia and RMIT University, and examines how governments can best encourage small-scale landlords to provide rental housing that is affordable.
https://www.ahuri.edu.au/analysis/news/right-incentives-mum-and-…
# Australia, .King Charles owns dozens of homes for rent that don't meet vital minimum energy standards
Nick Sommerlad The Mirror (UK) (No paywall)The King owns dozens of rental properties on his Sandringham Estate that fail minimum energy efficiency standards for landlords. We previously revealed that the Duchy of Cornwall is leaving vulnerable tenants at risk of fuel poverty, and some are living in cold, damp and mouldy homes. Now, after examining Energy Performance Certificates for scores on the West Norfolk estate, we have found more than 30 properties fail to meet minimum requirements. One tenant said: “It is very cold and the main problem is the single glazing. It lets out all the heat.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/royals/king-charles-owns-dozens-ho…
# Must read International, Rent.Social housing furnished tenancy schemes save over double the investment, report finds
Grainne Cuffe Inside Housing (No paywall)The report on a cost benefit analysis of local welfare assistance and furnished tenancies, commissioned by charity End Furniture Poverty, found that schemes which provide essential items and support to people can make significant savings across the NHS, criminal justice and the Department for Work and Pensions. For every pound spent on local authority crisis support schemes, over £14 is saved in the wider public purse, the analysis showed. The schemes can provide furniture, white goods, heating appliances, clothing for expectant mothers or babies, as well as other support including food and fuel vouchers, debt relief and help in accessing employment or training.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/social-housing-furnished-te…
# Hot topic International, Public and community housing.Election 24: What six of the parties say they'll do for renters
RTE (Ireland) (No paywall)With housing set to be a key election issue, Katie Hannon asks her panel of Ivana Bacik, Richard Boyd Barrett, Eoin Ó Broin, Paschal Donohoe, Rory Hearne, and Darragh O'Brien what they're parties plan to offer renters if they're elected.
# Video International, Rent.Tens of thousands of Spaniards protest housing crunch and high rents
Joseph Wilson and Hernán Muñoz Financial Review (Paywall)Barcelona | Tens of thousands of Spaniards marched in downtown Barcelona on Saturday to protest the skyrocketing cost of renting an apartment in the popular tourist destination. Protesters cut off traffic on main avenues in the city centre, holding up homemade signs in Spanish reading, “Fewer apartments for investing and more homes for living” and “The people without homes uphold their rights”.
https://www.afr.com/property/residential/tens-of-thousands-of-sp…
# Hot topic International, Rent.Are We Really Trying to Solve the Housing Crisis?
Christopher Cheung The Tyee (No paywall)Ten years ago, I wrote my first story on the housing crisis. (If you’re curious, it was about the development bonanza along Vancouver’s Cambie Corridor, still ongoing.) Ten years later, I’m still covering the beat. How can any Vancouver reporter escape it? You can see it in downtown alcoves, with people in sleeping bags on sheets of cardboard. You can see it in every neighbourhood, with Bobcats tearing down old apartments. You can see it in online listings, with rents and home prices soaring with every refresh. You can see it in the air, as the cranes add yet another tower to the skyline, the most luxurious of presales fetching as much as $3,100 a square foot.
https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2024/11/22/Are-We-Trying-to-Solve-Ho…
# Hot topic International, Rent.