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
Tenants of a rent-controlled Oakland apartments sue landlord, alleging harassment
John Ramos CBS News (No paywall)An East Bay property investor is being sued by multiple tenants who allege they have been subjected to illegal harassment to get them to leave their rent-controlled apartments. They say text messages were meant to intimidate some residents to leave by questioning their immigration status. The lawsuit was filed in Oakland on Wednesday against Darrick Chavis. On his website, he is listed as a real estate agent, and he described his business on an episode of the television courtroom show, "Hot Bench," involving another legal dispute.
https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/bay-area-property-inve…
# International, Discrimination, Rent.No-fault evictions to be banned in England from May
Tara Welsh BBC (No paywall)No-fault evictions will be outlawed in England from 1 May, the government confirmed, as it set out the timeline for sweeping renters' reforms. The changes also see the end of fixed-term tenancy contracts, as renters move onto so-called "rolling" agreements, as well as an end to "bidding wars" and clearer rules on having pets. Landlords have said the reforms would increase the screening of prospective tenants and have spoken of nervousness around what happens when tenancies go wrong.
# Hot topic International, Eviction.Two-thirds of English councils have not prosecuted a single landlord in past three years
Matthew Pearce The Guardian (No paywall)Two-thirds of councils in England have not prosecuted a single landlord in the past three years, despite receiving 300,000 complaints from desperate tenants living in unfit homes. From 2022 to 2024, nearly half of local authorities responsible for housing did not fine a landlord, while more than a third did not issue any formal action against people letting out homes unlawfully in the private rental sector. Councils prosecuted just 640 landlords and issued 4,702 civil penalty notices (CPNs) – meaning fewer than 2% of tenant complaints led to formal enforcement of any kind.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/nov/16/two-thirds-of-engl…
# International, Rent.America’s new housing crisis turns the US into a nation of renters
Martha Williams Daily Mail (UK) (No paywall)The US housing market has entered a deep freeze, with record-low home sales and rising fears that America is becoming a nation of renters. Only 2.5 percent of US homes changed hands between January and August 2025, according to Redfin. That is just 25 per 1,000 and is the lowest in at least 30 years. During the 2021 pandemic boom, that figure was closer to 40 per 1,000. Existing-home sales in 2024 fell to the lowest since 1995, even as prices continued climbing — the national median home price hit $407,500, up nearly 5 percent year-on-year.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/real-estate/article-15281911/america…
# Hot topic International, Rent.Poland's 'fixer-upper' incentive offers people discounted rent | DW News
DW News (No paywall)Poland is offering discounted rent to people willing to renovate apartments in need of repairs. The measures are meant to ease pressure on the overpriced housing market.
# Video International, Rent, Repairs.Asbestos waste is killing a remote First Nations community – and the WA government has known for decades
Antoun Issa DeepCut News (No paywall)WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this article contains images and names of deceased persons. It’s the largest contamination zone in the southern hemisphere – eight times the size of Sydney Harbour. For two decades, the WA government has known that asbestos from now-defunct mines in the Pilbara was spreading, far and wide, killing members of an ancient First Nations community – the Banjima. “For Banjima, it is now a part of our oral history about how our families lived on Wittenoom,” Johnnell Parker says, referring to the now-erased mining town that sat 1,420kms north of Perth.
https://www.deepcutnews.com/p/asbestos-waste-is-killing-a-remote
# Must read Australia, Aboriginal renters, Disasters, Discrimination, Rent.The rapid rise of renters in their 60s: ‘I hate the idea of house-sharing – but I have no choice’
Kate McCusker The Guardian (No paywall)Now that she is retired, Deborah Herring’s days are hers to fill – usually with leisurely walks, museums and trips to the theatre. But she still manages to spare a thought for her ex-colleagues at the private boarding school where she taught religious studies for 14 years. “In their nice, expensive Oxfordshire village, I think they’d be frankly horrified about my situation,” she says with a laugh.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/nov/13/rise-older-rente…
# Hot topic Australia, .Renewed push for longer rentals
ABC (No paywall)There are renewed calls for Australian renters to have the option of longer leases as one way to increase certainty amid the housing crisis. Australian renters can negotiate lengthier tenancies but standard leases are six or 12 months, whereas some countries have decades-long tenure. And Queensland, WA, the NT and Tasmania are urged to catch up with the other states and ditch no-fault evictions.
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/am/renewed-push-for-longe…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media, Audio Australia, .