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
Edinburgh Council loses court appeal after evicting homeless refugee family
Danyel VanReenen (No paywall)An elderly homeless and diabetic man has won a court battle against Edinburgh City Council after his family was evicted from temporary housing and denied the right to reapply for accommodation at the start of the pandemic. The Scottish Court of Session has ruled that the Council failed to perform its care-of-duty for 64-year-old Abdelwahab-Kaba Dafaala, and the ruling was upheld again this week following an appeal. “The court’s decision in this case is a welcome one. Not only is it a positive outcome for Mr Dafaalla, it also provides important clarity for those seeking to defend their rights in the future,” said Fiona McPhail, Principal Solicitor at Shelter Scotland. “This is good news for Mr Dafaalla and good news for the rights of homeless people in Scotland.”
https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/edinburgh-co…
# International, Homelessness, Local Government.Constance Hall scammed out of thousands of dollars for Perth rental property
(No paywall)Constance Hall has had “the worst school holidays ever.” The famous mummy blogger took to social media this week to detail how she was scammed when applying for a rental property in Perth. Hall said she was bilked out of thousands of dollars last week after the leasing agent she applied through was hacked. ... Both the real estate agent and her bank told her that the majority of funds were not able to be recovered. (Perth Now)
https://www.perthnow.com.au/lifestyle/constance-hall-scammed-out…
# Australia, Rent, Landlords and agents.For migrant farm workers, housing is not just a determinant of health, but a determinant of death
C. Susana Caxaj and Anelyse Weiler The Conversation (No paywall)Imagine if, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic — before vaccines were available — you had to share a cramped bunkhouse with a dozen co-workers. Imagine if your employer forbid you from having personal visitors, or if you had to ask your boss for permission to visit the doctor. Agricultural workers hired through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program regularly confront these dynamics while they leave their families behind in countries like Mexico and Jamaica for months or even years at a time to work in Canada.
https://theconversation.com/for-migrant-farm-workers-housing-is-…
# International, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market, Work, employment.Ways Australia can address its worsening rental affordability crisis
Emily Hutchinson (No paywall)The rental affordability crisis continues to worsen, with high demand combining with low supply to push prices up and leave many Australians struggling to find a home. ... Leo Patterson Ross is the chief executive of Tenants Union of NSW and said the issue with the current rental market is that housing is not considered an essential need. The dialogue around this needs to urgently change ... Mr Patterson Ross added that government needs to step in to ensure tenants are not unfairly evicted from their homes, that homes are up to standard, and that people with disabilities or those who are elderly can access affordable homes that meet their needs. (realestate.com.au)
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/ways-australia-can-address-it…
# TUNSW in the media, Video Australia, Rent, Affordable housing, Disability, Home ownership, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market, Human rights, Older people.How to winter-proof a rental property to save money during an energy crisis
Hsin-Yi Lo and Tania Lee SBS (No paywall)With energy prices for households going up by up to 8.2 per cent, homeowners are privileged over renters in that they can invest in solar panels to cut long-term energy costs. SBS Chinese spoke to savvy renters who shared how they stayed warm during the winter months without driving up their bills.
https://www.sbs.com.au/chinese/english/how-to-winter-proof-a-ren…
# Australia, Rent, Utilities water energy internet, Fixtures - lights, aircon etc, Minimum habitability standards.Flood victims in NSW Northern Rivers living in limbo waiting for government advice, action ABC North Coast / By Leah White
Leah White ABC (No paywall)For the past three months, Denise Lowe and her 15-year-old son, Josh Byrne, have been living in limbo, sharing a 3x3-metre room in a youth camp on the NSW Far North Coast. The mother and son have been moved between evacuation centres and emergency accommodation since the February flood swallowed their Coraki rental property. It left them with few belongings and nowhere to live. Ms Lowe said the managers of the Evans Head youth camp had worked tirelessly for months to provide shelter for many of the region's flood victims, but the facilities were never built for extended stays. "It's emergency accommodation and it's very hard to rebuild your life from here," she said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-14/northern-rivers-flood-vic…
# NSW, Rent, Families, Homelessness, Regional NSW, State Government.Being poor in the UK is an expensive business
Francisco Garcia The Guardian (No paywall)The cost of living crisis is nothing new for millions of people who have lived in fear of hunger and homelessness for 12 years.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/12/being-poor…
# International, Homelessness.Not just ramps and doorways – disability housing is about choosing where, how and who you live with
Robert Cameron, Daniel Jan Martin and Emily Van Eyk The Conversation (No paywall)Home ownership among young people is falling sharply, while renters face worrying insecurity. Nowhere is this more pronounced than for the 4.4 million Australians living with a disability and, in particular, the 660,000 plus Australians with an intellectual disability. For the majority of these people, owning a home is impossible without financial support from their families. With the loss of this support, they can find themselves in precarious or even abusive situations. Stuck in a cycle of temporary accommodation or forced into group homes (or even nursing homes) with little control over where and who they live with. f the entire premise of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is to give people more choice and autonomy over their lives, then that must extend to people’s fundamental needs for appropriate housing. To uphold the access and inclusion rights of people with a disability, their housing needs must be a priority. One alternative gaining traction in Australia is the co-design, co-living model which could offer a range of benefits for people living with a disability.
https://theconversation.com/not-just-ramps-and-doorways-disabili…
# Australia, Share houses, Disability, Housing market.