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
If health and education are essential services in Spain, why not housing?
Irene Baque The Guardian (No paywall)A renters’ movement in Catalonia is saving families from eviction and trying to fill the gap left by the state. Since 2019, people threatened by eviction have been able to turn to the local chapter of El Sindicat de Llogateres, a renters’ union founded in Barcelona and active across Catalonia. Read the story and watch the video!
https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2021/nov/11/heal…
# Must read, Video International, Eviction, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, Homelessness.Unfair evictions hurt us all
Making Renting Fair Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)Check out our Facebook Page and sign the petition at: [www.rentingfair.org.au/how-we-win]
https://www.facebook.com/MakeRentingFairNSW/?hc_ref=ARRPm15RuUci…
# Hot topic NSW, Eviction, Rent, Campaigns and law reform.Housing should be for use value, not exchange value
John Menadue Pearls and Irritations (No paywall)Housing policies should reflect the sort of society we want to live in, not the quest for wealth accumulation. A home is not a commodity.
https://johnmenadue.com/john-menadue-housing-should-be-for-use-v…
# Must read Australia, Rent, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing market, Human rights, Planning and development.COP26, climate change and why housing matters
Duncan Smith Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... The eyes of the world are focused on Glasgow because the Conference of the Parties (COP26) is taking place. ... So why does housing and our homes matter when it comes to climate change? ... Here in the UK, part of the issue is that our buildings are some of the least energy efficient in Europe. About 36% were built were before 1944 and only 17% of our homes were made from 1990 onward. ... Because of our homes’ age and poor energy efficiency as well as how we heat them, about 79,000,000 tonnes of CO2 is emitted every year, year on year, in the UK—directly contributing to climate change.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/comment/comment/cop26-climate-ch…
# International, Utilities water energy internet, Climate change, Minimum habitability standards.Byron real estate's new heights: $750K price tag for cabin in council caravan park
Bruce MacKenzie ABC (No paywall)The Byron Shire Mayor says the $750,000 asking price for a cabin in a beachside council-run caravan park is another sign of a property market gone mad. The two-bedroom cabin at Suffolk Park is being offered for sale on a local real estate website, but the purchase price does not include the land. Councillor Michael Lyon said current caravan park legislation was designed to allow for affordable housing. But he said the council could not interfere with the sale process. "It's perverse, it was certainly never intended that way," Cr Lyon said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-12/byron-real-estate-pervers…
# NSW, Land lease communities, Housing market, Regional NSW.‘Of course there are examples’: Criminals laundering billions through Australian housing market
Sarah Danckert The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Homebuyers could be competing at property auctions against organised criminal gangs using Australia to launder their ill-gotten gains, according to evidence from law enforcement agencies at a federal inquiry.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/of-course-there-are-…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market, International.Embodied carbon: why truly net zero buildings could still be decades away
Ljubomir Jankovic The Conversation (No paywall)Carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions come from two sources: using things (known as operational emissions) and making things (embodied emissions). For a familiar example of the first kind, your home probably burns natural gas for heating and uses electricity that fossil fuels may have generated. Governments plan to eliminate these emissions by making buildings better insulated and airtight so that they need less energy and ensuring renewable sources, such as wind and solar, generate enough power. But what about the second kind – those embodied emissions that arise from making the thermal insulation, solar panels, bricks and concrete blocks in energy-efficient buildings?
https://theconversation.com/embodied-carbon-why-truly-net-zero-b…
# International, Utilities water energy internet, Climate change, Minimum habitability standards.Government calls for racism to be ‘rooted out’ of social housing following ITV expose
Tim Clark Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... The government has called for racism to be “rooted out” of the social housing sector after an ITV News expose highlighted major issues at councils in the UK. ... In the latest instalment, the programme found alleged instances of racist attitudes within councils when dealing with tenants’ repair issues, as well as testimony from residents in which they feel racism has shaped their treatment. The ITV investigation included a mother of four from Kenya who felt racism shaped her treatment from staff at her landlord Hull Council. She claims that she was told she “could always go back” after complaining about serious disrepair problems at her council house.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/home/home/government-calls-for-r…
# International, Discrimination, Public and community housing, Local Government, Race and ethnicity.