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
Changes to notice periods in England from 1 October
(No paywall)The UK Government has confirmed to Propertymark that notice periods will return to their pre-COVID lengths. ... Moving forward, the UK Government intend to retain the power to implement any similar measures again in the future should the public health situation worsen. To this end, legislation has been tabled that retains the ability for the UK Government to reapply longer notice periods until 25 March 2022 as a backstop. (Propertymark)
https://www.propertymark.co.uk/resource/changes-to-notice-period…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Landlords and agents.Government brands squalid housing conditions ‘unacceptable’ after ITV documentary
Tim Clark Inside Housing (Paywall)The documentary 'Surviving Squalor: Britain’s Housing Shame' ... revealed the disturbing conditions some social housing tenants have been exposed to, and showed homes owned and managed by a number of councils, as well as housing associations including L&Q and Clarion. The conditions included leaks which led to near-fatal ceiling collapses, rodent infestations, persistent and chronic mould and fungus – in some cases within the homes of tenants who have breathing difficulties. [A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government]spokesperson said: “It is completely unacceptable for people to be living in the unsafe homes we have seen in this investigation and we are committed to doing all we can to support tenants. You can view the documentary at: [https://www.itv.com/hub/surviving-squalor-britains-housing-shame/10a1795a0001]
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/government-brands-squa…
# Video International, Public and community housing, Repairs, Mould.More Australians are retiring with a big mortgage. Should they use superannuation to pay it off?
Catherine Taylor ABC (No paywall)While rising house prices are pushing home ownership out of reach for younger generations, paying down a mortgage is a growing problem for those at the other end of the property ladder: retirees are increasingly leaving the workforce with mortgage debt which was far from the norm among middle income Aussies even a decade ago. ... [Rachel Ong ViforJ, Professor of Economics at Curtin University] says. "The pension, super and voluntary savings are the three pillars of the retirement income system but home ownership has become a fourth pillar. That's because of how important it is in supporting people's well-being in retirement." Yet as more and more Australians retire with healthy superannuation balances, the allure of using that money to pay down a mortgage is strong. But is it a good idea? ... Ong ViforJ says. "The appropriate policy response is to deal with high house prices but in order to do that you have to bring in measures that will bring prices down."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-14/retirement-mortgage-use-s…
# Australia, Federal Government, Housing affordability, Housing market, Older people.Aboriginal elders warned of Wilcannia COVID-19 dangers a year ago, inquiry told
Sarah Gerathy ABC (No paywall)Aboriginal elders in Wilcannia say they warned authorities a year ago that overcrowding in the town would be disastrous if COVID-19 ever hit the community, an inquiry is told. More than one-in-six residents in the remote, predominantly Aboriginal far west NSW town have now been infected after the virus spread rapidly in overcrowded homes that house large families.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-13/parliamentary-inquiry-cov…
# NSW, Coronavirus COVID-19, Families, Health, Race and ethnicity.Restoring confidence in apartment buildings is vital for city living
Editorial The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)More than two years after the Opal and Mascot towers debacles forced NSW to confront a problem long ignored, the fight to restore public confidence in the integrity of apartment buildings is far from over. Ensuring that a focus remains on cleaning up the construction industry and improved planning is critical to safeguarding the growing number of people who reside in apartments. It will also help tackle housing affordability and enhance city living. ... In a similar vein, the state needs to urgently step up its investment in social housing.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/restoring-confidence-in-apar…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Strata, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing affordability, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards, Planning and development.A Collective Failure
Tom Murtha (No paywall)I was not shocked. I had seen it before and even experienced it when I was young. I was horrified and ashamed to see that people were still living in such conditions in 21st Century Britain and that social housing, not the private sector, was to blame. ... Many housing associations were established as a response to Rachmanism. Their aim was to acquire these unfit dwellings and modernise them to provide decent, safe, and secure homes for those in the greatest need. The private sector had failed to do this, so the public and quasi-public sector was established to do it instead. For most of my life I have believed that this should be the main aim of all social landlords. However, as Daniel Hewitt’s excellent journalism has shown, some are now failing to do this. (tommurtha)
https://tommurtha.wordpress.com/2021/09/13/a-collective-failure/
# International, Public and community housing, Repairs, Health, History, Mould.What the Church of England did next
Martin Hilditch Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Earlier this year, the Church of England waded firmly into the debate about England’s housing crisis. Arguing that addressing the problem should be a “national imperative”, it called on government to take urgent action. But the report, Coming Home: Tackling the Housing Crisis Together, didn’t stop there. It also had strong words about what the Church itself should be doing. This included making widespread use of its own land to tackle the crisis. The first ever bishop for housing, Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, was appointed to lead some of the work. So what happened – and is likely to happen – next? ... [And] the Church of England’s report is not the only game in town. Alison Olugunna, director of strategic property development at the Methodist Church, says it is also looking at the use the Church makes of its land.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/what-the-church-of-engla…
# International, Public and community housing, Affordable housing, Housing market.45% of private renters face illegal acts from landlord or agent – Shelter
Jemma Crew (No paywall)More than four in 10 private renters in England have experienced illegal behaviour from their landlord or letting agent, a survey suggests. Some 45% of private renters have experienced illegal acts such as entering a home without notice or permission, assault and harassment, according to polling for the charity Shelter. ... Ahead of the Conservative Party conference, Shelter is calling for the Government to better protect renters. It wants the forthcoming Renters’ Reform Bill to include a national landlord register to help regulate the private sector and help renters enforce their rights. (Belfast Telegraph)
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/45-of-private-renters…
# International, Privacy and access, Rent, Landlords and agents.