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.
Our main email newsletter, Tenant News is sent once every two months. You can subscribe or update your subscription preferences for any of our email newsletters here.
See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
We love sharing the news and hope you find it informative! We're very happy to deliver it for free, but if you find it valuable, can you help cover the extra costs incurred by making a donation?
Archive
‘Secure, affordable homes are the stuff of fiction’: how young writers are responding to the UK housing crisis
Keiran Goddard The Guardian (No paywall)From Hunger Games-style viewings to greedy landlords and grim flatshares, young people aren’t just coping with a broken property market, they are writing about it. Anyone who has lived in a house share will know the feeling of having to creep around your own home as though you aren’t really supposed to be there – the endless micro negotiations, real and imagined, that characterise living situations that are governed by necessity rather than choice.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/feb/03/secure-affordable-…
# Must read, Hot topic International, .‘Don’t even bother applying’: Most expensive place to live in NZ
Annemarie Quill Stuff (No paywall)Bay of Plenty couple Kaysi and Sam Fredericks have viewed more than 100 houses in the last few months in their hunt for a home, as prices soar in what is now the most expensive region in Aotearoa.
“One agent told me don’t even bother applying. A viewing we turned up at had three streets lined with parked cars of other hopefuls. It’s impossible. Sam broke down in tears at one house. People don’t realise how hard it is here,” Kaysi Fredericks told Stuff.
Rental prices across Aotearoa are at record highs, but renters in the Bay of Plenty are feeling the most pain as it has now overtaken Auckland as the priciest region.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350166487/dont-even-bother-apply…
# Hot topic International, Rent.Canada limits international student numbers after backlash over rising rents
Aiden Reiter and Jaren Kerr Financial Times (No paywall)The Canadian government is curbing the growth in the number of foreign students in the country, as they are increasingly blamed for a housing affordability crisis. Canada, which has a reputation for being welcoming to newcomers, has placed a two-year cap on the number of international students it will grant visas to. In 2024 and 2025, all provinces are required to collectively reduce the international student population by 35 per cent, amounting to 210,000 fewer students. The cap excludes students pursuing masters and doctoral degrees.
https://www.ft.com/content/085cda38-9060-4da1-8532-1a3af9cd7e58
# Hot topic International, .Two-thirds of Canadian and American renters are in unaffordable housing situations
Grant Alexander Wilson and Tyler Case The Conversation (No paywall)Even as housing markets cool in some areas, housing affordability in Canada is the worst in over four decades due, in part, to sustained post-pandemic inflation and comparatively higher interest rates. According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation — the federal Crown corporation responsible for administering Canada’s National Housing Act — affordability is defined as mortgage or rent payments that do not exceed more than 30 per cent of a household’s gross monthly income.
If a family makes $50,000 per year before taxes, for instance, anything more than $15,000 per year (or $1,250 per month) spent on rent would put them in an unaffordable situation.
https://theconversation.com/two-thirds-of-canadian-and-american-…
# Hot topic International, Rent.England’s largest council considers closing housing waiting list
James Riding Inside Housing (Soft Paywall)Leaders of Birmingham City Council are discussing the dramatic move as they struggle to process a backlog of tens of thousands of applications for social homes. Confirming the plan was on the table, the local authority told Inside Housing it currently has more than 23,000 households on its housing register, as well as 11,000 applications to the housing register that are yet to be assessed. The register receives more than 400 new applications a week, while Birmingham Council is only able to allocate 2,000 to 3,000 social homes to applicants in a typical year.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/englands-largest-council-co…
# Hot topic International, Public and community housing.A Labour MP has accused a London landlord of “sitting on their hands” after he repeatedly raised concerns about the building’s safety defects months before a fire engulfed the block in flames yesterday.
Stephen Delahunty Inside Housing (Soft Paywall)Correspondence between Octavia Housing and Barry Gardiner, seen by Inside Housing, shows the MP for Brent North highlighting fire safety concerns as far back as April 2023.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/mp-accuses-london-landlord-…
# Hot topic International, Public and community housing, Security and safety.Sydney rental stock at record low
Taylor Troeth news.com.au (No paywall)Sydney’s rent crisis has moved up another gear after further erosion in the city’s supply of available rental housing. New data from PropTrack released Tuesday revealed the total number of properties listed for rent plummeted by about 22 per cent over the last year to hit a new low. This occurred while high population growth continued to drive stronger demand, creating tough conditions for renters. The limited supply meant already cash strapped Sydney tenants now have to fork out an average of 16.7 per cent more for rent compared to a year ago. Median rent for all city dwellings was $700 a week.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/renting/sydney-renta…
# Research alert NSW, Rent.I love Sydney and it’s a great city to live in – but not if you’re a renter
Emily Wind The Guardian (No paywall)Sydney might be considered one of the world’s most livable cities but a shortage of rental accommodation is making it gruelling for renters… When I first arrived in Sydney in July 2022, bright-eyed and optimistic, I had no idea I would move three more times in a year. I’ve seen it all – the natural breakdown of a sharehouse, a $400 a week rent raise, and most recently an eviction notice – because the landlord wanted to sell and remodel their other home.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/29/sydney-ren…
# Hot topic NSW, .