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
Huge growth and ethical concerns make Airbnb users think again
Suzanne Bearne The Guardian (No paywall)With its burgeoning, vibrant arts scene, Margate was the perfect base for Dan Thompson, a writer and social activist. But when his landlord came to sell his flat, he was left with nowhere to move to, due to a shortage of properties in the area.
One reason, he believes, is that many of the homes are let as short-term rentals on Airbnb. Almost 640 entire homes are let out in the coastal town, according to rental analytics company AirDNA.
Now, when he travels, Thompson refuses to stay in Airbnb rentals that are not occupied by the owner of the property. “I realised I was being hypocritical – by staying in one, I was part of the problem.”
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/may/01/huge-growth-and-et…
# Hot topic International, Housing affordability, Housing market, Short-term holiday letting.Rents in the UK are rising at the highest rate for decades. Will they keep going up?
Liam Geraghty The Big Issue (UK) (No paywall)Rents in the UK are now at the highest rate on record.
Households are facing rising energy bills and food costs as part of the cost of living crisis but there is no respite when it comes to housing costs.
Tenants are feeling the pinch regardless whether they move or stay put, according to new data showing rent increases on property sites Zoopla and Rightmove, while the Office for National Statistics has also recorded steep increases to rents mid-tenancy.
https://www.bigissue.com/news/housing/rents-in-the-uk-are-rising…
# Hot topic International, Housing affordability, Housing market, International.Why Housing is a Basic Need
Cynthia Griffith Invisible People (No paywall)There is a fine line between homelessness and poverty, a line that is often blurred. In the United States of America, poverty gets measured by using a threshold.
According to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, “The Census Bureau determines poverty status by using an official poverty measure (OPM) that compares pre-tax cash income against a threshold set at three times the cost of a minimum food diet in 1963 and adjusted for family size.”
https://invisiblepeople.tv/why-housing-is-a-basic-need/amp/?s=31
# Hot topic International, Homelessness, Housing affordability, International.National Cabinet tasks states with boosting renters' rights
Alison Xiao ABC (No paywall)The Prime Minister says housing and planning ministers have been asked to develop proposals to strengthen renters' rights and increase the housing supply.
Housing experts are sceptical much needed help will eventuate.
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/pm/national-cabinet-tasks-…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media, Audio Australia, Federal Government, Housing affordability, Housing market.Greens announce plans to introduce bill to federal parliament to freeze rents and interest rates before budget announcement
Stephanie Dalzell ABC (No paywall)The federal Greens will introduce a bill to federal parliament next month that would freeze rent prices across the country for two years and give the government power to stop the Reserve Bank from raising interest rates.
The Greens' proposal aims to give renters and home owners fighting spiralling costs some reprieve, and would see the federal government work with the states and territories to freeze rent increases nationwide.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-29/greens-rent-freeze-federa…
# Must read, Hot topic, New policy announcement Australia, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, Housing affordability.‘An Australian-made problem’: Government should ‘step in’ with housing crisis
Staff Sky News (No paywall)Tenants’ Union of NSW Policy Lead Leo Patterson Ross says the government should “step in” with the housing crisis by buying building companies which are going under to help meet demand and preserve jobs.
“We saw rents rising, particularly in regional areas … this is really an Australian-made problem, it preexists COVID-19 and it certainly is not driven by migration, the number of people looking for homes obviously impacts the type of experience people are going to have,” Mr Patterson Ross told Sky News Australia.
https://www.skynews.com.au/business/real-estate/an-australianmad…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media, Video Australia, Affordable housing, Housing affordability, Planning and development.'They don't stand a chance': Australia's worst-affected as rental affordability hits new low
Rashida Yosufzai SBS (No paywall)At the lowest point of her search for a roof over her head, Victorian resident Mary* says looking for a rental drove her to unimaginable depths.
“I thought you know, this is all too hard. It would just be easier to say goodbye,” the 50-year-old told SBS News.
A decade ago, Mary was forced to make a difficult decision: stay with an abusive partner, or flee the home she’d spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on in order to save her life.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/anglicare-report-shows-renta…
# Must read, Hot topic Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market, Welfare.Rent in Australian capital cities climbs record 11.7% in 12 months
Mostafa Rachwani The Guardian (No paywall)
Rent in Australian capital cities climbs record 11.7% in 12 months
Increase equivalent to $3,200 a year for tenants, with relief ‘unlikely’ in the short term as demand continues to outstrip supply
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Mostafa Rachwani
@Rachwani91
Wed 3 May 2023 01.00 AEST
Renters in Australian capital cities have suffered the highest increase for a 12-month period since records began in 2007 as the nation’s housing crisis shows no sign of slowing down.
The combined capitals’ rental rate increased 11.7% over the past year, far above the average increase of 3.5%.
The record increase is equivalent to about $63 a week, or $3,200 a year in rent.
In the past three months alone rent in capital cities increased by 2.8%, and with vacancy rates remaining well below the average rate of 3% to 5%, rental rates are expected to continue increasing.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/03/rent-in-a…
# TUNSW in the media Australia, Rent, Housing affordability, Housing market.