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
Evictions in New York are soaring. It’s my job to stop the bleeding
Mallika Kaushal The Guardian (No paywall)Last fall I began representing a woman who came to court to try to get her apartment back after she had been evicted just a few days prior. She was elderly, disabled and living alone on a fixed income after the death of her husband. Our only option to restore her tenancy was to find a way to pay her ever-growing and insurmountable rental debt of over $40,000.
When we accepted this case, her prospects were bleak and no one believed that my office could get a positive result. The situation was difficult because once someone has been evicted, no defenses can be raised, and the money owed must be paid in full to retain the apartment – before the landlord rents it to someone else.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/26/new-york-city-ev…
# Must read, Hot topic International, Eviction, International, Personal stories.Disabled woman from Pontefract 'could end up homeless' after no-fault eviction
Helen Steel itv News (No paywall)A disabled woman is facing the prospect of homelessness after her and her husband were served a so-called no-fault eviction.
Chris and Sandra Taylor, from Pontefract, claim their landlord refused to let them install stairlifts and ramps and then served them with a Section 21 notice asking them to leave.
Sandra's disability means she has been unable to leave the house for a year and she has been unable to go upstairs for six months.
https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2023-04-24/disabled-woman-coul…
# Hot topic, Video International, Eviction, Disability, Homelessness.Political party calls for ban on property sales to foreigners in Spain
Staff The Local (Spain) (No paywall)For Compromís senator Carles Mulet, the main focus is to fight against so-called fondos buitre (vulture funds), hedge funds or private-equity funds that have bought up huge amounts of real estate in Spain and distorted the market. Black Stone is the most notorious, but there are hundreds more operating in the country.
It’s not the first time banning the sale of properties to foreigners has been suggested in Spanish political spheres as a means of addressing the country’s current housing crisis.
https://www.thelocal.es/20230503/political-party-calls-for-ban-o…
# Hot topic International, Campaigns and law reform, Housing market, International.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.