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
Have we forgotten the closely connected history of housing and health?
Jules Birch Inside Housing (Paywall)We routinely talk about the relationship between health and housing, but have we forgotten just how close it once was? That was the intriguing question posed by Dr Al Story, professor of inclusion health at University College London, in the final session of this year’s Housing Studies Association (HSA) conference. As he traced how the relationship between public health, homelessness and housing developed from the 19th century to the present day, he outlined a sometimes surprising history with a striking contemporary relevance in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s a story that starts with the 19th century Vagrancy Act (now finally scheduled for repeal), but also the gradual realisation of the links between overcrowding, poor housing, contaminated water and disease.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/comment/comment/have-we-forgotte…
# History International, Health, Homelessness, Housing market.What defines a good social landlord isn’t the size
Mark Perry Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... The recent announcement of a potential tie-up between Optivo and Southern Housing Group, and the further announcement of Flagship, BPHA and Futures Housing Group, prompted a return of the well-versed debate surrounding mega-mergers and whether the size of an organisation is in any way determinant of its success. There’s very little sketchy or reliable factual evidence to support either position and so the debate continues to provoke strong reactions from different commentators.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/comment/comment/what-defines-a-g…
# International, Public and community housing, Landlords and agents.The end of the National Rental Affordability Scheme has left residents unsure where to turn
Bec Pridham (No paywall)Tenants have been left with "nowhere to go" as a scheme offering affordable housing winds up. Samantha Groves has rented her house in Perth, south of Launceston, Tasmania, for the past two years, where she's made a home for herself and her three children. After an unstable couple of years, the home offered the family a sense of stability. "Moving here changed everything," she said. But now Ms Groves, along with six other households in the development, have been served with vacation notices ... The National Rental Affordability Scheme was established by the Australian government to help bring more affordable private rental homes into the market. It has been in effect since 2008. The scheme provided financial incentives to organisations offering rent at rates at least 20 per cent below market value to people on low and moderate incomes. It expires in 2026, impacting more than 1600 Tasmanian households.
https://www.northernbeachesreview.com.au/story/7705477/residents…
# Australia, Eviction, Affordable housing, Federal Government.‘I don’t want to live alone’: co-living, community and affordable housing
Katie Cunningham The Guardian (No paywall)Almost two decades ago, Lyndall Parris had her big idea. “Two of my friends’ husbands died, leaving them to continue bringing up their two teenagers alone. I just started thinking: this is crazy. I can’t help them much, they’re living in different places. If we were living together in a village, wouldn’t it be easier?” she recalls. Parris began researching alternative ways of living. ... In 2012, 24 of them pooled their money to buy a 68-hectare plot of land outside Gosford on the New South Wales Central Coast. In 2019, the first residents moved in. They called it Narara Ecovillage.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/apr/23/i-dont-want…
# NSW, Share houses, Affordable housing, Housing market, Older people, Regional NSW.New Zealand’s cooling housing market means opportunity for some, angst for others
Tess McClure The Guardian (No paywall)From New Zealand ... For years, the country’s housing market has been on a seemingly-unstoppable upward trajectory, with homes in major centres averaging at over $1m a pop. Now, New Zealand is in the midst of some of the largest drops and slowdowns since the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Some banks are predicting a 10% fall over the course of 2022.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/23/housing-dilemma-co…
# International, Housing market.Report: "Historic" change in Helsinki rental costs
(No paywall)From Finland ... The Helsinki region has seen "historic" changes in rental costs, according to the latest market report by Statistics Finland. The figures show that rents for non-subsidised housing dropped in the capital region by 0.3 percent and in the city of Helsinki by 0.2 percent during the first quarter of 2022, compared to the previous year's figures for the same period. This means that rental costs in the capital region have decreased for the fourth quarter in a row, according to the statistics agency. "Rental cost decreases for non-subsidised housing haven't been recorded in the capital region for the past number of years, so in that sense the decrease is historic," according to Martti Korhonen, a senior statistician at the central data bureau. He added that the supply of rental housing has surged, which has also led to a decrease in costs. The reasons behind the increased supply include the rise in distance learning, the loss of international students, and Airbnb apartments being offered as long-term rentals due to an overall drop in tourism. (YLE News)
# International, Rent, Housing market, Short-term holiday letting, Students.Businesses buy homes for staff to rent to combat worker shortage arising from housing crisis
Adriane Reardon and Miranda Saunders ABC (No paywall)Some businesses in NSW say a shortage of affordable housing has forced them to buy properties to retain and attract staff in a bid to address a severe worker shortage. The strategy has been implemented by a club in Merimbula on the NSW Far South Coast after it was failing to retain staff.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-23/businesses-buy-homes-to-c…
# NSW, Rent, Affordable housing, Regional NSW, Work, employment.Election surprise from RBA on cards with super-sized rate rise
Rachel Clun and Shane Wright The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The Reserve Bank is a 50-50 chance to deliver a late election campaign interest rate rise to millions of Australian home buyers with the nation’s second-largest lender warning people could face the largest one-off rate rise since the start of the century.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/election-surprise-from-r…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market.