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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
'I put off starting a family because of a £300 rent rise'
Gabrielle Sungailaite BBC (No paywall)For 32-year-old Aimee, the prospect of starting a family remains out of reach. She and her husband were priced out of their two-bedroom house in Surrey when their landlord hiked their rent by £300 a month, forcing them to move into a smaller one-bedroom property. "I'm at the age where I want to have children, but because we had to downsize, we are just unable to." She says she and her husband won't now try to start a family until they are able to move again. "I now pretty much live out of one room. I pretty much work, sleep and everything from my bedroom."
# Must read International, Rent.My rent has gone up £300 a month’: Pain of soaring costs and zero hours contracts
Joe Middleton The Independent (No paywall)Urwah Chaudhary is one of millions of Britons struggling with the cost of living and record-breaking rent price increases. The full-time student, who works as a call centre agent on a minimum wage and on a zero-hours contract, has faced a monthly rent increase from £900 to £1,200 in the space of a year. Inflation, the increase in prices in the rental market in her local area, and a struggle to afford the mortgage after successive Bank of England interest rate hikes, were the reasons given by her landlord for the hefty additional monthly outlay.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/rent-prices-cost…
# Hot topic International, Rent.No need to jump through hoops! Olympics rental boom may be over
Eleanor Butler Euro News (No paywall)Paris is expecting to welcome an expected 15 million tourists this summer as it hosts this year's Olympic Games. However, it looks as though those seeking reasonably priced accommodation may get lucky, with costs expected to be lower than first predicted. According to insurance firm Réassurez-moi, the price of booking one night in Paris or a neighbouring area during the Olympic period stood at €436 in April, down from €1,023 seen in July last year. The drop in prices, experts say, is primarily caused by an excess of supply.
https://www.euronews.com/business/2024/04/22/no-need-to-jump-thr…
# Hot topic International, Rent.High cost of buying a home could impact presidential race
CBS News (No paywall)VIDEO: We look at one economic indicator that could hit home in the presidential election: the high cost of buying that first home and living the American dream. This may feel almost unattainable in key battle ground states like Arizona where would be buyers face housing shortages and high interest rates. President Biden and former President Donald Trump have talked about the high cost and supply of housing on the campaign trail. Some voters in key swing states say it will be a factor in how they vote this fall.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/high-cost-of-buying-a-home-could-i…
# Hot topic, Video International, .Unions help US workers. Could the same model work for tenants?
Nick Romeo The Guardian (No paywall)On a recent Friday night in San Jose, California, a small group of Spanish-speaking renters sat in the clubhouse of their apartment complex wondering whether the room was bugged. “Let them listen,” said a young man, with a dismissive gesture. They were meeting to strategize about forming a tenants’ association to bargain collectively with their large corporate landlord. Along one wall of the room hung large white posters with the names and unit numbers of residents and their yes-or-no response to a survey about their willingness to participate in a rent strike.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/may/26/tenants-…
# Must read International, Rent.In expensive Taiwan, some young people are giving up on the housing market to join the 'moonlight clan' instead
Kathleen Calderwood, Xin-yun Wu and Fletcher Yeung ABC (No paywall)Every weekend, and often in the evenings after work, newlyweds Chien Yu Liu and Cheng Wei Yu take part in a familiar and increasingly frustrating ritual. They scour the windows of real estate agents and attend property inspection after property inspection in the hope of finding their perfect first home. "The biggest issue we're facing is the housing prices," Mr Yu said. "Typically, finding a house within our budget means it's either quite old or the commute is difficult. "We're hoping to find a place that is close to our workplaces, with good transportation and amenities." But in Taiwan's capital, that's a big ask. According to Global Property Guide, Taipei is one of the least affordable places in the world to buy a home. The house price-to-income ratio rose from 6.4 in 2004 to 15.71 in 2023 — which is higher than Sydney, London and New York.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-28/taipei-real-estate-expens…
# Hot topic International, .Families have 'nowhere to go' as no-fault evictions rise
Katie Barnfield & Lynette Horsburgh BBC (No paywall)A charity claims it has been giving out sleeping bags to help prepare desperate families facing homelessness after being evicted. A manager at the Oasis Centre in Gorton, Manchester, said he had seen a sharp increase in people being evicted by bailiffs after being handed a section 21 notice - also known as a no-fault eviction. Rhys Massey said people were queuing outside the centre before it opens because they had "nowhere to go". Manchester City Council urged anyone anyone at risk of homelessness to get in touch as "early" as possible.
# Must read International, Eviction.Airbnb wants more renters to get in on hosting
Sami Sparber Axios (No paywall)A growing number of apartment buildings nationwide are allowing tenants to bank extra cash by hosting on Airbnb. Why it matters: Rental affordability has plunged in recent years, and those who rent are feeling especially poor about their finances, according to the Axios Vibes survey by The Harris Poll.
Between the lines: Many landlords don't permit short-term rentals, but some big names including Greystar and Sentral have joined Airbnb's apartment platform. Apartments accounted for about 16% of U.S. Airbnb listings in April 2024, per AirDNA, a short-term rental analytics firm. How it works: In 2022, Airbnb launched Airbnb-friendly apartments (AFA), a marketplace to help renters find apartment buildings where they can use their primary residences for part-time hosting.
https://www.axios.com/2024/05/22/airbnb-apartment-rental-income
# Hot topic International, .