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
Five of the best books about the UK housing crisis
Oliver Wainwright The Guardian (No paywall)Unaffordability, insecurity, overcrowding, homelessness: the housing crisis is something that has become so ubiquitous, and so apparently insolvable, that it is easy to become resigned to it as an inevitability. But it is not. Our current predicament is a product of political choices, a situation that has been consciously manufactured by successive generations to preserve their power and protect their assets. The following books go some way to explaining how we got into this permacrisis – and what we might do to get out of it.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/jan/25/five-of-the-best-b…
# Must read International, Eviction, Public and community housing, Rent, Repairs.Landlord who dropped in on tenants uninvited ordered to pay compensation
Arthur Acolin 9 News (No paywall)Aotearoa New Zealand: A tenant who awoke to find his landlord in his rental house, uninvited, has been awarded more than $6000 in compensation and damages. Under a breach of quiet enjoyment, unlawful entry and maintenance rules, the landlord was ordered to pay the two renters, who leased a farm house from him on New Zealand's north island in 2023.
https://www.nine.com.au/property/news/landlord-who-dropped-in-on…
# International, Privacy and access.New Year, New NSW Renting Laws Resolutions: A three-point kickstart plan for better renting in 2024!
Jemima Mowbray Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)As we kick off the new year, it's time for our beloved NSW renting laws to take a long, hard look in the mirror and make some serious resolutions. Just like the rest of us, they've been making promises for years, and it's high time they start keeping them. A rented home should be safe, healthy, stable and affordable and our policies and laws should be aimed at delivering on this. We’re going to set a few specific goals, just as starters...
https://www.tenants.org.au/blog/new-year-new-nsw-renting-laws-re…
# Must read, Hot topic NSW, Boarders and lodgers, Eviction, Rent.Rents and migration - what does the data tell us?
Leo Patterson Ross Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)In recent times, amplified by the Federal government, there has been a resurgence of the idea that pulling back migration numbers will ease pressure on our renting system. Progressive and conservative voices critique this notion.
https://www.tenants.org.au/blog/rents-and-migration-what-does-da…
# Must read, Hot topic, Research alert NSW, Discrimination, Public and community housing, Rent.Thousands of public, social homes eligible for subsidised property upgrades in renewable energy scheme
Mikala Theocharous 9 News (No paywall)Thousands of low-income households across New South Wales will have access to cheaper clean energy as part of a savings scheme spearheaded by the federal government. The initiative will provide upgrades to 24,000 public and social housing properties to help residents save money on electricity. The upgrades include heat pump hot water system installations, ceiling fans, reverse-cycle air conditioners, solar systems, insulation and draught proofing.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/nsw-clean-energy-cost-of-livin…
# Must read, Hot topic NSW, Public and community housing, Rent, Repairs.How to get your bond back for a rental property
Jim Malo and Tawar Razaghi The Sydney Morning Herald (Soft Paywall)A bond can be one of the biggest costs when moving into a new rental. It’s usually a month’s or four weeks’ rent paid by the tenant and held as security in case a tenant breaks the rental agreement. Returning the bond at the end of the tenancy isn’t always a smooth process – but there are steps renters can take to help make it so.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/how-to-get-your-bond-back-f…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media Australia, Bond.Population change and rents
Tenants' Union of NSW Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)This new dashboard examines the connections between population change, vacancy rates and real rent change. There are three sheets on the dashboard - Rent Vacancy and Migration, Linear Regression, and Greater Sydney and Regional NSW.
https://www.tenants.org.au/reports/population-change-and-rents
# Hot topic, Research alert NSW, Discrimination, Rent.Rent regulations are no silver bullet, but they would help make renting fairer
Dr Alistair Sisson The Conversation (No paywall)Virtually every week brings news of rising rents or a story of still more renters forced out of their homes by unmanageable rent increases. The Australian Bureau of Statistics says rents climbed 6.6% in the year to October. If you’re signing a new rent agreement the situation is worse, with landlords charging on average 8.6% more than they did a year ago, and far more – about 15% more than a year ago – in the hotpots of Sydney and Melbourne.
https://theconversation.com/rent-regulations-are-no-silver-bulle…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent.