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
Federal Labor removes gag on legal aid centres that banned political advocacy
Paul Karp The Guardian (No paywall)The Labor government has removed the Coalition’s gag on legal aid organisations taking part in political advocacy and lobbying, saying it “is ending this political censorship”.
On Tuesday the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, announced the gag on community legal centres receiving federal funding had been removed from the deal with states and territories regulating legal aid, as part of Labor’s broader commitment to allow social, legal and environmental charities to lobby government.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/nov/29/federal-l…
# Legal significance Australia, Campaigns and law reform, Community Legal Centres, Federal Government, Strong communities.Property managers to be regulated, meth testing changes, and healthy homes extension announced
Radio NZ Radio NZ (No paywall)esidential property managers will soon need to be registered, trained, and licensed under new rules unveiled this morning.
Landlords will now have another year to get their rentals up to healthy home standards - including Kāinga Ora and community housing providers.
Housing Minister Megan Woods said Covid-19 supply chain issues had stunted compliance.
But a renters' advocacy group said that was not good enough and meant more people would end up in hospital.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/479237/property-managers-to-…
# International, Public and community housing, Repairs, Health, Landlords and agents, Minimum habitability standards.Lisa Borthwick: Another step to strengthening rights
Lisa Borthwick Scottish Housing News (No paywall)Changes to local connection legislation, which come into force today, that suspends the power of Scottish local authorities to refer people who present as homeless to another area is a long time coming, says Lisa Borthwick at Shelter Scotland.
Tuesday 29 November is a momentous day for housing and homelessness rights in Scotland. As of today, anyone presenting as homeless can seek support from a local authority of their choosing, because people no longer need to have a connection to the local authority they are seeking homelessness assistance from – so-called ‘local connection’ rules.
https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/lisa-borthwick-anot…
# International, Public and community housing, Homelessness, Housing affordability.Woman dying of lung disease ‘caused by mould’ urges action on rogue landlords
Robert Booth The Guardian (No paywall)Tenant, who is suing landlord in test case, calls on UK government to back renters in claiming damages.
A woman with potentially terminal lung disease who claims it was due to being exposed to mould in her rented home has demanded the government empowers victims to take rogue landlords to court and “hit them in the wallet”.
The woman, who is in her 50s, said she may have as little as 18 months to live. A medical expert she engaged in a legal action against her landlord believes her illness was likely triggered by moulds within her home caused by disrepair. She now requires constant oxygen via mask or nasal catheter and is on the waiting list for a lung transplant.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/nov/28/woman-dying-of-l…
# International, Repairs, Health, Mould.One of World’s Priciest Cities Turbocharges Affordable Housing
Feargus O'Sullivan Bloomberg (No paywall)Paris may convert offices, parking garages and defunct hotels to meet a new target to make 40% of homes accessible to people on lower incomes.
Paris, ranked among the world’s most expensive cities to reside in various surveys, might not make the most obvious of role models for housing affordability policies.
But after succeeding in making 25% of its accommodation accessible to people on lower incomes by the end of last year, the French capital has set a target of lifting that to 40% by 2035. That means a major expansion of public housing so that homes for low-income tenants make up 30% of all units with an additional 10% comprising below-market rate abodes for middle-income tenants, Paris Housing Commissioner Ian Brossat told French media on Sunday.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-09/paris-targets…
# International, Public and community housing, Affordable housing, Housing affordability.Tenants still ill from conditions in Rochdale estate where mould caused two year old’s death
Clare Fallon Channel 4 (No paywall)They say they’re sorry, they’ve sacked their Chief Executive and after accusations of racism, they’ve acknowledged they made assumptions about the lifestyle of two-year-old Awaab Ishak’s parents that were wrong.
But despite the claims from Rochdale Boroughwide Housing that lessons have been learned, tonight this programme reveals residents on the estate where Awaab died are still being housed in conditions so bad they say it is making them ill.
https://www.channel4.com/news/tenants-still-ill-from-conditions-…
# Video International, Discrimination, Public and community housing, Repairs, Mould.A new study says the housing market is largely to blame for Portland’s homeless crisis
Blair Best KGW8 (No paywall)ORTLAND, Ore. — A new study by a pair of researchers tried to find the root cause of homelessness in cities across the U.S. It revealed how Portland's housing market plays a much bigger part in the crisis than many might think.
The urban study called “Homelessness is a Housing Problem” found that the biggest factors in the homeless crisis are not necessarily addiction or mental health but rather a combination of high rent prices and a lack of affordable housing.
More info about the study https://homelessnesshousingproblem.com/
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/homeless/new-study-housin…
# Research alert, Video International, Public and community housing, Homelessness, Housing affordability, Housing market.‘I’ve been on the waiting list for over 20 years’: why social housing suitable for people with disabilities is desperately needed
Alan Morris and Jan Idle The Conversation (No paywall)One of the most common reasons people apply for social housing is because they or their immediate family members have a disability and they are unable to work. They need an affordable alternative to private rental housing that’s suitable for their disability-related needs.
https://theconversation.com/ive-been-on-the-waiting-list-for-ove…
# Research alert NSW, Public and community housing, Disability, Personal stories.