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 live in an affluent area, but I have a secret I can’t tell my neighbours: I don’t know how I’ll survive this winter
Marin The Guardian (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Rishi Sunak is super rich – how can he relate to anyone who can’t afford fruit for their kids, £9.35 for a presciption, or a tank of petrol to get to work? I have lived alone in a small rented house for more than six years. I am in my 60s. Winter is not as harsh here in the south-west but a sea fog roils along the coast that clings to your face and heads straight for your lungs.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/nov/04/affluent-v…
# International, Rent, Older people, Personal stories, Women.Rental Crisis
Richard Aedy ABC (Paywall)Owning your home is the Australian dream, so we're told. But increasingly, more of us are renting. And that presents a whole other set of problems. Renters throughout the country are struggling to not only afford a place to live but to find a home. Why? And what can be done about it? (ABC Radio National)
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/themoney/rental-cr…
# TUNSW in the media, Audio Australia, Rent, Housing market.'Rental prices make me feel pushed out of my hometown’
BBC (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... As inflation continues to have an impact on the cost of living, many tenants in the private rental sector are now facing higher prices and less choice. The housing charity Shelter suggests problems with renting could play a key part in how people choose to vote at the next election, and even see marginal constituencies changing political colour. The BBC spoke to renters living in Hastings and Rye - a Conservative seat in East Sussex.
# Video International, Rent, Housing market, Personal stories.Eastern suburbs should not be ‘punished’ with more housing, says Liberal hopeful
Michael Koziol The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The Liberal candidate for Vaucluse has attempted to neutralise a debate about overdevelopment with her ‘teal’ rival by declaring the eastern suburbs should not be “punished” with more housing – despite Premier Dominic Perrottet’s drive to boost supply of new homes.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/eastern-suburbs-should-not-b…
# NSW, Housing market, Local Government, Sydney.Staff, housing shortages in WA prompt labour hire firm to book out tourist hostel for two years
Sam Bold ABC (No paywall)At this time of year, Cameron Morris would normally be gearing up for a busy summer playing host to backpackers from all over the world. But his Dunsborough Beach Lodge hostel, 300 kilometres south of Perth, is instead booked solid through to 2025 – not by backpackers, but a labour-hire firm looking to house workers locally. ... it's a symptom of a growing housing crisis plaguing holiday towns in WA's South West ...
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-03/staff-housing-shortage-wa…
# Australia, Housing market, Work, employment.Distressed housing sales rise as owners succumb to Australia’s rising interest rates
Caitlin Cassidy The Guardian (No paywall)Distressed housing listings are on the rise as mortgage holders struggle under the weight of seven consecutive interest rate hikes. The number of homeowners selling properties under distressed conditions has risen by about 15% since interest rates began to increase in May, SQM Research found, at the same time the housing market is slowing. In the past month alone, distressed listings, where the seller is forced into making a loss or accepting a lower price than they usually would, jumped by 5.7% nationally, with increases of 7.8% in New South Wales and 7.5% in Queensland.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/nov/05/distresse…
# Australia, Housing market, Landlords and agents.Can New York solve its housing crisis?
Anne McElvoy (No paywall)Eric Adams, the mayor of New York, grew up on the verge of homelessness. Now he’s in charge of fixing the city’s housing crisis. Host Anne McElvoy asks him how he plans to do it. They discuss how an influx of 20,000 migrants, many from the southern border, adds to the problem. Mr Adams, a former police captain, defends his record tackling violence and relays his concerns about the Democrats’ pitch ahead of the midterms. (The Economist)
https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2022/11/03/can-new-york-solve…
# Video International, Homelessness, Housing market, Local Government.The UK Housing Review: five charts that illustrate the state of the nation
Jules Birch Inside Housing (Paywall)The UK Housing Review provides a trove of data about trends in the country’s housing policy. Jules Birch picks through the detail. He covers 'Shifting rules on rents', 'Counting first-time buyers', 'Letting hotels take the strain', 'Failing on decarbonisation' and 'Leveling up decent homes'.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/comment/the-uk-housing-review-fi…
# International, Public and community housing, Rent, Utilities electricity water gas, Climate change, Home ownership, Homelessness, Housing market, Landlords and agents.