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
Judge dismisses legal challenge of public housing tower residents forced to move
Kristian Silva ABC (No paywall)Victoria's Supreme Court has thrown out a legal challenge by Melbourne housing towers residents to halt the state government's plans to demolish the buildings. Last year, the government announced plans to knock down and rebuild 44 aging high-rise towers across the city. The first five towers were set to be replaced by 2031, with buildings in Flemington, North Melbourne and Carlton slated as the first to go. Resident Barry Berih brought the class action earlier this year, arguing Victoria's cabinet went against legislation when it decided to demolish the towers.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-03/public-housing-towers-cla…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Tribunal NCAT.Residents to continue fighting demolition of Melbourne public housing towers despite court setback
Cait Kelly The Guardian (No paywall)Victoria’s supreme court has dismissed a class action that was attempting to stop the demolition of Melbourne’s 44 public housing towers, saying it had no real prospect of success. But the Inner Melbourne Community Legal service, which is leading the case, said it was determined to continue the fight using fresh legal tactics. All 44 of Melbourne’s high-rise public housing towers will be redeveloped by 2051, with five in Flemington, North Melbourne and Carlton expected to be replaced by 2031.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/03/m…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Rent.Against Landlords by Nick Bano review - valuable ideas for how to solve Britain’s housing crisis
Rowan Moore The Guardian (No paywall)Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the housing crisis could be solved without building any more homes? There would be no carbon emissions from construction sites, no green fields covered over, no householders upset at dwellings appearing in their view. Instead, rents would become affordable and decent homes available through changes in government policy. Such is the promise of Against Landlords by the author and barrister Nick Bano, a man who has been described as “Britain’s top Marxist housing lawyer”. The crisis, he argues, is not one of supply but of cost. There are enough homes to go around, but they are notoriously expensive.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/apr/23/against-landlords-…
# Hot topic International, Rent.Fresh row over reform of England’s rental market as Tories deny caving in to landlords ahead of key votes
Noa Hoffman The Sun (No paywall)Labour frontbenchers and 20 charities accused Michael Gove of throwing tenants under the bus as the landmark Renters’ Reform Bill returns to the Commons this afternoon. The long-promised legislation was supposed to immediately ban hated “no-fault evictions”. But after intense lobbying by landlord backbenchers, the ban will be effective after ministers have assessed the capacity of courts to deal with disputes – which could take years. Housing charity Shelter today slammed the Bill as a “colossal failure that won’t protect tenants”. Shadow Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook accused Mr Gove of “appeasing Tory landlords at the expense of private renters”.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/27501927/tories-landlords-renters-…
# Must read, Legal significance International, Eviction.Forced home moves cost renters over half a billion pounds a year
Matthew Pearce The Guardian (No paywall)England: Unwanted home moves cost renters more than half a billion pounds a year, with tenants coughing up an average of £669 every time they are forced by landlords to leave their home, a survey has revealed. Analysis by the homelessness charity Shelter estimated that there had been 830,000 unwanted moves in England over the past 12 months, meaning 40% of renters who move house are doing so because they have been compelled to look for other accommodation. An unwanted move is defined as a fixed-term tenancy coming to an end, or tenants being priced out by a rent increase, being served an eviction notice or being informally asked to leave by the landlord.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/apr/18/forced-home-move…
# Hot topic International, Eviction, Rent, You want to leave.How Japan opted out of a global housing crisis
ABC (No paywall)Australia’s housing market is, like many places in the Western world, in the midst of a crisis that feels like it will never be solved. Owning a property in an Australian city has only drifted further out of reach for most Australians in the last decade, and there are very few practical solutions on offer. Is it possible to actually unpick this situation? Japan offers a useful example. Thirty years ago, property in Tokyo was the most expensive in the world. Today, home ownership in that same city is comparatively affordable, with plenty of available stock on the market. How was this massive turnaround achieved, and how can other countries learn from the Japanese model?
# Hot topic, Audio International, .Striking tenants mark one year of withholding rent from landlords
CBC (No paywall)Toronto: Striking tenants in Thorncliffe Park marked almost one year of withholding rent Sunday in protest of above guideline rent increases (AGI) applications for their buildings. Tenants in 71, 75 and 79 Thorncliffe Park Drive gathered in front of their buildings to send a message to their landlords Starlight Investments and PSP Investments that they aren't going to stop until those applications are withdrawn — despite the eviction notices they've been served. Sameer Beyan has been living in one of the buildings for the past eight years. He said the increase, if allowed, would mean an extra $100 dollars out of his wallet each month — a significant blow to his family's savings. "It would be quite devastating," he said, adding he lives with and takes care of both of his elderly parents. He said costs for renovations shouldn't be passed down to tenants.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/one-year-rent-strike-anni…
# Hot topic International, Rent.Man arrested after tenant finds hidden camera in room she rented in North Miami Beach
Laura Rodriguez and Maria Fernanda Toledo NBC News (USA) (No paywall)United States of America: A man was arrested on video voyeurism charges after his North Miami Beach tenant discovered that the smoke detector in her room was a hidden camera, police said. Elias Samuel Payan, 42, was arrested Tuesday on three counts of video voyeurism, an arrest report said. According to the report, the woman has been renting a room from Payan in North Miami Beach since 2022 and lives there with two minors.
https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/man-admits-to-installing-hid…
# International, Privacy and access, Rent, Security and safety.