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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
Sole parents like myself are facing homelessness. It’s time our PM realised this is not the Australia he grew up in
Anonymous The Guardian (No paywall)Anthony Albanese may speak proudly of being raised by a single mum in public housing, but life has become a lot harsher for those with less. I am a sole parent mum with a young son who is in primary school. In April this year, the home I grew up in and lived in for decades was sold by my father who lives interstate, and I only found out after the settlement. My son and I are now facing imminent homelessness. ... I have tried to contact the prime minister before and after he was elected to put forward viable options to help sole parent families in my situation, but I have only ever received a stock-standard email reply and never any follow-up.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/01/sole-paren…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Homelessness, Women.Welsh minister reveals £65m plan to bring more than 1,000 additional homes into use
Stephen Delahunty Inside Housing (Paywall)The Welsh government will refurbish and reconfigure a number of buildings as part of a £65m plan to create 1,000 new homes for those living in temporary accommodation. ... It is hoped it will bring more than 1,000 additional homes into use over the next 18 months. According to the government, almost half will be long-term or permanent homes, with the others offering good-quality homes suitable for use by individuals and families for a number of years.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/welsh-minister-reveals…
# International, Public and community housing, Homelessness.Homelessness rises 11% in first three months of year
Tim Clark Inside Housing (Paywall)Over 74,000 households in England became homeless or were deemed at imminent risk of becoming homeless between January and March 2022. This included 25,610 families with children. According to Shelter, the homelessness charity, the figures show an 11% rise in only three months, and a 5% rise on the same period in 2021. The figures reveal the number of households that were struggling to keep a roof over their heads even before the impact of soaring bills, which are expected to put more families into debt.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/homelessness-rises-11-…
# International, Homelessness.President Biden Announces New Actions to Ease the Burden of Housing Costs
(No paywall)Today, President Biden is releasing a Housing Supply Action Plan to ease the burden of housing costs over time, by boosting the supply of quality housing in every community. His plan includes legislative and administrative actions that will help close America’s housing supply shortfall in 5 years, starting with the creation and preservation of hundreds of thousands of affordable housing units in the next three years. When aligned with other policies to reduce housing costs and ensure affordability, such as rental assistance and downpayment assistance, closing the gap will mean more affordable rents and more attainable homeownership for Americans in every community. This is the most comprehensive all of government effort to close the housing supply shortfall in history. (The White House Briefing Room)
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/202…
# International, Rent, Affordable housing, Federal Government, Home ownership, Homelessness, Housing market, Planning and development, Tax, Work, employment.Ending child poverty in Australia
Stephanie Collett ABC (No paywall)Anti-poverty and housing advocates will sit down with the Social Services Minister to state their case for an increase to income support. They say the current payments on offer leave single mothers making a choice between violence or poverty - a decision which directly impacts their children. (ABC Radio National)
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/ending-c…
# Audio Australia, Housing market, Welfare, Women.More than one in eight UK households fear they have no way of making more cuts
Sarah Butler The Guardian (No paywall)More than one in eight UK households fear they have no further way to make cuts to afford a sharp increase in annual energy bills this autumn. More than a quarter of households earning less than £20,000 worry they will be unable to cope with higher bills, with families in Yorkshire, the south-west and Northern Ireland the least confident about covering their costs, according to the latest rebuilding Britain index of 20,000 people by Legal & General.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/aug/01/more-than-one-i…
# International, Utilities electricity water gas, Families, Housing market.‘Worse before it gets better’: Sydney, Melbourne house price plunge likely to accelerate
Dominic Powell The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Housing prices in some of Melbourne and Sydney’s most affluent suburbs have dropped almost 10 per cent in the past three months, with economists predicting the falls could accelerate as interest rates continue to rise.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/investing/worse-before-it-gets-bett…
# Australia, Housing market.NSW minister Eleni Petinos sacked by Premier Dominic Perrottet after anonymous complaint by staffer
Ashleigh Raper ABC (No paywall)The New South Wales Minister for Small Business and Fair Trading, Eleni Petinos, has been sacked, plunging the state government further into crisis. The Premier has dumped the Miranda MP from state cabinet, a day after returning from an overseas trade trip. On Friday, it was revealed an anonymous complaint had been made by a staffer from Ms Petinos' office, reportedly alleging bullying. Ms Petinos denied any wrongdoing, releasing a statement saying "I reject any allegations of improper conduct".
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-31/minister-eleni-petinos-sa…
# NSW, NSW Fair Trading, State Government.