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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
Kenya’s push for affordable housing is creating opportunities despite barriers
Raphael M. Kieti, Robert W. Rukwaro and Washington H.A. Olima The Conversation (No paywall)In Kenya, the right to housing is embedded in the constitution, which provides that “Every person has the right to accessible and adequate housing, and to reasonable standards of sanitation.” At the start of his second term in 2018, Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta launched an affordable housing programme as one of the big four agenda pillars to promote long term economic development. The other pillars are food and nutrition security, a robust manufacturing sector and universal healthcare. Kenya needs to build 250,000 units annually for at least four years to plug its cumulative housing deficit of two million units.
https://theconversation.com/kenyas-push-for-affordable-housing-i…
# International, Affordable housing, Human rights.A circuit breaker: government backs down in fight over Victorian rough sleeper program
Luke Henriques-Gomes The Guardian (No paywall)In the first year of the pandemic, Harrison, a proud Aboriginal woman, was one of about 2,000 Victorians picked up by homelessness services and offered accommodation in hotels – part of a massive investment ensuring rough sleepers were able to safely isolate during lockdowns. The state government backed up that initiative with the From Homelessness to a Home program (H2H), a $150m investment drawing on the values of the progressive Housing First model that has gained international recognition after it was pioneered in Finland. The idea was those rough sleepers would be given a home of their own rather than sent back to crisis accommodation or the streets. And, most importantly, they’d have regular support to help maintain their new lives. ... [Jenny Smith, the chief executive of Victoria’s Council to Homeless People] was dismayed when last month’s state budget failed to continue funding the program at the current rate. ... On Friday, the government appeared to back down, telling providers and Guardian Australia it had “identified additional funding” for the program. Read the same story in Sumeyya Ilanbey's article entitled: 'Funding cut reversed for ‘brilliant’ program that houses the homeless' in 'The Age' at: [https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/funding-cut-reversed-for-brilliant-program-that-houses-the-homeless-20220606-p5argh.html]
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/04/a-circuit…
# Australia, Homelessness, State Government.Why can’t women in the UK afford to buy their own houses? We ask an expert
Coco Khan The Guardian (No paywall)It is well known that the UK’s astronomic property prices have locked many people out of home ownership – especially if you’re single. Indeed, there is no region in the UK where a man or woman on median earnings could buy on their own. But a damning report has revealed there is no region where a median-earning woman can even rent alone.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/jun/03/why-cant-wo…
# International, Rent, Home ownership, Housing market, Women.More Tasmanians unable to afford to rent and the number seeking help to pay for essentials is growing
Selina Ross and Lucy MacDonald ABC (No paywall)Michael Reardon has spent the past year living in his caravan after being left with no other housing options. ... Tasmania's social housing waiting list has more than doubled in eight years. Service providers are reporting that they cannot meet even half the demand for assistance. New census data will provide more accurate figures on how many Tasmanians are sleeping rough. ... During the federal election campaign, Labor promised to build 30,000 new social and affordable homes within five years to address national housing shortages. Ms Collins said the federal government was working with its state counterparts and housing service providers to implement the plan.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-04/homelessness-in-tasmania-…
# Australia, Federal Government, Homelessness.The Castle for a new generation, one that will be stuck in share houses forever
Garry Maddox The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Director Rowan Devereux sees his first film as the opposite of The Castle. Yes, it’s a low budget Australian film. And, yes, it’s a warm-spirited comedy. But while the 1997 classic was about owning a home, Devereux’s Evicted: A Modern Romance is about the horrors of renting. Finding an appealing new home for affordable rent in the inner suburbs is even tougher than getting a cheap pair of jousting sticks.
https://www.smh.com.au/culture/movies/the-castle-for-a-new-gener…
# Must read NSW, Rent, Share houses, Housing market.Government adds £10m to housing legal aid bill to help eviction-threatened tenants
Jack Simpson Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... In an announcement today, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said the injection of funds would give residents the best chance of keeping their homes through receiving free expert legal advice from contracted legal aid providers. This will run alongside reforms to the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme (HPCDS), which will mean that anyone facing eviction or repossession will now receive free, early legal advice on housing before appearing in court. ... The announcement comes just two weeks after the government’s latest figures on evictions, which show that the total number of evictions for the three months to the end of March was 18,626, up 32% on the previous quarter.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/government-adds-10m-to…
# International, Eviction, Tribunal NCAT.‘Shocking’ rate of sexual abuse of aged care residents barely changed since royal commission
Christopher Knaus The Guardian (No paywall)More than 500 cases of sexual abuse of aged care residents were reported in the last three months of 2021, a rate largely unchanged since the royal commission dubbed the prevalence of sexual crimes in residential care a “source of national shame”. Experts say victims, many of whom live with dementia, are still being failed by systems not equipped to recognise or respond to crimes against those with serious cognitive impairment. Now, the peak rights group for older Australians is demanding urgent change, launching a new project, named Ready to Listen, in an attempt to train providers to properly deal with sexual violence against their residents.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/06/shocking-…
# Australia, Health, Housing market, Older people.High Court quashes G15 landlord’s decision not to prioritise domestic abuse survivor for rehousing
Lucie Heath Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... A High Court judge has ordered a G15 landlord to rethink its decision not to prioritise the transfer of a family at risk of domestic abuse, in a case that also confirmed housing associations can be subject to judicial review over decisions on management transfers. In a judgment handed down in February, the court ruled that Network Homes failed to provide a “proper and adequate substantive rationale” when it decided not to increase the priority band of a resident who wished to move her family away from her abusive ex-partner.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/high-court-quashes-g15…
# Legal significance International, Domestic violence, Public and community housing.