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.
Our main email newsletter, Tenant News is sent once every two months. You can subscribe or update your subscription preferences for any of our email newsletters here.
See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
We love sharing the news and hope you find it informative! We're very happy to deliver it for free, but if you find it valuable, can you help cover the extra costs incurred by making a donation?
Archive
Victorian Liberal MP Wendy Lovell chastised for saying children in social housing ‘cannot mix’ in wealthy areas
Benita Kolovos The Guardian (No paywall)The Victorian Liberal MP Wendy Lovell [and former housing minister] has come under fierce criticism for saying there is “no point” in having social housing in wealthy areas “where the children cannot mix with others”. Lovell, who pointed to low-income families’ inability to afford “the latest in sneakers and iPhones” as a reason children would struggle to fit in, made the comments on Wednesday during debate in the state parliament’s upper house about a Greens bill to set a target to end homelessness in Victoria by 2030.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/mar/24/victorian…
# Australia, Public and community housing.Landlords may need to dispose of homes where retrofit is not financially viable
Stephen Delahunty Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Housing associations may need to dispose of homes where it is not financially viable to retrofit and make more energy efficient, the financial services director at a large G15 landlord has said. ... Maame-Yaa Bempah, financial services director at Notting Hill Genesis, told Inside Housing’s Retrofit Challenge Summit in London yesterday that there is a need to look at offloading older properties that could cost up to £100,000 to retrofit.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/landlords-may-need-to-…
# International, Public and community housing, Utilities electricity water gas, Climate change.New homelessness strategy launched in Northern Ireland
Grainne Cuffe Inside Housing (Paywall)The Northern Ireland Housing Executive has published a new homelessness strategy for the next five years. The ‘Ending Homelessness Together’ strategy covers 2022 to 2027 and has three strategic priorities: prevention, supporting people to make the transition from homelessness, and providing and sustaining settled and appropriate accommodation. It includes a commitment to getting those who have experienced homelessness more involved in service design and delivery. It emerged this month that the number of households in temporary accommodation in Northern Ireland has increased by 74% in the past three years.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/new-homelessness-strat…
# International, Homelessness.Government to ‘name and shame’ underperforming landlords as part of Social Housing Bill reforms
Jack Simpson Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Social housing providers that fail to meet the standards being brought in under the government’s new Social Housing Regulation Bill will be named and shamed ... [Also] the government will also outline plans for a new residents’ panel that will regularly meet with government officials and feed in to sector reforms. The new panel is expected to be made up of more than 200 social housing tenants and will regularly meet and advise the government on how the sector should operate. ... The steps towards reform will be welcomed by many tenant groups as well as the bereaved and survivors of the Grenfell fire, who view social housing reform as a key step in preventing a repeat of their experience.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/government-to-name-and-sham…
# International, Public and community housing, Landlords and agents.Regional first home buyers scheme promised by Labor if it wins federal election
Kelly Fuller and Ainslie Drewitt-Smith ABC (No paywall)Federal Labor has promised to help ease the burden of skyrocketing house prices in Australia's regions by creating a standalone regional first home buyers support scheme, if it wins the next election. ... Labor has pledged $12 million for the scheme that will allow first home buyers in the regions to get into a house with a deposit of 5 per cent without the need to pay lenders mortgage insurance.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-25/first-home-buyers-scheme-…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market, Regional NSW.Relocating flood-prone homes is hard, but could it be a better way to spend disaster relief funds?
Lucy Barbour, Kate Doyle, and Caitlyn Gribbin ABC (No paywall)As Australia counts the cost of another deadly flooding disaster, thousands of residents are facing an agonising decision — to rebuild or relocate? Relocation is a sensitive topic and notoriously hard to discuss in the aftermath.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-27/relocating-homes-flood-zo…
# History Australia, Housing market.Glasgow man 'hasn't switched on heating for two years' after high flats refurbishment
Craig Williams (No paywall)Three of Glasgow’s best known high rise blocks have attracted international praise for their improved environmental performance. ... The project’s success attracted international attention through COP26, with more than 20 organisations from Belgium visiting to see how their environmental performance had been improved and what lessons could be learned. ... [Widower George McGavigan, 62] said: “The refurbishment has really improved the place. I haven’t switched on my heating for two years as there is just no need. It has had a huge impact on bills. I used to have mould in the bathroom and that’s gone. There is a constant air flow and it feels healthy and comfortable. It’s a great place to live.”
https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/glasgow-man-hasn…
# International, Public and community housing, Utilities electricity water gas, Climate change, Fixtures - lights, aircon etc.Greens councillor wants wealthiest eastern suburbs home owners to pay higher rates
Andrew Taylor The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A Greens councillor in Sydney’s affluent eastern suburbs is pushing to raise the amount paid in rates by its wealthiest homeowners, with claims cheaper properties have been subsidising mansions.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/greens-councillor-wants-wealthie…
# NSW, Housing market, Tax.