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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
UK tech startup raises £5m to prevent dangerous mould in social housing
Alex Lawson The Guardian (No paywall)A British startup which uses technology to prevent renters from living in cold, damp homes has raised fresh funds to expand as landlords belatedly try to tackle outbreaks of mould in crumbling social housing. Switchee has secured £5m, split equally between an existing investor, Axa IM Alts, and Octopus Ventures, part of the group which includes household gas and electricity supplier Octopus Energy. The company hopes to use the funds – which come on top of a £6.5m investment round led by Axa in May 2023 – to help hit a long-term goal of installing its technology in 1m UK social housing properties.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/jul/10/uk-st…
# International, Public and community housing.Mt Albert, Sandringham, Blockhouse Bay landlord who failed to lodge bonds properly gets $14,000 fine
NZ Herald (No paywall)An Auckland landlord has been ordered to pay $14,720 in damages on behalf of four tenants. The Tenancy Tribunal found Rebecca Jane Allcock failed to lodge bonds, and did not supply the required insulation, healthy homes and insurance statements with tenancy agreements. The properties were at Busby St in Blockhouse Bay, New North Rd in Mt Albert, and Haverstock Rd in Sandringham.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/mt-albert-sandringham-blockh…
# Hot topic International, Bond.Rural development won’t solve Britain’s housing crisis
Dr James Derounian The Guardian (No paywall)I agree with Simon Jenkins’s overall message that England’s rural communities desperately need low-cost and affordable homes to rent and buy (David Cameron failed to foist new houses on rural areas. Why does Keir Starmer think he’ll succeed?, 18 July). But beyond that he seems to dive down a whole string of rabbit holes, such as 80% of British students expecting “the luxury of living away from home” – the implication being that students should not be enabled to make a first move towards independence. And then he rails against onshore wind turbines.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jul/24/rural-de…
# Hot topic International, .Renters in New York City fight back against real estate broker fees
Adam Gabbatt The Guardian (No paywall)A row is brewing in New York City between renters and real estate brokers, over who pays the thousands of dollars in fees when an apartment is rented. On 12 June, lawmakers in New York met to discuss the Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses act (Fare act), which would require the person who hires the broker to pay the broker fee. It prompted an unlikely protest: hundreds of brokers from some of the biggest housing companies in the US taking to the streets to argue against a bill that would mean renters no longer pay thousands of dollars in fees. New York City is one of the few cities in the US where tenants can be forced to pay broker fees – which are typically 15% of annual rent – despite a landlord having hired the broker.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jun/29/renters-…
# Hot topic International, Rent.How to Avoid Becoming Homeless
(No paywall)Want to ensure you’ll always have a safe place to call home? Dr Meg Mundell shares some tips… To most of us, homelessness seems like a fate that befalls other people. We assume it could never happen to us, to our friends or loved ones. That if we make sensible life choices, we’ll never end up in that situation. It’s a comforting thought. But is it accurate? Chances are, you already know someone who’s been homeless, or come close. Every night, one in 200 Australians lacks a safe place to call home. That’s over 122,000 people – enough to fill every seat in the MCG, plus the playing field.
https://www.melbournezero.org.au/how_to_avoid_becoming_homeless
# Must read Australia, Discrimination, Security and safety.Students embrace co-operative housing as a solution to rental and cost-of-living crisis
Lily Nothling ABC (No paywall)Ben Mason pays just $187 a week to rent in the heart of one of Australia's most expensive cities. His living situation comes with shared meals and 28 housemates. The 19-year-old is a member of the Canberra Student Housing Co-operative – an organisation run for and by a group of university students. It was set up in 2013 to provide affordable accommodation, but amid a deepening cost-of-living and housing crisis, demand for a cheap room has never been so high. "I'm seeing my bank account not be drained down to zero every week and it's quite freeing actually," Mr Mason said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-20/students-find-relief-from…
# Must read Australia, Rent, Share houses.Jo Waite slept here
Abigail Varney and Nelli Saarinen ABC (No paywall)Jo Waite has moved back to Brunswick. The 59-year-old artist has spent large parts of her life living in Melbourne’s inner north, but this time it’s not the same. “I love being back in Brunswick,” Jo says. “But it is a different Brunswick. They kicked the artists out after we had made it cool. I think you can still see the sign for the gallery we ran, but the place is empty now.” Over the decades of renting in the area, Jo noticed more and more often the property she was living in was the only home for rent in the street.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-19/jo-waite-slept-here/10350…
# Hot topic Australia, Eviction, Public and community housing.Sharehousing can be fun, but fraught with risk – and the law offers little protection. These 3 changes could help
Zoe Goodall & Wendy Stone The Conversation (No paywall)Anyone who’s lived in a sharehouse knows it only takes one person to send the household off the rails. Everyone’s life is affected when one housemate leaves out food, plays loud music all night or routinely uses all the hot water. Sharing a home with someone means you’re intimately impacted by their best and worst behaviour. But what about when your housemate’s actions cause everyone to owe money, or even put everyone at risk of eviction?
https://theconversation.com/sharehousing-can-be-fun-but-fraught-…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Share houses.