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
How co-operative housing gave me the peace of mind I thought I’d never find
Rosie Collington The Guardian (No paywall)Denmark’s system offers tenants a chance to escape grasping landlords and own an affordable stake in a community ... Across many countries, and big cities in particular, the prospect of homeownership or access to socially rented housing is a pipe dream. Median house prices have risen to more than seven times median incomes in the Anglo-Saxon economies. In the UK, the proportion of 25- to 35-year-olds on middle incomes who owned a home plummeted from two-thirds to just one-quarter between 1996 and 2016. Meanwhile, the costs of renting, from Sydney to San Francisco, have soared. Then, in July 2021, I moved with my Danish partner into one of Copenhagen’s many andelsboliger, a co-operatively owned block of flats where we neither have a landlord nor pay rent, and which is not subject to market prices. Today, about 7% of the Danish population live in a form of co-operatively owned housing – and it accounts for one-third of the housing stock in Copenhagen. It soon became clear to me that there’s a lot that other countries could learn.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/23/cooperativ…
# International, Public and community housing, Housing market, International.English Island Seeks a Landlord-King Who Likes Solitude, Seals and Beer
Alan Yuhas The Guardian (No paywall)Overseeing a small island dominated by a castle, seals and a pub, an English council is searching for a new king or queen. ... The job listing, posted last week by the Barrow Borough Council in Cumbria, is technically seeking someone to run the pub on Piel Island, half a mile off England’s northwestern coast. Winters are wet, travel is limited and an eccentric tradition of naming a king survives at the island’s old pub.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/22/world/europe/piel-island-uk.h…
# International, Landlords and agents.‘Everyone In’ court challenge fails despite judge highlighting ‘elusiveness’ to government messaging
Lucie Heath Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... A legal challenge against the government over its scheme to house rough sleepers during the pandemic has been unsuccessful, with the judge stating the debate “belongs in the arenas of public opinion and politics” rather than the courts. In a judgement published this week, a High Court judge said there was an “elusiveness” and “ambiguity” in the government’s communication on the "Everyone In" initiative, but rejected the claim that ministers had acted unlawfully. The judicial review, which was heard at the Royal Courts of Justice in December, was brought forward by a former rough sleeper with no recourse to public funds who was refused accommodation from Camden Council in March last year.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/everyone-in-court-chal…
# International, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness, Local Government.Coffs Harbour homeless crisis as housing issues grip Bellingen, Nambucca
Danielle Gusmaroli Daily Telegraph (Paywall)The contrast between the multimillion-dollar pristine houses of Coffs Harbours Sapphire Beach and the shocking environs of “tent city,” which more and more of the region’s growing number of homeless call home, is so stark it’s disorientating. ... Where just 15 people a day came when it first opened three years ago, that figure has ballooned to 70 individuals who head to Pete’s to eat, shower and use the legal and mental health facilities. Nearby, hidden in Coffs Central Shopping Centre’s multistorey car park, retired butcher David Willcox, 66, strains an ear to tune his transistor radio and settles on the 10pm news, reclined in his silver Nissan Tilda. ... The Mid Coast Tenants Advice & Advocacy Service recorded a 95 per cent hike in people with paid employment or business income on the Mid North Coast calling for help in the year ending January 2022. “I‘ve seen an increase in desperation and couch surfing,” said service team leader Emma McGuire.
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/coffs-harbour-homeles…
# NSW, Rent, Homelessness, Housing market, Personal stories, Regional NSW.Does Victoria need a social housing regulator?
Richelle Hunt ABC (No paywall)An independent review into Victoria's social housing system has found that there needs to be a greater focus on tenants who live in public or social housing. Proposed solutions include adopting a statewide regulator and improving the complaints process for tenants, but would it help? Ex-lawyer Rob who currently boards in community housing says 'you have to expect that you're going to be treated as a lesser person [in social housing].' (ABC The Conversation Hour)
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/melbourne/programs/theconversationh…
# Audio Australia, Public and community housing.How to benefit from real estate investment and contribute to ethical outcomes at the same time
Ian Lynch The Fifth Estate (No paywall)Around the country, the affordability of housing is a key and growing concern for many people. It’s a problem not only for first home buyers and key workers on minimum wages, who are often the “go to” for sensationalised media, but also a concern for a growing number of mum and dad and smaller portfolio property investors, who are worried about housing affordability for their children and future generations. However, there is an opportunity for property investors to rent their property out in the normal fashion, while at the same time, influence the market by making a positive difference to the community. Enter: the “social enterprise real estate agency”. These real estate agents operate like any other agents in the community, the only difference is they tend to be owned and operated by not-for-profit community housing providers (usually also registered charities), thus distributing their profits back to their charitable parent entities.
https://thefifthestate.com.au/housing-2/how-to-benefit-from-real…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Housing market, Landlords and agents.No price listed, but this 16th century castle comes with a free ghost
James Robinson Domain (No paywall)A magnificent stone castle built in 1546 has been listed for sale in the country town of Leuchars in Scotland. Earlshall Castle is an enchanting, albeit imposing structure that boasts a rich and colourful past in the annals of Scottish folklore.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/no-price-listed-but-this-16…
# International, Housing market.Inflation is not 'out of control', but interest rates may have to rise this year
Gareth Hutchens ABC (No paywall)Australian consumers saw prices rise by 3.5 per cent last year. It was the fastest annual increase in prices in years. What does it mean? ... On property prices, economists say the chance of higher interest rates this year will put downward pressure on property prices, which will be good news for people who are trying to crack into the market.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-26/inflation-isnt-out-of-con…
# Australia, Housing market.