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
Eviction protections extended in Wales
Grainne Cuffe Inside Housing (Paywall)The Welsh government has extended its measures to protect renters from evictions, leaving England the only UK country to have no protections in place amid surging COVID-19 cases. The protections, which were due to end on 31 December, mean that the eviction notice period for renters in Wales will remain at six months until 24 March 2022, except in cases of anti-social behaviour or domestic violence. It means England is the only UK country without extra eviction protections in place; Scotland has a six-month notice period in place until 31 March, while Northern Ireland has a 12-week notice period in place until 4 May.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/eviction-protections-e…
# International, Eviction, Coronavirus COVID-19.Five million families in England face big social housing rent hike, warns thinktank
Richard Partington The Guardian (No paywall)Almost 5 million families in social housing in England are facing the biggest rent hike for a decade from April amid a mounting cost of living squeeze, according to a report. The Resolution Foundation thinktank said 4.75 million families would see rent on their local authority or housing association home rise by up to 4.1%, adding to the pressure on living costs by an average £202 extra a year. It warned the increase would coincide with significant tax rises planned by the government to come in from April and a further jump in household utility bills when Ofgem’s consumer energy price cap is raised. The Bank of England also forecasts inflation will peak at about 6% the same month, the highest level since 1992. “Rising social rents on top of these increases will be very damaging for living standards indeed,” it added. You may read a similar report by Lucie Heath entitled: 'Social tenants face average rent hikes of £202 next year amid ‘cost of living crunch’, thinktank warns' in 'Inside Housing' at: ['https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/social-tenants-face-average-rent-hikes-of-202-next-year-amid-cost-of-living-crunch-thinktank-warns-73802?utm_source=Ocean%20Media%20Group&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=12888843_IH-DAILY-22-12-2021-GR&dm_i=1HH2,7O93F,VLV45B,V9N4O,1]
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/dec/22/five-million-fa…
# International, Public and community housing, Rent, Families.House prices up. Birth rates down. Ceri and Scott caught in the middle
Tawar Razaghi Domain (No paywall)A hot property market emboldens homeowners to have more children while renters are more likely to put it off, a new study has found. The implications are far-reaching, experts say, as surging house prices exacerbate the country’s already stymied population growth and economic prosperity. ... The study’s lead author, University of Sydney school of economics associate professor Stephen Whelan, said housing constitutes a major cost of raising children; so, as the cost of housing rises, so does the cost of having children in Australia. You can also read about this report at: [https://www.realestate.com.au/news/booming-home-prices-put-renters-off-having-kids-university-of-sydney-study-reveals/?rsf=ps:facebook:news:aa] You will find a link to the research paper at: [https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2021/12/20/hot-housing-market-puts-renters-off-having-more-kids.html]
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/house-prices-up-birth-rates…
# Research alert Australia, Rent, Families, Home ownership, Housing market.10 years of affordable rent
Jess McCabe Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... 2011 was a key year for social housing. David Cameron’s coalition of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats had been in power for one year. ... One of the first acts of the coalition government was the creation of a new tenure in England. Inside Housing covered the announcement with a front-page headline announcing: “The end of social housing”. Affordable rent was described by the new government as an “intermediate rent” tenure. But, unlike intermediate or key worker housing, it was to be let in the same way as social housing, and to the same tenants. Previously, social rents had been set using a formula determined by government, but in effect was substantially below market rents in much of the country. Affordable rent would be up to 80% of market rents. [Read on]
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/insight/10-years-of-affo…
# History International, Public and community housing, Affordable housing.Draft housing changes could see rent rises for federal Indigenous agency staff
Cameron Gooley The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)A new draft housing policy would increase rent for staff at a federal government Indigenous agency and impact its relationship with First Nations communities, a union has said. While not required to house staff, the National Indigenous Australians Agency has 96 residential properties around the country in areas where there are limited housing options. But a new draft policy sent to staff last month, seen by this masthead, would require workers to pay 50 per cent of the average rental amount for the region they live in or 10 per cent of their total salary - whichever is higher.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/draft-housing-changes-co…
# Australia, Aboriginal renters, Federal Government, Housing market.The Private Rented Sector in 2022 – whatever next?
Robin Stewart (No paywall)From a legal perspective in many ways 2021 has been a year of ‘more of the same’ for the private rented sector: more delays to abolition of section 21 notices, an extension for most of the year to the restrictions on possession claims which began in 2020, and the same enforcement trends continuing: further growth in rent repayment orders and civil penalties, while some laws are barely enforced at all. It is impossible to rule out another year of further covid-related legislative delays, but 2022 will definitely see some major legal developments for the private rented sector in England and Wales. (Anthony Gold Blog)
https://anthonygold.co.uk/latest/blog/the-private-rented-sector-…
# International, Rent, Utilities electricity water gas, Coronavirus COVID-19, Landlords and agents, No-grounds evictions, Smoke alarms.Why Did the New York Federal Reserve Stop Surveying Evictions?
Dyvonne Body, Rebecca Landau, Edison Reyes and Vincent Reina (No paywall)From the United States ... Federal Reserve Bank of New York White Paper entitled" 'Current responses to housing insecurity: A focus on vulnerable residential renters and landlords' ... Something I have periodically kept my eye on over the course of the pandemic has been the results of the New York Federal Reserve’s Housing Survey. Amazingly, they just happened to add some questions about evictions to their survey in the time period immediately preceding the pandemic. This is huge because we have very little national level evidence on evictions. (Crisis Notes)
https://www.crisesnotes.com/why-did-the-new-york-federal-reserve…
# International, Rent, Housing market, Landlords and agents.All I want for Christmas is a landlord register
Ollie Neas (No paywall)From New Zealand ... While tenants must jump through hoops to prove they’re worth renting to, it’s near impossible to know whether a prospective landlord is actually a slumlord, or worse. This festive season, Ollie Neas is wishing for the gift of change.
https://thespinoff.co.nz/money/22-12-2021/all-i-want-for-christm…
# International, Bond, Tribunal NCAT, Landlords and agents, Personal stories.