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
Government calls for racism to be ‘rooted out’ of social housing following ITV expose
Tim Clark Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... The government has called for racism to be “rooted out” of the social housing sector after an ITV News expose highlighted major issues at councils in the UK. ... In the latest instalment, the programme found alleged instances of racist attitudes within councils when dealing with tenants’ repair issues, as well as testimony from residents in which they feel racism has shaped their treatment. The ITV investigation included a mother of four from Kenya who felt racism shaped her treatment from staff at her landlord Hull Council. She claims that she was told she “could always go back” after complaining about serious disrepair problems at her council house.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/home/home/government-calls-for-r…
# International, Discrimination, Public and community housing, Local Government, Race and ethnicity.Embodied carbon: why truly net zero buildings could still be decades away
Ljubomir Jankovic The Conversation (No paywall)Carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions come from two sources: using things (known as operational emissions) and making things (embodied emissions). For a familiar example of the first kind, your home probably burns natural gas for heating and uses electricity that fossil fuels may have generated. Governments plan to eliminate these emissions by making buildings better insulated and airtight so that they need less energy and ensuring renewable sources, such as wind and solar, generate enough power. But what about the second kind – those embodied emissions that arise from making the thermal insulation, solar panels, bricks and concrete blocks in energy-efficient buildings?
https://theconversation.com/embodied-carbon-why-truly-net-zero-b…
# International, Utilities electricity water gas, Climate change, Minimum habitability standards.‘Of course there are examples’: Criminals laundering billions through Australian housing market
Sarah Danckert The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Homebuyers could be competing at property auctions against organised criminal gangs using Australia to launder their ill-gotten gains, according to evidence from law enforcement agencies at a federal inquiry.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/of-course-there-are-…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market, International.Small mortgage increase will hurt as outer suburbs struggle post-COVID
Shane Wright The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Thousands of households who used record-low interest rates to buy into the property market would struggle to survive a small increase in their mortgage repayments, new research shows with warnings people in Australia’s outer suburbs are struggling after COVID-19 lockdowns.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/small-mortgage-increase-…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Families, Home ownership, Housing market.The Millennial migration: Qld records highest interstate arrivals as people leave NSW, Vic
Cloe Read and Jocelyn Garcia (Paywall)More young people are leaving NSW and Victoria to move to Queensland as the “Millennial migration” between Australian states is expected to peak. The shift comes as Brisbane’s emerging global-city status continues to draw interstate interest, and will soon attract international migrants and overseas investment. ... Problems of housing affordability, congestion and infrastructure bottlenecks in Sydney and Melbourne amplified the shift. (Brisbane Times)
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/the-millenn…
# Australia, Housing affordability, Planning and development.‘Highly stressful’: Red-hot property market tests banks’ home loan factories
Clancy Yeates and Charlotte Grieve The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Lucy McLelland has experienced first-hand the stress of trying to secure a speedy loan approval in Sydney’s fiercely competitive property market. ... Her story underlines the pressure on banks to quickly process loan applications in a red-hot market, fuelled by ultra-low interest rates and low stock levels. For others, however, delays in getting approved for a loan can be a deal-killer.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/highly-stres…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market, Personal stories.Minor Defendants: Kids Are Being Named in Evictions
Shelby R King (No paywall)From the United States ... Linda’s children were too young to write their own names when they were entered as defendants into a New York state housing court computer. Both kids, now 3 and 7, are identified as legal parties in a pending eviction case against their mother. Absurd as that may sound, it’s not a fluke. Minor children are sometimes named in eviction filings. When it happens, the damage is acute and difficult to repair even if it’s caught quickly. If a child’s name makes in onto official court records, especially if those records are public and online, the damage can be irreversible. Almost a year ago, Linda’s landlord banged on her apartment door and quizzed her then-6-year-old, asking the child to spell both kids’ names. The landlord showed up unannounced while Linda was in the bathroom, and her older child opened the door before Linda could intervene. (Shelterforce)
https://shelterforce.org/2021/11/11/minor-defendants-kids-are-be…
# International, Eviction, Privacy and access, Tribunal NCAT.Evergrande dodges default for third time in a month
Avatar Anshuman Daga, Clare Jim and Andrew Galbraith The New Daily (No paywall)Cash-strapped developer China Evergrande Group has averted a destabilising default at the last minute for the third time in the past month, with a source saying several bondholders had received overdue coupon payments.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2021/11/11/evergrande-dodges-…
# International, Housing market, Landlords and agents.