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
Evictions are still banned in these states
Annie Nova (No paywall)From the United States ... Months after the national ban on evictions expired, a number of states and cities have either kept in place or implemented their own policies to try to keep families in their homes. Despite heavy opposition by landlords, advocates say these policies are necessary with hardship among tenants still so high. More than 15% of adult renters continue to say they’re behind, with as many as 28% of African American-led households reporting the same. ... Connecticut, Virginia, Oregon, Massachusetts, Michigan and Minnesota as well as Washington, D.C., all have limits on evictions tied to the rental assistance process that will last until 2022, according to an analysis by the COVID-19 Eviction Moratoria Team. Meanwhile, three states continue to have a statewide eviction moratorium in effect. Most renters in New Jersey and New York can’t be evicted until January. New Mexico has also prohibited renters from being pushed out of their homes, and hasn’t yet specified when the protection will end. (CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/05/evictions-are-still-banned-in-th…
# Hot topic International, Eviction, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.Sydney Social Housing: Two Point Perspective
(No paywall)In this podcast presenters Rebecca Hawcroft and Kieran McInerney chat with architectural historian and heritage specialist Dr Noni Boyd and architect Dr Michael Zanardo. Their architecture guide map Affordable Housing Sydney reveals the incredible range and quality of local affordable housing over time. Affordable Housing Sydney brings together for the first time Sydney’s rich but relatively unknown built history of affordable housing. (SoundCloud)
# Video NSW, Affordable housing.Will the cost of LA’s decarbonization lead to tenant evictions?
Chelsea Kirk (No paywall)From United States ... Chelsea Kirk is a research and policy analyst at Strategic Actions for a Just Economy. Her forthcoming report “Los Angeles Building Decarbonization: Tenant Impact and Recommendations” analyzes the impact of building decarbonization on the renter population. She writes: 'Tenants are in a state of crisis. Half of all renters spend more than 50% of their income on rent. Many have rental debt and are at risk of displacement due to COVID-19-related job loss. Households are cutting back on basic needs like food and clothing to be able to pay rent. Decarbonization could cause sharp increases in housing costs for tenants and make an already dire situation worse.' (CalMatters)
https://calmatters.org/commentary/2021/11/will-the-cost-of-las-d…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Climate change.Tenants demand nationwide landlord licensing to tackle danger slum rental properties
Andrew Penman (No paywall)Campaigners for tenant rights are calling for a national register of private landlords to combat slum lettings and “beds-in-sheds”. Barely 7% of privately rented homes in England are currently covered by selective licensing schemes for landlords because local authorities don’t have to set them up. (Mirror)
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tenants-demand-nationwide-…
# International, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, Landlords and agents, Local Government.Australia’s Indigenous housing won’t cope with climate change, research finds
Lorena Allam The Guardian (No paywall)Regional and remote Aboriginal housing is not able to withstand climate change and will be unsuitable for future living, forcing people to consider migrating away from their traditional lands if nothing is done, research says. Even the best-kept housing will not be enough to protect people from the worst impacts of climate change, according to the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) [which you will find at: https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/368].
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/nov/04/australia…
# Australia, Aboriginal renters, Public and community housing, Climate change, Housing market.What if we treat homelessness like a pandemic?
Sarah Tranum The Conversation (No paywall)From Canada ... COVID-19 outbreaks in shelters and other effects of the virus forced more people to sleep rough — on sidewalks, under bridges, in encampments — making homelessness more visible. People experiencing homelessness were disproportionately impacted and five times more likely to die of COVID-19. [Yet] the solutions to homelessness are not unknown or out of reach. There are many programs and organizations creating solutions that are part of a systems-based strategy to help end homelessness in Canada. Research clearly points to three important measures: affordable housing, support programs and prevention.
https://theconversation.com/what-if-we-treat-homelessness-like-a…
# International, Affordable housing, Health, Homelessness.Legal service links rising house prices to high rates of elder abuse
Liz Farquhar ABC (No paywall)Jane is in her seventies and lives on the NSW Central Coast in a small fibro house that she desperately wants her adult son to move out of. She recently sought help from a specialist service at Legal Aid, aimed at helping those affected by elder abuse. ... Legal Aid NSW has Commonwealth funding for the free Elder Abuse Service (EAS) on the NSW Central Coast. ... [Senior solicitor Mary Lovelock] said the high cost of housing was often at the heart of the abuse. "It can be an adult child standing over mum or dad on pension day," she said. "But with the recent surge in housing prices, it can involve really serious amounts of money. We've assisted many clients who've lost hundreds of thousands of dollars through different forms of financial abuse. The housing crisis has fuelled a lot of the financial abuse we're seeing."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-05/high-house-prices-linked-…
# NSW, Domestic violence, Health, Housing affordability.Renewing Australia’s ageing housing stock key to hitting net zero, boosting affordability, report says
Kate Burke Domain (No paywall)Renewing Australia’s ageing housing will be key to helping the country reach net-zero carbon emissions, a new report says, and have the added benefit of improving affordability while supporting Australia’s economic recovery. With almost eight million homes across the country built before energy efficiency measures were introduced, Australia needs to ramp up retrofitting and replacement of old homes to avoid missing net-zero by a mile, a peak body for community housing providers says.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/renewing-australias-ageing-housin…
# Australia, Utilities electricity water gas, Climate change, Housing market.