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
FEANTSA Flash October 2021
(No paywall)Read about European developments in housing and homelessness, hot topics this month, with Spain drafting an ambitious new housing bill and Denmark launching a new homelessness initiative. Read on to learn more about these and other developments relating to homelessness in Europe. (international Union of Tenants)
# International, Public and community housing, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, Homelessness.November interest rate announcement: RBA resists mounting pressure to raise rates early
Sue Williams Domain (No paywall)The Reserve Bank of Australia has resisted mounting pressure to push up interest rates much earlier than its planned 2024 hike, and instead kept the magic figure at its record low 0.10 per cent for the 12th month running. The RBA decision on Tuesday to keep the rate steady came even though all four big banks have hiked their longer-term fixed-rate mortgage products, and as overseas central banks move closer to raising official interest rates.
https://www.domain.com.au/money-markets/november-interest-rate-a…
# Australia, Housing market.“Invisible, Forgotten”: Sean Lee became homeless after waiting for 17 years of public housing
(No paywall)A man who has been waiting for public housing for 17 years says he has recently become homeless and feels “invisible, forgotten” by the waiting process sleeping in his car. Sean Lee was put on the waiting list for housing when he was working as a trainee nurse in 2004, earning less than $ 300 a week. He said he was told he was looking at a three to five year wait. However, Lee is still waiting for the Lake Macquarie home to become available. He is currently traveling between emergency accommodation and his car ... (Newcastle Herald | Sydney News Today)
https://sydneynewstoday.com/invisible-forgotten-sean-lee-became-…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Disability, Homelessness.Housing is the foundation for healthy people and communities. California needs a fundamentally new approach to keep people safely housed.
Madeline Howard (No paywall)COVID-19 has been with us for nearly two years, and in California we’ve gone through a dizzying rollercoaster of eviction protections, ranging from robust – the Judicial Council’s emergency order stopping all but emergency evictions, to nonsensical – the March 2020 executive order billed as an eviction moratorium that had little actual effect. Tenants and advocates have been tirelessly demanding simpler, more robust eviction protections that will last until the state distributes billions in rental assistance funds to eligible tenants and landlords. These demands were ignored, and evictions are now rolling forward while tenants continue to wait for the funds to be distributed. At the same time, the number of Californians experiencing homelessness continues to rise. This continually evolving crisis also highlights the ways evictions are another form of racialized violence that harm communities of color much more than others; in particular, Black people are disproportionately likely to be evicted and experience homelessness. (Western Center on law and poverty)
https://wclp.org/housing-is-the-foundation-for-healthy-people-co…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market, Race and ethnicity.Nearly 100 households are made homeless every day – 'This is what we feared'
Nadine Batchelor-Hunt (No paywall)The scale of England's homelessness crisis has been laid bare after new data released by the government reveals almost 100 households are being made homeless each day in England. The figures reveal more than 180,000 households have been pushed into homelessness since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. ... The numbers also include the first month after the ban on evictions was lifted at the end of May, and is likely to reflect the removal of restrictions on private-rented sector evictions. The ban was introduced at the beginning of the pandemic to protect renters from being made homeless after financial difficulties. On 31 May, the restrictions ended and bailiff enforcement evictions were allowed to resume. (yahoo!news)
https://au.news.yahoo.com/91-families-homeless-each-day-england-…
# International, Eviction, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness, Housing market.Government pledges £66m winter help for rough sleepers
Tim Clark Inside Housing (Paywall)The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) said the extra funding will provide services such as counselling and rehabilitation to support rough sleepers with drug and alcohol problems. It said the new fund forms part of the government’s £640m drive to end rough sleeping by the end of 2024.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/government-pledges-66m…
# International, Federal Government, Homelessness.London mayor demands landlords devise evacuation plans for disabled residents
Tim Clark Inside Housing (Paywall)Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has demanded building owners in London to urgently draw up personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs) for residents who live in unsafe blocks. In a letter to building owners, Mr Khan said he would “not wait for legislation” to improve the safety of residents of unsafe buildings, with more than 1,000 blocks in London now deemed at risk of fire, and demanded that landlords take steps to implement the changes. The call from the mayor includes all buildings owned by social landlords and local authorities in the capital. The need for PEEPs have gained extra significance in the wake of the Grenfell fire in 2017. Of the 37 disabled residents living in the tower, 15 were killed by the fire. As part of his phase one recommendations, Grenfell Inquiry chair Sir Martin Moore-Bick recommended the adoption of PEEPs for all disabled residents of high-rise buildings.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/london-mayor-demands-l…
# International, Public and community housing, Rent, Disability, Housing market, Local Government, Minimum habitability standards.Council housing remains the missing solution to the housing crisis. It is time for government to step up
Steve Hilditch Inside Housing (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Councils are ready to readopt their historic role as major providers of new homes at social rents, and could solve many of our housing market issues if they did. But they need a better partner in central government, writes Steve Hilditch.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/comment/comment/council-housing-…
# International, Public and community housing, Housing market.