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
Committed to committal
Giles Peaker (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... This was an appeal by the landlord, Saakib Khan, of an order sentencing him to six months imprisonment for contempt of court for breach of an injunction. The injunction ... was to prevent Saakib Khan from evicting or attempting to evict the tenant and from interfering with his quiet enjoyment of the property and from threatening him with violence or harassing, pestering, or intimidating him. ... The Court of Appeal dismissed the challenge to sentence: 'I have come to the very firm conclusion that, bearing in mind the circumstances and the cynical disregard which the appellant had for the injunction and the court proceedings, though this was a stern sentence, it was not manifestly excessive. The deliberate breach of the terms of the injunction was serious. It had particularly serious consequences in that the respondent and Ms Launders would be rendered homeless during the time of the COVID pandemic. ...' (Nearly Legal: Housing Law News and Comment)
https://nearlylegal.co.uk/2021/07/committed-to-committal/?utm_so…
# Legal significance International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Landlords and agents.Charities warn thousands at risk of returning to the streets as ‘Everyone In’ hotels close
Lucie Heath Inside Housing (Paywall)More than one thousand people in London are at risk of returning to the streets as emergency accommodation used to house rough sleepers during the pandemic is wound down, charities have warned. Figures published by Homeless Link show that 2,512 individuals are still living in hotels and other emergency accommodation in London following the government’s effort to house rough sleepers during the pandemic in a scheme known as Everyone In. Homeless Link warns that many of these people could end up returning to the streets when the Everyone In programme ends, alongside thousands of others living in hotels across the country. It comes one day after Inside Housing reported that the government told councils to close the hotels they were using to house rough sleepers by the end of June, unless they had a direct agreement with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to keep one open.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/charities-warn-thousan…
# International, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness.The shifting tides of Australian tourism in the face of COVID-19: A visual analysis through Airbnb
William Thackway and Christopher Pettit City Futures (No paywall)There are many new challenges facing our cities and regions brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic. These include the impact of global mobility and multiple prolonged lockdowns restricting interstate travel since the pandemic reached Australia in March 2020. Consequently, for the year ending December 2020, the number of international visitors to Australia dropped by 80% from 8.7 million tourists in 2019 to 1.7 million in 2020. Concurrently, domestic overnight visitors have fallen by 38% from 117 to 73 million trips. However, while the foreseeable outlook for international travel is bleak, domestic tourism has experienced a comeback, with domestic travel figures for the end of 2020 nearing 2019 rates. So, who have been the winners and losers of this changing travel landscape? To investigate how travel patterns have shifted within Australia, we looked at changes in Airbnb activity in major tourist areas.
https://blogs.unsw.edu.au/cityfutures/blog/2021/07/the-shifting-…
# Australia, Housing market, Short-term holiday letting.Home Truths: NZ kids moving more as families can't afford rising house prices
Ben Leahy (No paywall)Three out of four New Zealand children are moving house at least once before they turn 8, raising fears that falling home ownership is causing lasting harm to our next generation. Forty per cent of Kiwi children now move regularly and those in rentals are at potentially greater risk as they bounce between different homes and schools far more often, according to the ground-breaking Growing Up in New Zealand study.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/home-truths-nz-kids-moving-more-as…
# Research alert International, Health, Housing affordability, Housing market.Mandatory NJ landlord-tenant settlements will begin. Here are tenant advocates' concerns
Ashley Balcerzak (Paywall)From New Jersey ... Renters in New Jersey are still protected against lockouts through the end of the year, but starting this month, courts will require mandatory settlement hearings for landlord-tenant cases — and some tenant advocates are worried about the potential impact. Through such hearings, tenants and landlords meet — primarily online, at a time scheduled by the court — and discuss ways to resolve their cases. The estimated 14,000 cases that have been pending for more than a year will be prioritized, as well as newer cases involving a year's worth of missed rent. There are consequences if either party doesn't show up. If a landlord fails to appear, the case gets dismissed. If a tenant fails to appear, and the court determines the landlord has made his or her case, the court will enter a default judgment to evict the tenant. ... The state's eviction moratorium is still in effect, meaning renters cannot be kicked out of their homes through the end of the year. So for many tenants, it may not be in their interest to agree to a deal that requires them to move out within 30 days ... (northjersey.com)
https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2021/07/08/landlord-tenan…
# International, Tribunal NCAT.Tenants could be hesitant to try enforce Healthy Homes Standards, lawyer says
Charlie Dreaver (No paywall)From New Zealand ... From this month, landlords have to meet the healthy homes standards within 90 days of a new tenancy. However housing lawyer Machrus Siregar from Community Law Wellington explained there were complications if the landlord had not complied after that 90 day period. "The tenants could apply to the Tenancy Tribunal and seek a work order to have the landlord complete that work. "My concern with this is that it puts enforcement onto the tenants and tenants are very hesitant, understandably so, to initiate proceedings against their landlord. It's because they're concerned about being blacklisted or some [other] sort of retaliation."
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/446445/tenants-could-be-hes…
# International, Rent, Repairs.Waterloo South taking shape
Geoff Turnbull (No paywall)The Department of Planning, Infrastructure and Environment (DPIE) has released its assessment of Waterloo South. As it was the Council proposal, with three towers on McEvoy Street, which was submitted for assessment, a modified Council proposal will go to public exhibition in coming months. DPIE has asked for more work on the proposal before it is exhibited. (The South Sydney Herald)
https://southsydneyherald.com.au/waterloo-south-taking-shape/
# NSW, Public and community housing, Estate renewal, Housing market, Planning and development, State Government.Sexual assault survivors face a 'housing maze', support workers warn
Dominic Cansdale ABC (No paywall)There is a lack of dedicated crisis accommodation and housing support for survivors of sexual assault, according to a the Gold Coast Centre Against Sexual Violence. ... When someone is trying to exit from a shared house because they've been sexually assaulted, clearly they're going to feel unsafe, they don’t want to stay there but where else are they gonna go?" Ms MacLeod said the issue was compounded further by the booming housing market, with median vacancy rates below one per cent meaning rentals were harder to find.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-09/sexual-assault-survivors-…
# Australia, Domestic violence, Rent, Share houses, Women.