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
Less than 2 per cent of illegal evictions lead to prosecution of landlords, figures indicate
Ben Chapman (Paywall)From the United Kingdom ... Campaigners are calling on police commissioners to take action against criminal landlords as figures reveal alarmingly low rate of prosecutions. (Independent)
https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/illegal-evictio…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.SPECIAL REPORT Giant U.S. landlords pursue evictions despite CDC ban
Michelle Conlin (No paywall)From the United States ... Marvia Robinson was dead tired from a week of overnight long-haul trips when she nosed her Greyhound bus into the station in deep predawn darkness. Still, the 63-year-old driver kept a friendly lilt in her voice as she said goodbye to the riders filing past her and stepping off the bus. ... But she had no home to go to. Nineteen days earlier, Invitation Homes Inc (INVH.N), the largest landlord for single-family homes in the United States, had evicted her from the one she lived in. ... Robinson now lives out of her car and stays with friends or, when she has the cash, in a hotel. ... And eviction isn’t necessarily the end of it. Two weeks after Invitation booted Robinson from her Orlando home, the company sent her a bill for $12,768.82. ... She continues to work overnight shifts, and her hours and pay are rebounding. ... But she worries that debt collectors will come after her for the $12,768.82 bill Invitation Homes sent her. She remains homeless. (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/special-report-giant-us-landlor…
# Hot topic International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19, Homelessness, Housing market.People in Canberra with a disability are 'trapped' in their housing, but new rules could change that
Harry Frost and Michael Inman ABC (No paywall)Canberrans with physical disabilities often need to build their own homes or end up in public housing, according to advocates, but proposed new national requirements may force builders to construct all new homes to accessible standards. ACT Minister for Sustainable Building and Construction Rebecca Vassarotti will next week attend a meeting of Australia's Building Ministers to discuss the introduction of mandatory accessibility standards in the National Construction Code. The standards would mean all homes, townhouses and apartments built in the future would need to meet "universal design" standards— that is, be accessible for most people, regardless of their age, disability, background or other factors. It would include features such as: doors wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs, no entry steps, a bathroom on the ground floor and structural reinforcements to allow for the installation of things like grip rails if needed in the future.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-23/disability-construction-c…
# Australia, Disability, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards, State Government.Finding a rental property in a competitive market
Grace Jennings-Edquist ABC (No paywall)Carrington Courtney knows firsthand how competitive securing a rental property can be.
The 26-year-old chef, who rented a property near East Geelong in Victoria last year, has attended house inspections with "up to 50" prospective tenants "and a line out the door".
Her story is not unique ... here's what you can do to boost your chances of securing a property in a tight rental market. (ABC Everyday)
https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/how-to-secure-rental-property-in…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media Australia, Rent, Housing market.HUNTER FAMILY BECOMES HOMELESS AFTER MONTHS OF RENTAL APPLICATIONS
Lauren Kempe (No paywall)A month ago, NBN News brought you the story of a Hunter family on the brink of becoming homeless, after they were evicted from their Raymond Terrace rental. Sadly, even though they applied for dozens of homes, their worst fear has been realised. (NBN News)
https://www.nbnnews.com.au/2021/04/24/hunter-family-becomes-home…
# Hot topic, Video NSW, Eviction, Rent, Homelessness, Housing market, Regional NSW, State Government.Berlin’s rent cap, though defeated in court, shows how to cool overheated markets
David Madden and Alexander Vasudevan The Guardian (No paywall)The housing question is one of the central issues of our time, and events last week in Berlin underscored what’s at stake. In a much-anticipated ruling, Germany’s constitutional court in Karlsruhe ruled that Berlin’s Mietendeckel or rent cap was unconstitutional, and therefore null and void. The product of years of concerted organising by housing movements and leftwing parties in the city, the rent cap is wildly popular with Berlin’s tenants, who make up three-quarters of the city’s households. But it was hated by landlords, real-estate investors and members of Germany’s conservative political parties. ... Last week’s ruling represents a defeat for Berlin’s housing movement, but it may yet prove to be a pyrrhic victory for the city’s landlords and speculators. Anger over the nullification of the rent cap is fuelling support for the expropriation and remunicipalisation of thousands of units of public housing that had been privatised.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/apr/23/berlin-ren…
# Hot topic International, Public and community housing, Rent, Housing market.Housing boom may be halted by regulators or economic trends, analysts warn
Gareth Hutchens ABC (No paywall)Some analysts are warning that Australia's multi-decade property boom may be about to end, but most agree that will not happen this year with double-digit house price growth widely expected in 2021. Despite concerns about the pace of property price growth in Australia, regulators may not step in this year, analysts have warned. Without regulatory intervention, most agree property prices will keep rising through 2021, probably by 10 per cent or more.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-22/real-estate-faces-macropr…
# Australia, Housing market.‘It’s like a leaky boat’: icare home building insurance leaves taxpayers on the hook for $700m
Nigel Gladestone The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The faulty work of dodgy, disappearing and dead builders is pushing up the price of new homes and putting NSW taxpayers on the hook for more than $700 million through the government’s home warranty insurance scheme run by icare. The cost of an HBC policy has risen four times in the last two years to cover the scheme’s massive losses.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/it-s-like-a-leaky-boat-icare…
# NSW, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.