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
COVID is keeping us in our homes, but what makes working there a success or failure?
Abbas Shieh and Robert Freestone The Conversation (No paywall)The industrial revolution transformed cities, resulting in places of residence and work becoming more distant than ever before. This spatial segregation is still largely embedded in the design of our cities today. But the COVID-19 pandemic might have brought our cities to a similarly dramatic turning point. Working from home has received a far-reaching fillip.
https://theconversation.com/covid-is-keeping-us-in-our-homes-but…
# Hot topic Australia, Planning and development.After a mining exodus, this capital city is ready for a remarkable turnaround
Matt Johnson The New Daily (No paywall)Perth’s property market is on the cusp of another boom after years stuck in the doldrums, as expats and young buyers flood auctions across the city.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/property/2021/01/26/perth-hou…
# Australia, Rent, Housing market.When Covid is over, what buildings do we actually want to see in Britain's cities?
Owen Hatherly The Guardian (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... The pandemic has underlined how broken the UK’s model for urban development is. It’s time to build something new. ... The tallest edifices in any city will tell you who and what actually rules. Here in Britain, it’s financial institutions and property speculation. It is hard to see now amid the depression and anger, but the pandemic did briefly show cities acting on the basis of general human need: rough sleepers being housed, mutual aid groups being set up, evictions being suspended. Yet the possibility of any long-term change is rapidly being lost. Read on ...
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/25/covid-buil…
# Hot topic International, Coronavirus COVID-19, Planning and development.Pandemic savings put brakes on household debt risk: economists
Rachel Wells Domain (Paywall)The war chest of savings Australians have built during the pandemic, coupled with less than breakneck annual growth in housing prices, is reducing the risks of our high household debt load, economists say.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/pandemic-savings-put-brakes-on-ho…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Federal Government, Housing market.Scammers seek thousands of pounds from individuals for fake L&Q bond
Dominic Brady Inside Housing (Paywall)Scammers parading as a UK housing association have asked for investment worth tens of thousands of pounds in a fraudulent bond transaction. Read more.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/scammers-seeking-thousands-…
# International, Public and community housing.You may never get a better deal on fixed-rate mortgages
Clancy Yeates The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)2020 was the year that hordes of borrowers started fixing their mortgage interest rates, as extraordinary central bank stimulus policies caused the cost of these loans to all but collapse. It is early still days but 2021 looks more like a year of economic recovery, albeit without a return to “normal” any time soon. Some economists believe that may mean ultra-low fixed mortgage rates may have already hit their bottom.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/borrowing/you-may-never-get-a-bette…
# Australia, Housing market.President Biden Extended the Eviction Ban Through March 2021. Here’s How You Can Get Protection
Taylor Moore (No paywall)From the United States ... To mitigate the harm of the COVID-19 pandemic, President Joe Biden signed 17 executive orders hours after being inaugurated — one of which is intended to protect renters. President Biden directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to extend the nationwide ban on evictions through March 2021. The executive order also extends the foreclosure moratorium on government-backed mortgages, including those backed by the USDA, VA, and HUD. It also allows homeowners to apply for mortgage forbearance if they need it. (NextAdvisor)
You will find a similar article by Dale Smith and Clifford Colby entitled 'Biden extends eviction moratorium until March 31: What renters should know' at [https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/biden-eviction-moratorium-what-renters-should-know-if-ban-extends-to-sept-30/] (c|net)
https://time.com/nextadvisor/in-the-news/biden-eviction-moratori…
# Must read International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.Biden extends the national ban on evictions through March 2021
Annie Nove and Carmen Reinicke (No paywall)From the United States ... President Joe Biden on Wednesday extended the federal ban on evictions through March 2021 with an executive action in one of his first official acts following inauguration. The ban on evictions has helped millions of Americans struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic. The moratorium on evictions was set to expire at the end of the month. ... In addition, there are growing calls for the ban to be matched with adequate rental assistance so that an eviction crisis is prevented rather than merely delayed. So far, Congress has allocated $25 billion in rental assistance but, after months of record job losses, rental arrears may be closer to $100 billion. (CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/20/biden-to-extend-the-national-ban…
# Hot topic International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.