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
Poor families' living costs have surged during pandemic, UK study finds
Patrick Butler The Guardian (No paywall)More than a third of the UK’s poorest families have seen their already meagre incomes squeezed during the pandemic because they have had to spend more on food, gas and electricity, and home schooling, a study has revealed. The Resolution Foundation thinktank found that while UK household spending broadly dropped and financial savings increased during the Covid crisis, this was not the case for many low-income families, who saw basic living costs surge. The government had failed to provide effective support for the poorest families, it said, and with the third lockdown expected to last months, it urged ministers to retain the £20 pandemic top-up to universal credit beyond April, as well as boost other benefits for the low-paid.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jan/11/poor-families-li…
# Hot topic International, Coronavirus COVID-19, Families, Welfare.Wales extends eviction ban until 31 March
Jack Simpson Inside Housing (Paywall)Welsh housing minister Julie James said today that legislation would come into force on Monday that would suspend evictions from social and private rented accommodation up until the 31 March. The Welsh government had already agreed to suspend restrictions between 11 December and 11 January. The new measures will protect people from being evicted from their homes during that period apart from in cases of anti-social behaviour or domestic violence. Ms James said that it was “an extremely difficult period” and renters should not be forced out of their homes, particularly at a time when the government is telling people to stay in their homes.
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/wales-extends-eviction-ban-…
# Hot topic International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.Government extends bailiff eviction ban and gives extra rough sleeper support
Jack Simpson Inside Housing (Paywall)A ban preventing bailiffs from enforcing evictions of renters in England has been extended for the next six weeks in response to the new national lockdown. Housing secretary Robert Jenrick confirmed today that the ban on bailiff evictions would be extended until at least the 21 February, a week after the first point in which the government will review and potentially change national lockdown guidance. The ban was initially expected to end on Monday. For the latest information on eviction moratoriums across various countries, check out [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mD6BfXDwtcVO4CNnw-ba3NRodoAuxZqMoOI_T67IAw0/edit].
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/government-extends-bailiff-…
# Hot topic International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.The COVID-19 Pandemic Shows the Dangers of For-Profit Housing
Jacob Woocher (No paywall)From the United States ... As white-collar workers have left expensive urban cores in droves, apartments have emptied and rents have fallen ... This all sounds great, but there’s an immediate problem: these lower rents do nothing to help the tens of millions of people in the U.S. who are facing eviction. ... [The] COVID-19 pandemic has completely vindicated the demand that housing must be a human right rather than something that is bought and sold for profit. Only then can we end the travesty where one’s home is directly tied to their income and wealth. (Truthout)
https://truthout.org/articles/the-covid-19-pandemic-shows-the-da…
# Must read International, Eviction, Rent, Coronavirus COVID-19.'We're back where we were a year ago': Homeless fears for bushfire survivors as insurance runs out
Caitlin Fitzsimmons The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Survivors of the Black Summer bushfires could be left homeless by insurance companies ceasing to pay for temporary accommodation when rebuilds are yet to be completed. Many bushfire survivors were uninsured or under-insured, but even those with full insurance found their coverage for temporary accommodation was typically capped, either by lump sum or time, and often runs out in 12 months.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/we-re-back-wher…
# Hot topic Australia, Homelessness.Few fines for Tasmanian landlords: man left homeless after Smithton rental became uninhabitable
Adam Holmes (Paywall)From Tasmania ... After living in deteriorating rental at Smithton for three years, David Billett knew the writing was on the wall ... [Read on] (The Advocate)
https://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/7080102/few-fines-for-landl…
# Australia, Repairs, Tribunal NCAT, Homelessness, Personal stories.Sydney unit rents fall to lowest since 2013: Domain Rent Report
Kate Burke Domain (Paywall)Sydney unit rents have recorded their steepest drop in more than 15 years, new data shows, giving tenants in some pockets the chance to negotiate hundreds of dollars off asking prices. ... [Nevertheless] with further cuts made to JobSeeker and JobKeeper in January, and further support payment cuts to come in March, [Better Renting executive director] Mr Dignam said there would be many renters who would struggle to make ends meet.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/sydney-unit-rents-fall-to-lowest-…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent, Affordable housing, Coronavirus COVID-19, Federal Government.Plans for towers above station on Sydney's north shore approved
Matt O'Sullivan The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Plans for high-rise buildings above a new train station at Crows Nest on Sydney's lower north shore have been given the green light, despite community opposition to the scale of development. ... The rationale for developments such as Crows Nest is that offices, shops and apartments help to cross subsidise the cost of the train station below, which can cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/plans-for-towers-above-stati…
# NSW, Planning and development.