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There were 830,000 unwanted moves in England over the past 12 months, meaning 40% have been forced to relocateUnwanted home moves cost renters more than half a billion pounds a year, with tenants coughing up an average of £669 every time they are forced by landlords to leave their home, a survey has revealed.Analysis by the homelessness charity Shelter estimated that there had been...

Mayor says May election is a ‘once in a generation’ chance to tackle the city’s housing crisisSadiq Khan will launch his campaign for a record third term as mayor of London by promising the “greatest council homebuilding drive in a generation”.Appearing at an event in London on Monday, alongside the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, with whom the mayor has had public policy clashes in...

Exclusive: Charities say Home Office should allow 56 days after near 1,000% rise in rough sleeping among accommodation leaversLeading homelessness and refugee charities have called on the government to double the number of days that newly recognised refugees are given to find a home before being evicted from asylum hotels, after a near 1,000% rise in rough sleeping among Home Office accommodation leavers since...

Council leaders warn of ‘infrastructure crisis’ that will also affect green energy schemes and hinder growthHousing projects are being delayed for years because of an “infra­structure crisis” caused by lack of capacity in the National Grid, council leaders have warned.Building schemes for thousands of homes are on hold, while new ­projects face delays of up to four years in some parts of the UK...

Michael Sukkar says policy may need to be revised ahead of next federal election but the ‘broad strokes’ would remain the sameGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastMichael Sukkar has flagged that the Coalition could expand its super for housing policy to increase the amount that first home buyers can withdraw in response to rising prices.The shadow housing...

Clauses in Michael Gove’s bill include exemptions for properties in a retirement village or on land where a lease has already been grantedMichael Gove’s signature bill to stop developers selling new houses as leasehold properties contains loopholes that will allow them to continue doing so in certain circumstances, a revelation that has triggered anger among housing campaigners.The housing secretary will bring his leasehold reform...

Insecure jobs and high housing costs make it hard to maintain decent living standard, says abrdn Financial Fairness TrustBritain’s insecure jobs market and high housing costs are leading to the growth of a precarious middle class struggling to maintain a decent living standard on household incomes as high as £60,000 a year, a report has said.A study released by abrdn Financial Fairness Trust, a...

Many families move to afford a freestanding house, but higher density living could save them money, experts sayFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastSydney could become a “city with no grandchildren”, the New South Wales Productivity Commission has warned, but analysis of census data shows similar trends in most big...

In today’s newsletter: A year since Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation, the SNP’s new leader has been trying to navigate a series of scandals and a threat from Labour ahead of the next general election• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning.It has been almost a year since Nicola Sturgeon let Scotland know she was standing down as first minister. After eight years,...

This blog is now closed.Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastRenewables expansion puts prime farming land at risk, Taylor saysTaylor expands on the opposition to renewables:As always, with any projects, there’s good projects and bad projects but 28,000km of transmission lines, and a big loss of prime agricultural land that we’re starting to see right across Australia, we...

Social housing resident Filippe Scalora alleges a stranger moved into his flat while he could not get home in pandemicA social housing tenant is suing his landlord for £1m in damages, alleging that a housing officer illegally sublet his home when he was stranded abroad at the start of the Covid pandemic in 2020.Filippe Scalora’s case against Clarion will allege that when he returned...

Father of Dareen Nuru says they have been told to move out of south London flat but have nowhere else to goThe family of a one-year-old girl sent to hospital six times because of damp and mould in their south London flat say they are scared about her health and have pleaded for help from their local council.The parents say their daughter’s plight has...

Low-income family with children in deficit of about $200 a week just trying to afford basics, Queensland Council of Social Service study findsGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastQueensland has become “ground zero” for Australia’s cost-of-living crisis, with Brisbane leading the nation in rent, energy, insurance and health price hikes.A study has revealed a majority of Queensland’s low-income...

Opposition would do better on issues including the economy, health, education, the environment, immigration and crime, public saysMore than twice as many voters believe a Labour government would be better for housing than the Tories, according to the latest Opinium poll for the Observer.The survey shows Labour is well ahead of the Conservatives on most issues including the economy, health, education, the environment, immigration...

This blog is now closed.Labor MPs endorse changes to stage-three tax cutsGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastMorrison to take up separate position at Dyne Asset ManagementAs we brought you just earlier, Scott Morrison will be taking up a role with international advisory and consulting firm American Global Strategies after his resignation from politics late February.Well, firstly, I...

Detectives believe man is targeting single women – while AFP shines spotlight on romance fraudGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastLaw enforcement agencies are on the hunt for a man accused of stealing millions from property market investors as police warn Australians to be on guard against “pig butchering” scams before Valentine’s Day.A Victorian man is alleged to...

Building commissioner says he is confident defects at 900-apartment complex in Macquarie Park ‘will be rectified’, while minister says faults don’t pose a risk Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThe New South Wales building watchdog and the state’s planning minister have downplayed concerns over 900 apartments in Sydney’s north...

California Forever, which bought 60,000 acres, has received fierce opposition from local officials and environmental groupsThe controversial plan backed by Silicon Valley billionaires to build a new city in northern California farmland could come before voters later this year.California Forever, the company that quietly acquired 60,000 acres of land in Solano county and recently revealed it planned to build a city there, announced on...

Building Commission NSW issues urgent rectification orders for Greenland development, but says there is no danger to residentsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastAlmost 1,000 recently completed apartments in Sydney’s north are at risk of collapsing due to “serious damage” to concrete in the basements caused by defective workmanship, according...

This blog is now closed.Albanese says Australia will not participate in ICJ case against Israel and instead focus on ‘political solution’Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastPM says $15bn reconstruction fund is ‘open for business’ despite inability to apply for itThe prime minister was asked why the $15bn national reconstruction fund is “taking so long”, having passed through...

Charities say not extending Awaab’s law to asylum housing ‘totally unacceptable’ and will create two-tier systemAccommodation used to house tens of thousands of asylum seekers, often the worst in the UK when it comes to damp and mould, will be excluded from a crackdown on landlords managing social housing, the Guardian has learned.Following the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak from prolonged exposure to black...

Fiona was told that the landlord needed to move into the flat, which was then relisted for $300 more a week when Fiona moved outGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastA Sydney landlord put pressure on a single mother to leave her rental home after just nine months, eventually relisting the property at $300 more a week when...

This blog is now closed.Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastMelbourne: two suspected arson attacks could be linked to crime group conflicts, investigators say Two suspected arson attacks that destroyed a Melbourne tobacco shop destroyed by fire could be linked to ongoing violent conflict between crime groups, investigators say, AAP reports.In Spain, improved public understanding of the dangers...

This blog is now closed.Peter Dutton calls for boycott of Woolworths after Australia Day merchandise droppedGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastGovernment fences off Rozelle Parklands after asbestos discoveryAs Catie McLeod reported yesterday, the finding of some asbestos in playground mulch in new parklands in Sydney’s Rozelle triggered a closure of those areas just a couple of weeks...