Housing

• Wijzigingen in de vermogensrendementsheffing en negative gearing zullen de strategie om te huren in een gewenste wijk terwijl men elders een goedkoper pand koopt minder aantrekkelijk maken, alders experts • Bekijk alle verslaggeving over de federale begroting van Australië voor 2026 • Volg onze live-blog met Australisch nieuws voor de laatste updates

Oppositieleider onthult plan om aantal migranten drastisch te verminderen in budgetrespons op donderdag

• Republikeinen in het Huis drijven op 12 mei door met aanpassingen aan een door de Senaat aangenomen woningbouwpakket, zelfs nadat president Trump opriep tot de aanname van de oorspronkelijke versie zonder wijzigingen. • Deze inspanning valt samen met pogingen van de regering om 1 miljard dollar aan beveiligingsfondsen binnen een groter, partijlijn-gebaseerd uitgavenpakket gericht op immigratiehandhaving te verkrijgen, wat mogelijk Trump's ballroom-project ondersteunt. • Directeur van de Secret Service, Sean Curran, ontmoette dinsdag Republikeinen in de Senaat om steun veilig te stellen, terwijl Trump een deadline van 1 juni heeft gesteld aan wetgevers om de wetgeving af te ronden.

Labor’s ambitieuze en politiek risicovolle belastinghervorming is bedoeld om starters te helpen en intergenerationele rechtvaardigheid te bevorderen

De verwachte hervormingen van Labor zijn geen wondermiddel, maar ze zouden Australië naar een rechtvaardiger traject kunnen duwen. Ontvang onze breaking news e-mail, gratis app of dagelijkse nieuwspodcast. De regering-Albanese bereidt zich voor op het presenteren van een begroting die wonen opnieuw zal definiëren als beschutting – in plaats van als financieel instrument – in wijzigingen die al hebben geleid tot felle waarschuwingen dat de huren zullen exploderen en het woningaanbod zal worden ingeperkt. Die waarschuwingen kunnen het beste genegeerd worden. Lees verder...

• De First Nations-vrouw staat sinds 2023 op de prioriteitslijst voor sociale huurwoningen in WA. Ondanks dat ze bijna stierf door het slapen op straat, is de wachttijd nog steeds twee jaar. • De familie van een dakloze First Nations-vrouw die lijdt aan septicemie vreest dat ze zal overlijden zonder een veilig thuis, terwijl belangenbehartigers waarschuwen dat het jaren kan duren voordat ze bovenaan de wachtlijst voor sociale huurwoningen staat. • Andrea Woodley is al weken in en uit het ziekenhuis vanwege sepsis, veroorzaakt door geïnfecteerde blaren op haar voeten na het slapen op straat in het centrum van Perth. De Noongar, Budimaya en Nyikina-vrouw en haar naasten vrezen dat ze zonder woning het risico loopt te overlijden.

Halifax says cost of typical home fell by 0.1% in April, the second consecutive monthly drop, with pace of annual growth down from 0.8%. to 0.4%Business news – live updates UK house prices fell for a second consecutive month in April, as Halifax halved its estimate for the annual rate of growth due to the conflict in the Middle East.Halifax, which is part of Lloyds – Britain’s biggest mortgage lender – said that the cost of a typical UK home fell by 0.1% in April, to £299,313. This followed a 0.5% fall in March. Continue reading...

Advertised prices for new rental listings rising at fastest pace since October 2024. Follow updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s housing market is at its slowest for almost 18 months as buyers stick to cheaper properties and abandon interest in the top end of the market.Figures today from the data firm Cotality show Melbourne and Sydney house prices fell 0.6% in April. Melbourne’s home values have now fallen 1.9% since November, with Sydney’s down 1%. Continue reading...

Noongar woman Mary Ann Miller died of sepsis, while homeless to avoid an allegedly abusive ex-partnerWarning: This article contains images of and references to Indigenous Australians who have diedThe family of an Aboriginal mother of seven who died just weeks after giving birth say the Western Australian government knew she was experiencing domestic violence and fearing for her safety weeks before her death.Mary Ann Miller died of sepsis in Fiona Stanley hospital on 28 March, two weeks after giving birth to her son and after she was allegedly assaulted and had her nose broken by her former partner. Guardian Australia is not suggesting the alleged assault contributed to her death. Continue reading...

• The Trump administration is dismantling civil rights protections in housing that have been used to challenge discriminatory practices, marking a significant shift in federal enforcement of fair housing laws. • The policy reversal affects regulatory mechanisms historically used to combat housing discrimination and bias, with implications for fair lending and rental practices across the United States. • Civil rights advocates and housing advocates are expected to challenge the rollback, with potential legal battles anticipated over the constitutionality and necessity of the protections.

Estate agents say rising mortgage costs have created a mood of fear, with Canterbury among the cities being hitHave you lost a mortgage deal or seen your rate rise?On a warm, spring morning in Canterbury, the cobbled streets are buzzing with activity and the white Tudor houses gleam in the sun.It is a scene that seems far removed from events in the Middle East, but the conflict is undermining business and consumer confidence – rattling the city’s housing market just as the spring selling season began. Continue reading...

Datacentres ‘directly competing’ with possible residential builds near public transport, one council tells NSW inquiry, amid growing concernsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDatacentre developments are crowding out opportunities for housing and job-rich industries across Sydney, a New South Wales inquiry has heard, with one local council reporting a rise in blackouts linked to the industry’s expansion.Several Sydney councils, all facing an influx of datacentre developments, have raised concerns about the health, environmental and amenity impacts on their local communities in submissions to the state’s datacentre inquiry. Continue reading...

Simon Dudley fired after his comments were condemned by prime minister and families of fire victimsReform UK’s housing spokesperoson has been sacked his role after he described the Grenfell Tower fire as a “tragedy” but said that “everyone dies in the end”.Keir Starmer had called on Nigel Farage to sack Simon Dudley, a former head of Homes England, after his comments, which were condemned by Grenfell families and others. Continue reading...

Labour says it is ‘untenable’ for Simon Dudley to continue in his role after he said that Grenfell was tragic ‘but everyone dies in the end’Good morning. One of the big policy decisions for all parties ahead of the next election is whether or not to keep the pensions triple lock. Most mainstream economists and welfare experts think it is overly generous (pensioners used to be significantly poorer than working-age people, but that is no longer the case), and ultimately unaffordable. But it is popular, and pensioners turn out to vote in elections in much higher numbers than younger people.The Conservatives at one point suggested they might drop it, but Kemi Badenoch now defends the triple lock quite strongly. Labour has not said what its election plans are yet. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK, says he will take tough decisions to cut welfare spending, and he was thought to be sceptical about the triple lock. But Robert Jenrick, his Treasury spokesperson, is thought to be in favour, and at a press conference later they are expected to confirm Reform UK would keep it.Reform UK is facing calls to sack its housing spokesman after he said the Grenfell Tower fire was a “tragedy” but that “everyone dies in the end”.Simon Dudley, a former executive at Homes England and the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, said the pendulum had “swung too far the wrong way” on regulation after the deadly blaze at the west London tower block in 2017.If Nigel Farage has an ounce of decency, he will sack his housing chief immediately.These disgraceful comments about those who died in the Grenfell Tower fire are beyond the pale and it is completely untenable for Simon Dudley to continue in his position. Continue reading...

• The Trump administration has proposed a federal regulation that would prohibit families with mixed immigration status from receiving housing assistance or living in public or Section 8 housing. • The proposal could evict approximately 80,000 people, including 37,000 children who are U.S. citizens, forcing mixed-status families to choose between homelessness or separation. • Advocates argue the rule directly targets immigrant families and contradicts current policy allowing federal housing assistance for families with mixed legal status, where the government only pays for individuals with legal status.

Policymakers should address financial barriers that hinder young people from starting families, says thinktank Politicians hoping to persuade young people in the UK to have more children should prioritise tackling housing affordability, according to research by the Resolution Foundation thinktank.There has been growing concern in recent years about Britain’s declining birthrate, given the long-term fiscal pressures of supporting an ageing population. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Capital gains tax discount and negative gearing rules created ‘extra artificial incentive’ for property speculation, the e61 Institute has foundGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe combination of the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing rules has turbocharged debt-fuelled property speculation over recent decades, according to a new analysis of hundreds of thousands of property investments.The federal budget in three weeks’ time is widely expected to include changes to tax breaks for investors, in an effort to rebalance the tax system away from the wealthiest Australians and to take pressure off home prices. Continue reading...

• The U.S. Senate passed its version of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (H.R. 6644) by a 89-10 vote, sending it back to the House for reconciliation on federal housing policy reforms. • This bipartisan legislation aims to ease housing development barriers, building on prior House actions amid national affordable housing efforts.

• On March 25, 2026, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 26-1001, the Housing Options Made Easier (HOME) Act, enabling public schools, colleges, and universities to bypass local zoning rules for building housing within three miles of municipalities or counties over 5,000 population. • Developments can reach three stories or match local height limits, marking the first major 2026 housing law in a Democratic push for affordable stock; Polis also signed Senate Bill 26-001 expanding local tax use and credits for workforce housing. • The bill passed despite all Republicans and two House Democrats opposing it, aiming to address housing shortages through institutional properties.

Bill Pulte reportedly urges examination of alleged fraud as New York attorney general’s lawyer attacks ‘vendetta’ The Trump administration’s federal housing director Bill Pulte is asking prosecutors to investigate New York attorney general Letitia James for insurance fraud, according to criminal referrals reported by MS Now and CBS News.The referrals to prosecutors in Florida and Illinois allege that James may have committed mortgage insurance fraud. The allegations center on applications made to Universal Property Insurance company, which is based in Florida, and Allstate in Illinois. Continue reading...

• The U.S. Senate passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act on March 24, 2026, sending it back to the House to increase housing supply through reforms. • The legislation targets zoning and permitting barriers to boost construction amid ongoing housing shortages. • Passage marks a key step in addressing national housing crisis, potentially easing affordability for millions if enacted.

Homes built from March 2028 will produce 75% less greenhouse gas emissions than those built to 2013 standardBuyers of new homes are likely to be shackled to high gas prices for years to come, as the government has delayed bringing into force new regulations on low-carbon housing.Most newly built homes will come equipped with solar panels and heat pumps from March 2028, according to updated regulations for England called the “future homes standard” (FHS), but the government has relented on plans for more stringent rules under pressure from housebuilders. Continue reading...

First responders report 33 injured at multiple sites in Dimona, including a 10-year-old boy in serious conditionMiddle East crisis live – latest updatesAn Iranian missile has hit the Israeli town of Dimona, home to a nuclear facility, in what Iran said was retaliation for strikes on its own nuclear site at Natanz.Dimona hosts a facility just outside the main town widely believed to possess the Middle East’s sole nuclear arsenal, although Israel has never admitted to possessing nuclear weapons. Continue reading...

• The Senate passed H.R. 6644, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, on March 12, 2026, with a bipartisan vote of 89 to 10, combining housing supply and community investment measures. • The bill includes provisions to raise caps on bank community development investments, update the definition of manufactured housing to include modular and prefabricated homes, and restrict large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes. • The White House Office of Management and Budget issued a statement strongly supporting the Senate amendment and indicating the president's advisors would recommend signing it into law if presented in its current form.

• The Senate passed a major bipartisan housing bill on March 12, 2026, with an 89-10 vote, marking the largest housing legislation in 36 years, co-sponsored by Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). • The bill implements a hard cap preventing institutional investors from purchasing additional single-family homes once they own 350 properties, and requires build-to-rent homes to be sold within 7 years, triggering depreciation recapture. • The legislation expands manufactured housing definitions to allow factory-built homes without steel chassis, broadens multifamily lending standards, and accelerates permitting timelines to increase overall housing supply.

Borrowers coming off fixed deals hit hard as Savills says big spike in interest payments made up half the overall rise UK households spent a record £226bn to keep a roof over their heads last year, figures showed on Monday, with mortgage borrowers finishing fixed-rate deals particularly hard hit by rising payments.Overall housing costs have gone up by £66bn over the past five years, a rise of 41%, the property group Savills said. Continue reading...

• Governor Abigail Spanberger praised the 2026 General Assembly's passage of bills reducing heating costs (HB2, SB72), establishing a Weatherization Task Force (HB3, SB5), empowering localities on affordable housing (HB4), and improving renter protections (HB15, SB48). • Additional successes include eliminating healthcare premium fees (HB220, SB630), promoting portable solar systems (HB395, SB250), optimizing grid utilization (HB434, SB621), expanding the Eviction Reduction Program (HB527, SB628), limiting prior authorizations (HB736), and boosting healthcare workforce access (HB815, SB405). • Further measures allow communities to adopt affordable housing programs (HB867, SB74), improve power forecasting (HB892), and increase energy storage deployment (HB895, SB448) to lower costs for Virginians.

• House Committee on Financial Services Chairman French Hill (AR-02) and Housing and Insurance Subcommittee Chairman Mike Flood (NE-01) commended President Trump’s March 15, 2026, executive order removing regulatory barriers to affordable home construction. • The leaders noted the order aligns with bipartisan committee work over the past year to reduce building costs and boost housing supply through commonsense reforms. • They expressed intent to codify the executive order's objectives in upcoming congressional housing legislation to ensure lasting impact.