Category Archives: Housing

At least £64bn of property in England and Wales is hidden behind opaque trusts

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Campaigners say secretive ownership structures are becoming the ‘go-to vehicle for kleptocrats’

The owners of nearly a quarter of a million properties in England and Wales worth a combined £64bn are hidden behind opaque trusts, according to research that prompts concern that such structures are the “go-to vehicle for kleptocrats” stashing money in Britain.

The government introduced a register of property held through offshore vehicles in August 2022, revealing a string of unknown owners, including high-profile figures such as Lewis Hamilton and James Dyson, as well as sanctioned Russians, Gulf royals and the Chinese state.

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Newsom calls on California cities to ban homeless encampments ‘without delay’

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Governor announces new ordinance to address ‘persistent’ camps as he intensifies crackdown on worsening crisis

Gavin Newsom has called on California cities and counties to clear and effectively ban encampments “without delay” as the governor intensifies a crackdown on homelessness in the state.

Newsom on Monday announced a new model ordinance to address “persistent” camps, in hopes of reducing the most visible signs of a worsening crisis, as well as $3.3bn in voter-approved funding to increase housing and drug treatment programs.

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Australian property bounce after Labor wins second term, early data shows

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More buyers enter the market as auction clearance rates rose to 70% in the week following the election, figures show

Australia’s housing market has surged in the immediate aftermath of Labor’s emphatic election victory, preliminary data shows, while analysts say an anticipated string of rate cuts may see the trend continue.

Auction clearance rates rose to 70% in the week following the election, according to preliminary Cotality data, from 60% in the middle of last month. An auction clearance rate of 70% or above typically indicates sellers are in control of the market.

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Guardian Essential poll: PM’s approval rating surges amid calls to hurry upd housing and health reform

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More than 40% of voters say Labor’s large majority should encourage Anthony Albanese to get more ambitious with policies in key areas

Anthony Albanese’s personal approval rating has spiked off the back of his election win, as an overwhelming majority of Australians call on Labor to rapidly initiate health, housing and energy reform.

More than 40% of voters say Labor’s large parliamentary majority should encourage Albanese to set out an even more ambitious schedule of reform, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll. The prime minister’s popularity has risen to its highest level for a year, the poll showed.

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California’s economy surpasses Japan’s as it becomes fourth largest in world

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State’s nominal GDP reaches $4.1tn, edging out Japan’s $4.02tn, ranking it behind the US, China and Germany

California’s economy has surpassed Japan’s, making the Golden state the fourth largest economy in the world, Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Thursday.

The state’s nominal GDP reached $4.1tn, according to data from the International Monetary Fund and the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, edging out Japan’s $4.02tn nominal GDP. California now ranks behind the US at $29.18tn, China at $18.74tn and Germany at $4.65tn.

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Adelaide becomes fifth Australian capital where median house value exceeds $1m

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Across Australia, home prices grew at slowest rate in two years and unit prices fell in March, Domain says

Million-dollar houses are now more common than homes costing less than seven figures in five of Australia’s capital cities.

Adelaide’s median house value passed $1m in March, even as unaffordable costs and high interest rates saw home prices grow at their slowest rate in two years and unit prices fall.

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Axing Labor’s free Tafe would mean fewer builders and higher house prices, experts warn

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The Coalition remains opposed to the scheme, claiming it is ‘badly designed and poorly targeted’

Australia’s construction worker shortage – and prospects for affordable housing – would worsen if Peter Dutton scraps Labor’s free Tafe program, experts warn, pushing housing prices even further out of reach of prospective buyers.

After a video emerged of Liberal frontbencher Sarah Henderson saying the fee-free Tafe policy was “just not working”, the opposition leader was asked on Tuesday if he would cut the scheme – designed to encourage people to work in priority industries like the construction sector.

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Peter Dutton says he will help his children with a house deposit ‘at some stage’

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Both major parties spruik housing policies, with Anthony Albanese saying critics may not have read all the detail of Labor’s plan

Peter Dutton says he will help his son with a housing deposit “at some stage”, a day after dodging questions about whether he would use his family wealth and salary to assist his children to get into the market.

Dutton on Monday brought his 20-year-old son, Harry, on the campaign trail to talk about the difficulties of saving for a home. Harry said he and his sister, Rebecca, had both been “saving like mad” to scrape together deposits of their own.

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Australia does not have enough tradies to fulfill Labor’s housing promise, experts say

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Construction industry already faces shortfall of 80,000 workers as government vows to build 250,000 homes a year for four years

Australia does not have enough construction workers and other tradies to meet election pitches to boost housing supply, experts say, casting doubt over the major parties’ pledges to address housing affordability.

Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton announced their competing housing plans this week, with both major parties seeking to increase the number of new home builds above the current annual rate of about 170,000.

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Ten things we learned from Anthony Albanese’s speech at the Labor party campaign launch

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The PM addressed a crowd of 500 people in Perth, spruiking new policies on housing and tax deductions, celebrating WA and invoking Donald Trump. Here’s what you may have missed

Labor’s election campaign launch in Perth was headlined by a $10bn housing pledge, a vow to help first home buyers and a new $1,000 “automatic” tax deduction for all workers.

It also featured a former prime minister, gags about rugby league and more than a few digs at Peter Dutton alongside Labor’s claims that he is copying Donald Trump’s political playbook.

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‘People love being here’: London development shows harmony between nature and housing

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Five thousand new homes alongside a paradise for newts appears to fly in face of government’s ‘false wedge’

Arriving at the Kidbrooke Village housing development in Greenwich on a morning in early spring, the first thing you notice is the sound of birdsong and the scent of blossom. Geese are gently honking in the distance.

This was once the Ferrier estate, a postwar housing estate that was demolished in 2009 to regenerate the area.

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‘Where am I going to go?’ Dismay as Queensland council begins tearing down tent encampment

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Homeless residents given an hour to move belongings as City of Moreton Bay brings excavator to Eddie Hyland Park in Lawnton

Homeless residents of one of Moreton Bay’s largest encampments watched on as council rangers and an excavator began tearing down their tents on Wednesday.

A dozen police and council officers arrived at Eddie Hyland Park in Lawnton on Wednesday morning. The large park, next to the Pine Rivers Showgrounds, has been home to a dozen or more people, with about 15 tents standing when authorities arrived on Wednesday morning.

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Thousands in Spain join nationwide march to protest against housing crisis

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Organisers say 150,000 joined protest in Madrid urging the government to ‘end the housing racket’ and to demand access to affordable housing

Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Spain in the latest protest against housing speculation and to demand access to affordable homes.

Organisers claim that up to 150,000 joined the protest in Madrid while smaller demonstrations were held in about 40 cities across the country. Protesters from Málaga on the Costa del Sol to Vigo in the Atlantic northwest chanted “end the housing racket” and “landlords are guilty, the government is responsible”.

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‘Australia is a landlord’s market’: rents still at record high despite slow growth, report shows

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Kingsford Smith, Bradfield, Sydney, and Warringah in New South Wales and Fadden in Queensland are the five most expensive electorates, data shows

Rents are growing at the slowest rate in four years thanks in part to increased supply, but are still at record highs, Domain’s March Quarterly report has revealed.

It comes as Anglicare Australia launches a heat map showing rental affordability in each electorate, with Kingsford Smith, Bradfield, Sydney, and Warringah in New South Wales and Fadden in Queensland the five least-affordable electorates in the country.

7.7% in Darwin to $700 per week;

6.2% in Perth to $690 per week;

5.1% in Adelaide to $620 per week;

4.8% in Brisbane to $650 per week;

3.6% in Hobart to $570 per week;

3.35% in Sydney to $775 per week;

2.2% in Canberra to $700 per week; and

1.8% in Melbourne to $580 per week.

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UK housebuilders ‘very bad’ at building houses, says wildlife charity CEO

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Land speculation to blame for lack of progress amid Labour drive to build 1.5m new homes, says Wildlife Trusts head

Housebuilders in the UK are failing to supply much-needed new homes not because of restrictive planning laws, but because they are “very bad” at building houses, the head of one of the UK’s biggest nature charities has warned.

“There’s planning permission today for a million new houses,” said Craig Bennett, chief executive of the Wildlife Trusts. “So why aren’t they being built? Why is it that volume housebuilders in this country are actually very bad at building houses, even when they’ve got planning permission?”

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Tenants win £260,000 of rent back in legal fight with London ‘rogue landlord’

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Residents took firms owned by billionaire to tribunal for operating unlicensed houses in multiple occupation

Tenants of two buildings in east London have been awarded a six-figure sum in rent repayments by a tribunal after challenging a billionaire described by a judge as a “rogue landlord”.

The group of current and former residents of Olympic House and Simpson House in Hackney took companies owned by John Christodoulou to tribunal for operating unlicensed houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), which meant the buildings were not subject to the safety and quality standards required by law.

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Australian house prices hit new peak as rate cut drives buyer demand

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Tougher conditions for first home buyers – and renters, who are now often spending more than those with mortgages

National home prices hit a new peak in March as February’s rate cut reignited buyer demand, according to separate reports from Australia’s leading property analytics companies.

Property values increased 0.4% over the month – the second consecutive month of growth in the national index, CoreLogic reported, after a brief three-month decline where values dipped 0.5%.

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Reeves to put £2bn into affordable housing to ‘sweeten the pill’ of cuts

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Chancellor will announce plans to fund 18,000 social homes before fraught spring statement on Wednesday

Rachel Reeves will plough £2bn into affordable housing in a bid to “sweeten the pill” of the spending cuts being announced at this week’s spring statement.

The chancellor made the surprise announcement of the new cash – a down payment on the June spending review – as the Treasury bids to demonstrate that it remains focused on investment, rather than cuts. It will fund 18,000 affordable and social homes, part of the target to build 1.5m homes over the course of the parliament.

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Changes in Help to Buy housing scheme will make ‘most first home buyers’ eligible, Labor says

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Minister announces increase in both income and property price caps as part of 2025 budget

Labor will increase the income and price caps for its signature Help to Buy scheme as part of next week’s budget, which it has promised will deliver cost-of-living relief.

Under the shared equity scheme, the commonwealth provides first home buyers with 30% of the purchase price of an existing home, or 40% for a new home.

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Labour-run Enfield council left 100 families homeless after they refused to relocate

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London council’s policy of offering people homes far from the area led to England’s highest number of refusals

A Labour-run London council left more than 100 families homeless without support last year after they refused to be relocated outside the borough, the Observer can reveal.

Freedom of information data from about 80% of English councils shows that they ended their legal duties to 615 households who refused offers of housing outside the local authority area in 2024 – but this national total is heavily skewed.

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