Friday briefing: From New York to Hong Kong, how renting became unaffordable


Good morning. Too many people and not enough properties has meant that, for years, those living in urban centres have forked out extortionate amounts on rent. This New York Times piece from 2006 highlights the brutal obstacle course endured by would-be tenants who were in some cases expected to earn $80,000-$90,000 to rent a $2,000-a-month studio apartment. Eight years later, the Guardian ran a piece highlighting the growing gulf between London and the rest of the country (at that point, average London rent was £1,516 a month.)

Those examples now seem quaint; according to Rightmove the average rent across all property types in London was £2,343 a month between July and September this year, with prospective tenants now going through a rigmarole of endless, pressurised viewings, interviews and background checks. Finding a home now brings together the worst parts of dating and applying for a job. Except that at the end of it you don’t get a bump in salary or the love of your life, but instead strangers for room mates and, potentially, a mould problem, all for a third to half of your paycheque. Robert Booth wrote a brilliant, humanising piece on the people at the sharp end of this crisis, speaking to three tenants who are facing evictions after their landlords unexpectedly raised rent.

But the UK is not alone in facing this issue. From Asia to the US, today’s newsletter looks at the global rental crisis, and the measures being taken to combat it.

Five big stories

  1. Politics | Labour has easily held the City of Chester in a byelection, winning by a majority of 10,974 in a brutal first electoral test for Rishi Sunak. Samantha Dixon, the newly elected MP, said in her victory speech early on Friday: “Tonight the people of Chester have sent a clear message. They have said Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives no longer have a mandate to govern.”

  2. China | Chinese authorities have ramped up censorship tactics over zero-Covid protests that have been taking place across the country. Leaked directives show that the government has initiated the highest “emergency” response level, including tracking and questioning protesters and cracking down on VPNs and other methods of bypassing online censorship.

  3. Education | Department for Education figures show the number of graduates in teacher training is at “catastrophic” levels. Around 29,000 graduates have signed up, a 20% drop on last year – and the government is missing its own recruitment targets by more than 80% in key subjects.

  4. Health | Stanford University researchers have found that the brains of teenagers who lived through the Covid pandemic are showing signs of premature ageing, with the group self-reporting more severe symptoms of anxiety, depression and other mental health problems.

  5. Royals | Netflix released a trailer for its forthcoming documentary series on the story of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s relationship, featuring new interviews with Harry and Meghan. The teaser dropped as Buckingham Palace grapples with the aftermath of a racism incident.

In depth: Four cities that tell the story of a broken housing market

Letting signs are seen outside properties in Maida Vale on October 26, 2020 in London, England.
Photograph: Peter Summers/Getty Images

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