People looking for homes to rent are having a hard time because prices are going up. In big cities, like London, people who want to rent a house or apartment sometimes offer to pay more money than the owner is asking. This can lead to paying a lot more and still having problems with the place, like things that need to be fixed or bugs. In the last five years, over 500,000 people in England couldn’t get a place to live because someone else offered more money.

Some people are trying to stop these bidding wars where renters have to offer more money. A group in Bristol called Acorn wants real estate agents to promise not to do this. They know about people who had to borrow money just to pay for a place to live. The Labour Party, a big political group, wants to make bidding wars illegal, like they did in New Zealand.

A group that represents people who own rental homes says that not having enough homes is the real problem. They think if there were more homes, prices wouldn’t be so high and people wouldn’t have to bid. But renters and people fighting for them say the government needs to help make renting more affordable and secure. The government is working on new rules for renting, but they haven’t decided to stop bidding wars yet.

Original news source: Renting: Bidding wars driving up prices for tenants (BBC)

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Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions: Have the students read the article and then summarize the main points in their own words. They can work individually or in pairs. Afterwards, have a class discussion to compare and discuss their summaries.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write down key vocabulary words from the article on individual pieces of paper and put them in a bag or hat. Divide the students into pairs or small groups. One student from each group picks a word from the bag and has to draw it while their group members try to guess the word. The team with the most correct guesses wins.

– Pros and Cons
Instructions: Divide the class into two groups. Assign one group to argue in favor of bidding wars and the other group to argue against them. Give each group a few minutes to brainstorm their arguments, and then have them take turns presenting their points to the class. Encourage students to use evidence from the article to support their arguments.

– Think-Pair-Share
Instructions: Have the students think about and write down their own opinions on bidding wars in the rental market. Then, pair them up with a partner and have them discuss their opinions. After a few minutes, bring the class back together and have a few students share their opinions with the whole class.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups and have them imagine what the rental market will be like in the future. They should discuss and make predictions about whether bidding wars will still exist and what other changes might occur. After a few minutes, have each group share their predictions with the class. Encourage them to use vocabulary and concepts from the article in their discussions.

Comprehension Questions:

1. Why are people having a hard time finding homes to rent?
2. What is a bidding war?
3. Why do some people think bidding wars should be illegal?
4. What does the group representing people who own rental homes think is the real problem?
5. What do renters and their supporters want the government to do?
6. What is the government doing to help make renting more affordable and secure?
7. Have the new rules for renting been decided yet?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

People looking for homes to rent are having a hard time because prices are going up. In big cities, like (1)______, people who want to rent a (2)______ or apartment sometimes offer to pay more (3)______ than the owner is asking. This can lead to paying a lot more and still having problems with the place, like things that need to be (4)______ or bugs. In the (5)______ five years, over 500,000 people in England couldn’t get a place to live because someone else offered more money.

Some people are trying to stop these bidding wars where renters have to offer more money. A group in (6)______ called Acorn wants real estate agents to promise not to do this. They know about people who had to borrow money just to pay for a place to live. The Labour Party, a big political group, wants to make bidding wars illegal, like they did in New (7)______.

A group that represents people who own rental homes says that not having (8)______ homes is the (9)______ problem. They think if there were more homes, (10)______ wouldn’t be so high and people wouldn’t have to bid. But renters and people fighting for them say the government needs to help make (11)______ more affordable and secure. The government is working on new (12)______ for renting, but they haven’t decided to stop bidding wars yet.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is a bidding war? Why do you think people have to offer more money?
2. Have you ever had to borrow money for something? How did it make you feel?
3. How would you feel if you couldn’t find a place to live?
4. Do you think it’s fair for people to offer more money to rent a house? Why or why not?
5. What do you think the government should do to make renting more affordable?
6. Do you think there should be more homes available for rent? Why or why not?
7. How do you think the people who own rental homes feel about bidding wars?
8. Have you ever had problems with a place you were renting? What were they?
9. Do you think it’s a good idea for real estate agents to promise not to have bidding wars? Why or why not?
10. How do you think the government can help make renting more secure?
11. Do you like the idea of bidding wars being illegal? Why or why not?
12. What would you do if you couldn’t find a place to live?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. rent
2. prices
3. owner
4. bugs
5. bidding wars
6. real estate agents
7. Labour Party
8. rental homes
9. government
10. rules
11. affordable
12. secure

Meanings:
(A) When something doesn’t cost too much money
(B) The person who has something that other people want to use or have
(C) To pay money to live in a house or apartment that belongs to someone else
(D) People who help others find and buy houses or apartments
(E) The things that people have to follow to do something correctly
(F) When something is safe and not in danger
(G) The group of people who make decisions for a country
(H) When people have to offer more money to get something they want
(I) The amount of money something costs
(J) Small insects that can cause problems in a house
(K) A big group of people who make decisions about the country
(L) Houses or apartments that people can rent
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What is the problem that people looking for homes to rent are facing?
(a) There are too many homes available
(b) Prices are going down
(c) Prices are going up
(d) There are no homes available

2. In which city are people offering to pay more money than the owner is asking?
(a) Bristol
(b) London
(c) New Zealand
(d) England

3. How many people in England couldn’t find a place to live in the last five years?
(a) Over 100,000
(b) Over 1 million
(c) Over 10,000
(d) Over 500,000

4. What does the group Acorn in Bristol want real estate agents to promise?
(a) Not to have bidding wars
(b) To have bidding wars
(c) To lower the prices of homes
(d) To increase the prices of homes

5. Which political group wants to make bidding wars illegal?
(a) The Conservative Party
(b) The Labour Party
(c) The Green Party
(d) The Liberal Party

6. What does the group representing people who own rental homes think is the real problem?
(a) Not enough homes available
(b) Too many homes available
(c) Prices are too low
(d) Prices are too high

7. What do renters and people fighting for them want the government to do?
(a) Increase the prices of homes
(b) Make bidding wars legal
(c) Help make renting more affordable and secure
(d) Not do anything

8. What is the government working on regarding renting?
(a) New taxes
(b) New laws for buying homes
(c) New laws for selling homes
(d) New rules

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. Some people are offering to pay less money than the owner is asking for in order to secure a rental property.
2. A group representing rental home owners believes that the real problem is the abundance of available homes, and that if there were fewer homes, prices would be more reasonable and bidding wars wouldn’t happen.
3. Paying more money doesn’t guarantee a problem-free place to live, as there may still be issues with the property that need to be fixed or bugs.
4. Over the past five years, more than 500,000 people in England were unable to find a place to live because someone else offered more money.
5. Renters and their advocates argue that the government does not need to take action to make renting more affordable and secure, and although the government is working on new renting rules, they have already decided to stop bidding wars.
6. A group in Bristol called Acorn is trying to stop these bidding wars by asking real estate agents to promise not to engage in this practice.
7. The Labour Party in England wants to make bidding wars illegal, similar to what has been done in New Zealand.
8. Rent prices in big cities like London are going down, making it easy for people to find affordable homes to rent.
Go to answers ⇩

Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. What is the problem that people looking for homes to rent are facing?
2. Why do some people offer to pay more money than the owner is asking?
3. How many people in England couldn’t find a place to live in the last five years?
4. What is the group Acorn trying to do in Bristol?
5. What does the group representing people who own rental homes think is the real problem?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Why are people having a hard time finding homes to rent?
Because the prices are going up and there aren’t enough homes available.

2. What is a bidding war?
A bidding war is when people who want to rent a home offer to pay more money than the owner is asking.

3. Why do some people think bidding wars should be illegal?
Some people think bidding wars should be illegal because it can make renting more expensive and unfair for people who can’t afford to pay more.

4. What does the group representing people who own rental homes think is the real problem?
The group representing people who own rental homes think that the real problem is not having enough homes available for rent.

5. What do renters and their supporters want the government to do?
Renters and their supporters want the government to help make renting more affordable and secure.

6. What is the government doing to help make renting more affordable and secure?
The government is working on new rules for renting, but they haven’t decided to stop bidding wars yet.

7. Have the new rules for renting been decided yet?
No, the new rules for renting have not been decided yet.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) London
(2) house
(3) money
(4) fixed
(5) last
(6) Bristol
(7) Zealand
(8) enough
(9) real
(10) prices
(11) renting
(12) rules
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. rent
Answer: (C) To pay money to live in a house or apartment that belongs to someone else

2. prices
Answer: (I) The amount of money something costs

3. owner
Answer: (B) The person who has something that other people want to use or have

4. bugs
Answer: (J) Small insects that can cause problems in a house

5. bidding wars
Answer: (H) When people have to offer more money to get something they want

6. real estate agents
Answer: (D) People who help others find and buy houses or apartments

7. Labour Party
Answer: (K) A big group of people who make decisions about the country

8. rental homes
Answer: (L) Houses or apartments that people can rent

9. government
Answer: (G) The group of people who make decisions for a country

10. rules
Answer: (E) The things that people have to follow to do something correctly

11. affordable
Answer: (A) When something doesn’t cost too much money

12. secure
Answer: (F) When something is safe and not in danger
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What is the problem that people looking for homes to rent are facing?
Answer: (c) Prices are going up

2. In which city are people offering to pay more money than the owner is asking?
Answer: (b) London

3. How many people in England couldn’t find a place to live in the last five years?
Answer: (d) Over 500,000

4. What does the group Acorn in Bristol want real estate agents to promise?
Answer: (a) Not to have bidding wars

5. Which political group wants to make bidding wars illegal?
Answer: (b) The Labour Party

6. What does the group representing people who own rental homes think is the real problem?
Answer: (a) Not enough homes available

7. What do renters and people fighting for them want the government to do?
Answer: (c) Help make renting more affordable and secure

8. What is the government working on regarding renting?
Answer: (d) New rules
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. Some people are offering to pay less money than the owner is asking for in order to secure a rental property. (Answer: False)
2. A group representing rental home owners believes that the real problem is the abundance of available homes, and that if there were fewer homes, prices would be more reasonable and bidding wars wouldn’t happen. (Answer: False)
3. Paying more money doesn’t guarantee a problem-free place to live, as there may still be issues with the property that need to be fixed or bugs. (Answer: True)
4. Over the past five years, more than 500,000 people in England were unable to find a place to live because someone else offered more money. (Answer: True)
5. Renters and their advocates argue that the government does not need to take action to make renting more affordable and secure, and although the government is working on new renting rules, they have already decided to stop bidding wars. (Answer: False)
6. A group in Bristol called Acorn is trying to stop these bidding wars by asking real estate agents to promise not to engage in this practice. (Answer: True)
7. The Labour Party in England wants to make bidding wars illegal, similar to what has been done in New Zealand. (Answer: True)
8. Rent prices in big cities like London are going down, making it easy for people to find affordable homes to rent. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧