Housing News Digest
The Tenants' Union Housing News Digest compiles our pick of items from all the latest tenancy and housing media, sent once per week, on Thursdays.
Below is the Digest archive from November 2020 onwards. From time to time you will find additional items in the archive that did not make it into the weekly Digest email. Earlier archives are here, where you can also find additional digests by other organisations.
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Archive
Business founder wants to cut real estate agents out of the rental market
Calum Jaspan The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)About a third of Australia’s 2.2 million residential rentals are now being leased out without a real estate agent, according to property platform RentBetter, in a trend that it says is accelerating as the market tightens in the wake of the federal budget. The platform has raised $5 million from venture capital firm EVP as landlords attempt to cut back on costs, including the 5 per cent to 9 per cent of rent that real estate site LocalAgentFinder says is typically charged by agents to manage a property.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/business-founder-wants…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media NSW, .Faster delivery of social, affordable rental housing needed in Newcastle
Rod Thompson Newcastle Weekly (No paywall)A newly-released document has called for the faster delivery of social and affordable rental housing in Newcastle. The report, The State of Affordable Housing in Newcastle 2026, featured data, policy updates and insights from regional partners to highlight the current burden affecting people, workers, services and the broader community and economy. It found the city’s requirements were shifting as it grows, with more smaller households, strong demand for rental housing and continued pressure on cost-effectiveness.
https://newcastleweekly.com.au/faster-delivery-of-social-afforda…
# NSW, .In a rental market where 100% of homes are out of reach, Tara has her champagne ready
Natalie Croxon Illawarra Mercury (Paywall)When it comes to moving into her own place, Tara Elliffe says with a grin that she is most looking forward to "no parents". At the end of this year or the start of next, Tara will move out of the home she shares with her parents, Margot and Leonard, into a brand new, two-bedroom unit in the Hyde development, opposite MacCabe Park in Wollongong's CBD. "I just want to have my independence," Tara said. She already has a bottle of bubbles, sourced from her uncle's vineyard, ready to pop once she moves in.
https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/9305726/in-a-rental-ma…
# NSW, Rent.Personality tests, dodgy reward programs, AI bots: how rent tech platforms make renting a ‘dehumanising’ experience
Samantha Floreani The Conversation (No paywall)If you’re renting a house or apartment, you’re probably all too familiar with rent tech: online systems and apps for searching and applying for properties, paying rent and logging maintenance requests. These platforms collect, use and circulate an enormous amount of data from and about renters. Renters generally have no choice but to use the platforms, and little say over the data they are required to provide. Many of these platforms now also incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) to automate communications with renters and optimise property manager workflows. In my interviews with renters, many have told me they find using rent tech systems “dehumanising”.
https://theconversation.com/personality-tests-dodgy-reward-progr…
# Australia, Security and safety, Starting a tenancy.Lies, damned lies, and pollies talking about housing
Michael Pascoe Michael West Media (No paywall)Whether it is Anthony Albanese’s rampant hypocrisy, Andrew Bragg’s wilful misinformation (I doubt he’s actually as stupid as he pretends), Pauline Hanson’s fantasy non-policy, Chris Minns’ laid-on-with-a-shovel mix of spin and lies, it’s very hard to decide who is the worst on housing, as they are all betraying the nation. And they’re all good at creating a distraction from the fundamental problem, aided and abetted by the mainstream media. Exhibit A: The current argy-bargy about access to superannuation for one housing-related reason or another. Gets attention. Grabs headlines. Never mind that it means stuff all.
https://michaelwest.com.au/lies-damned-lies-and-pollies-talking-…
# Hot topic Australia, .Homeless campers on Memorial Drive in Rockingham begin packing up
Lauren Smith ABC (No paywall)Homeless people living in a makeshift camp in Perth's south have started packing up their belongings after being ordered to leave the area by the end of today. WA Police and wildlife officers arrived at the camp on Memorial Drive in the City of Rockingham, about 50 kilometres south of Perth's CBD, just after 10am. That was the deadline given in a letter handed out to about 45 of the campers yesterday, ordering them to vacate the area today after failing to comply with a similar demand a week ago. Officers could be seen gently encouraging people to pack up and leave, with some referring to the campers by their first name.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-24/homeless-campers-rockingh…
# Must read Australia, Eviction.‘I would be happy if prices came down’: the older Australians wanting house prices to fall for their kids’ sake
Jonathan Barrett The Guardian (No paywall)Pete Muskens, a 71‑year‑old retired architect from Melbourne, has watched Australian homes transform from places to live in to money-making assets pushing younger generations to the brink. He bought his first terrace house in Melbourne in the early 1980s for about $30,000 – less than three times the average annual wage at the time – a level of affordability that is unimaginable for his two adult children. Muskens worries that the decades-long housing crisis has reshaped family life and delayed milestones for younger people, like independent living and starting a family.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/sep/20/house-pri…
# Australia, .SA Housing Trust's four-year delay to remove mould from property 'unreasonable', ombudsman finds
Stephanie Richards ABC (No paywall)The SA Housing Trust has apologised to one of its tenants, after it took four years to remove black mould from her home. The apology was prompted by an investigation by the SA Ombudsman, who found the public housing authority failed to ensure the property met "reasonable standards of health and safety". In a report published in July but not made public until Wednesday, Ombudsman Emily Strickland also found the SA Housing Trust (SAHT) "erred in its handling" of multiple reports made by the tenant about the mould dating back to February 2021.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-17/housing-trust-apologises-…
# Australia, Rent.