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
Sydney’s top ten priciest listings reveal eye-watering prices in unexpected suburbs
Unity Jackson-Muir news.com.au (No paywall)Tenants are being charged up to $1,800 a week just for a single room in a Sydney sharehouse as vacancies continue to tighten.
Exclusive new Flatmates.com.au data has revealed multiple instances of sharehouse rooms advertised for well above $800 a week - figures that only recently would have been enough to rent out a full house in many suburbs. It comes as low vacancy rates continue to squeeze would-be renters, driving up competition and rents for the scant supply of available properties. The citywide vacancy rate is currently 1.7 per cent. For some perspective, a “balanced” rental market with an even balance of supply to demand would have a vacancy rate of about 3 per cent.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/renting/sydneys-top-…
# NSW, Rent.We’re building a New York-sized city every month. That’s worrying for our climate
Philip Oldfield The Fifth Estate (No paywall)Each of us needs of a roof over our head, classrooms to learn in and offices or space to work from. To meet this unprecedented demand for new buildings, globally we’re constructing the equivalent of an entire New York City every month. This provides us with vital infrastructure, but also generates an enormous amount of world-warming emissions. So how can we build what we need, without harming our planet? Our new research provides some answers.
https://thefifthestate.com.au/the-conversation/were-building-a-n…
# Australia, .What would be on your wishlist for a renters' utopia?
ABC (No paywall)Home ownership remains out of reach for a huge swathe of Australians, which means in turn, more people are renting long-term. So what could we do to make life as a renter a bit closer to the great Australian dream? The Australian Council of Trade Unions has taken its wishlist to the government, it's proposing increased investment in public housing but also some stronger rights for tenants, including minimum two-year lease terms. They say these measures would go a long way to giving tenants a sense of stability and the capacity to plan for their future.
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/lifematters/what-would-be…
# Must read, Hot topic, Audio Australia, .Radical plan to save renters from 30 per cent price hikes
Patrick Brischetto 9 News (No paywall)A proposal to double the standard rental lease in Australia to two years will be tabled in parliament on Wednesday as fears grow that rental prices could soar in the next two years. As it stands, there is no legal requirement for leases in all states or territories to run for a minimum amount of time, though it is common for leases to run for six or 12-month periods. However, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) wants to introduce laws that require standard leases to run for at least two years, with tenants being able to request the option for a shorter lease.
https://www.nine.com.au/australia-news/radical-plan-to-save-rent…
# Hot topic Australia, .Critics of Labor’s tax changes claim rents could climb by up to 30%. Here’s why they probably won’t
Luca Ittimani and Jonathan Barrett The Guardian (No paywall)Headlines claim rents in Australia will surge thanks to Labor’s property tax reforms. Is there any proof? Critics have claimed property investors have no choice but to hike rents by 30% but the experts say their analysis has been misused. So how high will rents really rise? Here’s what you need to know. Will rents rise as much as 30% in Australia? Not likely. There have been media reports that rents may rise by almost a third in response to Labor’s tax changes, citing analysis from National Australia Bank and, separately, Ray White.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/aug/20/how-high-…
# Australia, .Unions push for big increase in public housing
Michael West Media (No paywall)Fresh off a big win on property investor tax breaks, the union movement has set its eyes on its next big housing fight.
Peak union body the ACTU wants to dramatically lift the amount of public housing built in Australia. Its new housing plan, released on Wednesday, will push federal and state governments to agree to a public housing target of one in 10 new homes, compared to the current rate of one in 50. That’s a similar rate to what was achieved under former prime minister Bob Hawke in the 1980s.
https://michaelwest.com.au/unions-push-for-big-increase-in-publi…
# Australia, Public and community housing.High rents a roadblock to productivity
The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)The interests of renters are often treated as a footnote in Sydney’s never-ending conversation about property prices. But even with the recent dip in house prices, buying a property remains out of reach for many – especially buying a home that is within reasonable reach of the workplace. New data revealed in The Sun-Herald today shows there has been little respite from rental rises across Sydney, with the price of owning your own home keeping large numbers of people in the rental market, especially in the inner cities where they compete with international students to lease apartments.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/high-rents-a-roadblock-to-pr…
# NSW, .Apartment rents now cost more than half a typical worker’s take-home pay in all Australian capital cities, report finds
Luca Ittimani The Guardian (No paywall)Renting a mid-priced unit in any of Australia’s capital cities now costs more than half a typical single worker’s take-home pay, spurring advocates to urge Labor to offer renters more protections. New modelling shows someone earning $70,000 – close to the median annual income – would have to spend two-thirds of their earnings if they wanted to rent the median Sydney apartment. Everybody’s Home, a housing advocacy group, released the analysis in its latest “Priced Out” report amid a political debate over rent hikes and the Albanese government’s tax reforms.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/aug/24/apartment…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent.