Housing News Digest
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
Victorian landlords face battle over rent rises under new regulations
Nathan Mawby realestate.com.au (No paywall)Victorian landlords are now facing an even bigger battle to increase rents for homes with the state’s key consumer agencies able to reject rent rises for an expanded list of reasons. And the state’s primary tenants group is urging every renter in the state who gets a rent rise above the Consumer Price Index of 3.3 per cent to challenge it as they look to assess how the new measures can be used to put “downward pressure on rent increases”.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/victorian-landlords-face-batt…
# Must read Australia, Rent.WA housing crisis: Labor set to ban no-grounds rental terminations at May 7 state Budget
The West (Paywall)WA Landlords will no longer be able to kick renters out without a valid reason, under new laws proposed by the Cook Government. The Sunday Times understands that despite resisting the change for years, Labor has all but agreed to ban no-grounds terminations for renters in WA, with an announcement to be made at the May 7 state Budget.
It’s understood the tight WA rental market, which currently sees less than 2000 properties available in Greater Perth and skyrocketing weekly median rent prices of $740 a week, coupled with a cost-of-living crisis, has forced the Cook Government’s hand to introduce more safeguards for renters.
https://thewest.com.au/business/property/wa-housing-crisis-labor…
# Hot topic Australia, Eviction.‘I did not expect this’: Landlord stuns renter with heartwarming move
Suki Reid Domain (No paywall)As rental prices soar amid cost-of-living pressures and tight supply, it’s been a tough stretch for tenants. This week, however, one story is striking a different tone. A renter has shared the text they sent their landlord after falling behind on rent, along with the unexpected reply. Posting on Reddit, they said they had lost a job offer just weeks before starting, leaving them with $214 in their account after applying for more than 60 roles. With rent overdue, they said they were “shaking” as they finally reached out. “I finally worked up the nerve to text my landlord,” they wrote. Surprisingly, the response was filled with understanding. “I appreciate you telling me. Don’t worry about this month,” the landlord replied.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/i-did-not-expect-this-landlord-st…
# Australia, Rent.How clean should a rental property be before moving in?
Nelli Saarinen ABC (No paywall)Have you ever had the experience of vacating a rental in pristine condition, yet moving into your next one only to have to clean that one too? It's an experience many renters can relate to, and with rental markets remaining competitive around the country, there isn't always opportunity to be choosy. Rosanna Tiusanen had been looking for a new rental for a while after the lease in her previous home of two and a half years was not extended. "It's pretty hard to find a rental on the Gold Coast right now," she says. "There are a lot of people looking for apartments. It's really, really tough, especially as a single-income person."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-06/should-a-rental-be-clean-…
# Australia, Bond, Starting a tenancy.Capital gains tax discount ‘overwhelmingly’ benefits investors in Australia’s richest electorates, analysis shows
Patrick Commins The Guardian (No paywall)Investors who live in the wealthy electorate of Wentworth in Sydney’s eastern suburbs claimed about $1.8bn from the 50% capital gains tax discount, according to new research. It reveals how a handful of rich enclaves in Australia’s two biggest cities account for a fifth of the annual benefit from the tax break. The Australian Council of Social Services is lobbying for a halving of the CGT discount and has used analysis of Australian Taxation Office data from 2022-23 to highlight how the benefits “flow overwhelmingly to a small number of high-income, inner-city electorates in the eastern states”.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/mar/12/capital-g…
# Must read Australia, .Waterfront homes to be demolished for Mooloolah River Interchange
Josh Dye ABC (No paywall)Dozens of families are being evicted as the Queensland government prepares to bulldoze 52 prized waterfront homes for a major road project on the Sunshine Coast. A massive upgrade to the Mooloolah River Interchange has been proposed for decades to alleviate a bottleneck on the key arterial road. The interchange is a congested spaghetti junction connecting the busy Sunshine Motorway and Nicklin Way, as well as several local streets. After years of delays and setbacks, the almost $1 billion project is finally being built as the state government rushes to prepare the fast-growing region for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-17/residents-face-eviction-m…
# Australia, Eviction.To Solve the Housing Affordability Crisis, Communities Must Confront Inequality
Chris Schildt Shelter Force (No paywall)Community development practitioners have long understood that our work is rooted in both economic and housing justice, recognizing that a good job and economic stability go hand in hand with safe, affordable, and dignified housing. A new working paper published by the London School of Economics and Political Science, authored by urban planners Maximilian Buchholz, Tom Kemeny, Gregory Randolph, and Michael Storper, affirms that wages and housing affordability are linked. The authors find that rising incomes among the 40 percent of the population with college degrees provide a much stronger explanation for rising housing prices than regulations constraining supply.
https://shelterforce.org/2026/03/04/to-solve-the-housing-afforda…
# Australia, .Labor appears set to reform capital gains tax discount after parliamentary inquiry findings
Tom McIlroy The Guardian (No paywall)Labor has given one of its strongest signals yet the capital gains tax discount will be reworked in the May budget, with a parliamentary inquiry finding the Howard-era settings are helping fuel intergenerational inequality in Australia’s housing market. A Greens-led parliamentary inquiry said the 50% discount “skewed the ownership of housing away from owner-occupiers and towards investors”. “The benefits of the capital gains tax discount are also unequally distributed, with implications for income and wealth inequality and intergenerational inequality,” the report released on Tuesday found.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/mar/17/labor-app…
# Hot topic Australia, .