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
Europe’s most expensive city for renters has been named – and no, it’s not London
Annie McNamee Time Out (No paywall)For many of us, rent is expensive. Seeing a huge chunk of your monthly income disappear from your bank account can be pretty soul-destroying – but in some cities in Europe, the story isn’t actually all that bad. Deloitte’s annual Property Index compares major cities across the continent to see where people are getting a good deal when it comes to housing, and where people are definitely not. The study looks into how much it costs to buy a home relative to income and also unearths the average rental costs per square metre.
https://www.timeout.com/news/europes-most-expensive-city-for-ren…
# International, .‘Hugely important’ rental change for victim-survivors of domestic violence in NSW
Nathan Schmidt news.com.au (No paywall)Victim-survivors of domestic violence will no longer need to notify an abuser that they have left a shared lease under a raft of reforms the NSW government hopes will give greater power to people to leave unsafe homes. The Residential Tenancies Amendment (Domestic Violence Reform) Bill 2025, which is set to be tabled before NSW parliament on Tuesday, seeks to strengthen privacy and security protection for victim-survivors of DV.
https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/hugely-important-rental…
# Must read, Legal significance NSW, Domestic violence.Monthly homeownership costs now top $2,000, new data shows
Megan Cerullo CBS News (No paywall)If the challenge of scraping enough money to buy a home in the U.S. weren't enough amid painfully high real estate prices, the cost of owning a home is also surging. The inflation-adjusted median monthly cost of homeownership in 2024 rose to $2,035, up nearly 4% from $1,960 in 2023, according to new Census Bureau data. That cost encompasses monthly mortgage and insurance payments, taxes, utilities and other fees. The main factors behind the increase in homeownership costs: higher mortgage rates, fees and insurance costs. "Rising insurance premiums and [homeowners association]/condo fees are the behind-the-scenes culprits for this increase outside of the basic increases to mortgage rates and home prices we've seen since 2019," Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner said in a statement.
# Hot topic International, .When The Safety Net Snaps: How NSW’s Social Housing Is Failing People Who Need A Safe Home
Alannah Daly City Hub (No paywall)Therese* was in her 70s and had lived in her one-bedroom social housing home for 20 years when she was served an eviction notice. Therese has physical disabilities and lives with a mental health condition. This means she sometimes struggles to keep her house organised and tidy, noticeable to her social housing landlord. But instead of getting her the support she needed to live in a tidy and safe home, the landlord tried to kick her out. There are many others like Therese, living with their social housing tenancy on a knife-edge.
https://cityhub.com.au/when-the-safety-net-snaps-how-nsws-social…
# NSW, Public and community housing.Groups set to go to court if Kariong rezoning approved
Coast Community News (No paywall)Local environment group Coast Environmental Alliance (CEA) has announced it is prepared to take legal action in the NSW Land and Environment Court if a controversial rezoning of ecologically and culturally sensitive land at 300 Woy Woy Rd, Kariong is approved. The private developer, Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council (DLALC), has faced strong opposition from community members, environmental groups and Traditional Custodians from the Guringai and Darkinoong people.
https://coastcommunitynews.com.au/central-coast/news/2025/09/gro…
# Hot topic NSW, .Big news for renters affected by floods in New South Wales
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)If your rental home was made uninhabitable by the severe storms and flooding on the NSW East Coast in May, you could be eligible for a new grant. The Renters Bond and Advanced Rent Grant is a one-time payment of $5,500 to help renters who need a new place to live because their old rental home became uninhabitable in this disaster.
https://www.tenants.org.au/news/big-news-renters-affected-floods
# NSW, Disasters, Rent.When Ziggy’s bond was withheld after eviction without cause from his Sydney rental, he challenged it – and wonWhen Ziggy’s bond was withheld after eviction without cause from his Sydney rental, he challenged it – and won
Luca Ittimani The Guardian (No paywall)Ziggy Tow and his housemates thought they had had enough trouble after their property manager evicted them without grounds and listed their inner-Sydney home for an extra $300 a week. Then the property manager claimed back all of the $3,400 they paid in bond to cover cleaning and repair fees. It took three months of disputes before New South Wales’ rent tribunal ruled the claim was nearly triple a justified amount, awarding $2,100 to the housemates, who Tow said live “paycheck to paycheck”.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/sep/18/sydney-re…
# Must read NSW, Bond, Eviction, Rent, Tribunal NCAT.Why are Sydney homes so mouldy? One expert unpacks the fungal facts
Huw Bradshaw North Shore Lorikeet (No paywall)According to architectural scientist Dr Tim Law, Australia has created “an entire generation of building stock” without the capacity to manage mould and condensation. And, as Law pointed out to the Lorikeet, it needn’t have been this way, given North America and Europe began addressing the problem in the 1970s. In 2005, changes to the National Construction Code meant new builds had to be more energy efficient, holding heat in winter and becoming insulated from it in summer. Law suggested Australia’s mould problem began to intensify at this time, as the changes didn’t factor in a rise in condensation - one of the key triggers for mould - and how that could be managed.
https://www.northshorelorikeet.com.au/p/why-are-sydney-homes-so-…
# NSW, Rent.