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
Why tenants say they can't trust the photos on rental property listings anymore
Maddison Leach 9 News (No paywall)Plenty of Australians know how it feels to spot a promising rental listing only to realise the photos were edited as soon as they arrive at an inspection. Now AI is making it easier for landlords and agents to enhance or overhaul property photos and it's making the already stressful process of finding housing even harder. "It's crazy the number of inspections I've gone to that look nothing like the pictures," Emma*, who is hunting for a rental in Sydney, told nine.com.au.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/ai-real-estate-photos-is-it-le…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media NSW, Starting a tenancy.NSW government to begin testing Smart Rental Bonds system ahead of mid-2026 launch
Miriah Davis ABC (No paywall)An initiative that could save renters in New South Wales the stress of having to scrape together thousands of dollars for their next move will launch in mid-2026 after months of delays. The Smart Rental Bonds system will allow for the digital transfer of a bond from one property to another, alleviating renters of the financial stress of having to come up with another bond before their old one is returned. The scheme was announced as part of a suite of rental reforms that the NSW Labor Party took to the 2023 state election.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-23/nsw-premier-provides-upda…
# Must read, TUNSW in the media NSW, Bond, Starting a tenancy.Transferable Bonds To Bring Cost Of Living Relief To Tenants In NSW
Channel 10 (No paywall)The state election is still a year away, but One Nation's success in South Australia is a threat being felt in NSW. However, Premier Chris Minns says he's up for the challenge, today showing the 2.3 million renters in New South Wales what his Government is doing to help them.
https://10.com.au/news/national/transferable-bonds-to-bring-cost…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media, Video NSW, Bond, Rent, Starting a tenancy.'It's pretty shit': The reality of living in Wollongong's dunes for six months
Natalie Croxon Illawarra Mercury (Paywall)As homelessness workers from across the state gathered in Wollongong on Wednesday, William Stephenson was getting ready for his day in a makeshift camp in the dunes a little over a kilometre away. He has lived there for at least six months, after a break-up led him to leave the home he shared with his former partner. The expected wait time for public housing in Wollongong is at least 10 years, and Mr Stephenson has tried repeatedly to secure a private rental. "I think they just look at me and think 'Nah, won't give it to him'," Mr Stephenson said.
https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/9195571/man-living-in-…
# NSW, Public and community housing.Sydney mum facing living in her car as delays to NSW portable bond scheme drag on
Mirah Davis ABC (No paywall)As her eviction approaches, Jessica Townsend is preparing for the possibility she may need to put all her belongings into storage and move into her car because she cannot afford a bond for a new home. The 40-year-old works as a full-time lawyer in Sydney and earns $90,000 per year, but said her rent chewed through about 55 per cent of her weekly income. When moving in 2023, Ms Townsend turned to the more expensive end of the rental market in a desperate bid to secure a property, settling for a house in Box Hill for $700 per week.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-13/nsw-portable-bonds-delay-…
# NSW, Bond.The Myth of Affordable Housing
Quintin Bradley Critical Place UK (No paywall)The Myth of Affordable Housing is a critique of the abject failure of affordable housing policies to address a global crisis of need. Affordability in housing has proved an excuse for unleashing financial speculation in real estate, channelling subsidies to profit landlords, developers, capital markets, and landowners. It is a regressive strategy to maintain demand without reducing price.
https://criticalplace.org.uk/2025/10/22/the-myth-of-affordable-h…
# International, .Why Housing Became So Unaffordable and How to Fix It
World Habitat (No paywall)Housing across Europe has become increasingly unaffordable. When the average person can no longer afford the average home, something is clearly wrong. Many people today are forced to settle for worse housing than they could have afforded a generation ago. Renters face a cost of living crisis, where the price of goods and the rental market outpace their incomes, often forcing them to downsize or cut back on essentials. Without genuinely affordable homes, those on lower incomes are at risk of being pushed out of housing altogether and ending up homeless.
https://world-habitat.org/blog/why-housing-became-so-unaffordabl…
# International, .Tax incentives, renovation and less red tape to tackle the EU’s housing crisis
European Parliament ()On Tuesday, Parliament adopted its recommendations on the housing crisis in the EU, proposing solutions for decent, sustainable and affordable housing. The final report of the Special Committee on the Housing Crisis, adopted by 367 votes in favour and 166 against, with 84 abstentions, emphasises that millions of Europeans face precarious living conditions due to the housing crisis, and calls for EU initiatives to help address rising prices and shortages by supporting construction and renovation.
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20260306IPR375…
# International, .