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
Fines, indefinite motel stays and uncertainty: how a homeless camp exposed regional Australia’s housing crisis
Cait Kelly The Guardian (No paywall)Leigh Swansborough has just pulled into Wilks Park, one of the biggest homeless encampments in regional New South Wales. “You would think that people would be here today,” says Swansborough, an advocate for the people at Wilks Park. “But no one has shown up.” Tuesday was meant to be D-day for residents at the camp in Wagga Wagga. Compliance action requests – eviction notices by another name – had been given out by the council, asking those living there to move by 28 July or face a $1,100 fine.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/ng-interactive/2026/a…
# NSW, Eviction.I live in a 16-person share house. This is what might surprise you
Alexa SBS (No paywall)I usually have to do a mental headcount when people ask how many housemates I have. "Fifteen or 16, depending on the day" is my typical answer. Often what follows is a look of disbelief and shocked statements like "I could never do that!" It's also often followed by questions such as: "Isn't there so much conflict?" or "How does that even work?" or "Do you get any privacy?" About three years ago now, when I was 19, I moved into the 16-person share house in Newcastle, about two hours north of Sydney. I was living at home in a good location, and I got on well with my family; there was no reason I needed to move out.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/insight/article/i-live-with-15-other…
# NSW, Rent, Share houses.Their Byron neighbours live in $2m homes. These villagers are being evicted
Amber Schultz The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The anxiety is palpable at the Northern Rivers temporary pod villages as eviction day looms. The villages consist of dozens of demountables set up on council land, including a village on Tweed Street in Brunswick Heads, following the devastating 2022 floods. They sit alongside a booming real estate market where three-bedroom homes sell for more than $2 million. Only six temporary pod villages remain, following the decommissioning of five others last year. Residents not on a social housing waitlist were told to vacate last week, while the remaining 167 households have until September, ahead of full decommissioning in December. But in a region with rental vacancies of 0.5 per cent, locals say there’s nowhere to go.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/their-byron-neighbours-live-…
# Hot topic NSW, Eviction, Rent.Demolition has begun on Waterloo's Public Housing Blocks - Video
Channel 10 (No paywall)Despite weeks of protests, the first of Waterloo's public housing blocks has been demolished. Demolition had been delayed after protesters set up camp, claiming the state Government was making the housing crisis worse by knocking down community homes.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1363353915217178/?rdid=JFaSynJBpLF…
# Hot topic, Video NSW, Public and community housing, Rent.Airbnb 'explosion' triggers rental crisis
Jackson Robb MSN (No paywall)An "explosion" of short-term Airbnb listing across NSW have left thousands struggling to find accommodation with limited long-term options - prompting a major dual crisis warning from a leading support service. Almost 50,000 short-term listings were posted in the first quarter of 2026, doubling the 22,437 long-term rentals available on realestate.com.au. The data, compiled by Homelessness NSW, also revealed the gap between short and long term stays was even wider in coastal housing markets. "The imbalance is even more severe in some of the state's tightest coastal housing markets," the report outlines.
https://www.msn.com/en-au/public-safety-and-emergencies/health-a…
# NSW, Rent.Andy Burnham says he’ll end rough sleeping – here’s what’s needed to make it happen
Jo Richardson The Conversation (No paywall)On his first day as prime minister, Andy Burnham promised to end rough sleeping, and pledged an additional £340 million to the cause. A positive aim for society, to be sure, but what he didn’t mention is that we’ve nearly solved this before. The question isn’t whether ending rough sleeping is desirable or achievable, it’s why previous attempts have collapsed.
https://theconversation.com/andy-burnham-says-hell-end-rough-sle…
# International, .Landlords promised to sell up after the Renters Rights Act — instead they did this
Jessica Lindsay Metro (No paywall)As landlords made every effort to thwart the introduction of the Renters Rights Act, we were told that trying to make things better would do the opposite, and instead lead to a mass exodus of the industry’s ‘good guys’. The implication was that increased regulation would prompt them to cut their losses and sell up, making the situation even more unbearable for tenants than before. But despite these protestations, the repeatedly-delayed bill — which capped rent increases, abolished Section 21 no-fault evictions and banned accepting or encouraging ‘bids’ to secure properties — eventually came into law last year, then into force last month.
https://metro.co.uk/2026/07/26/landlords-lying-renters-ones-payi…
# Must read International, .Why Rent Keeps Rising Because of Wall Street
Anisha Steephen Time (No paywall)Every year, millions of renters get the same bad news: the rent is going up, again. Most people assume they know why—inflation pushed costs up, there isn't enough supply, or the landlord is just greedy. Those assumptions aren't entirely wrong. But they are incomplete. The reason the rent is too damn high is because Wall Street is counting on it. From the stock market to the labor market, much of our economy is based on expectations. Your rent is more than a monthly bill. It is a financial projection. Rental housing in the United States is increasingly organized as a financial asset class.
https://time.com/article/2026/07/21/why-rent-keeps-rising-becaus…
# International, Rent.