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
Sydney landlord disconnects electricity amid tense rental spat
Orana Durney-Benson Domain (No paywall)A rental dispute involving a roof leak, a McDonald’s order and allegations of harassment has played out in a Sydney court. The dispute, between two tenants in southern Sydney and their landlord, centred on a combined $20,000 in damages claim following the breaking of a lease. It all began in October 2023 when the two tenants signed a three-month lease on a two-bedroom house in southern Sydney. The rent on the home was $695 per week. In January 2024, the tenants and landlord agreed to renew the lease for 13 months, with the lease expiring in early February 2025.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/sydney-landlord-disconnects-elect…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent.Want a house in Sydney? That'll be 14.7x the average wage.
Archie Milligan National Account (No paywall)Forget Hong Kong. Forget New York. Sydney has officially taken the crown — for the worst reason. The least affordable homes on earth. Over the weekend, ABC finance reporter Alan Kohler dropped a bombshell: the median dwelling price in Sydney (that’s houses and apartments) hit $1.2 million in May. That’s a 0.5% jump in just one month. At this rate, we may never eat avocado toast again.
https://www.nationalaccount.com.au/p/house-in-sydney-14-times-av…
# Must read NSW, .‘Our incomes don’t match housing’: Meet the people in NSW’s missing middle
Alexandra Smith The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)Housing is so scarce in parts of NSW that employers are renting properties on behalf of hospitality staff while some public health workers resort to sleeping in cars to avoid long commutes, prompting MPs to urge the Minns government to act urgently on essential workers’ access to housing. A parliamentary select committee inquiry into essential worker housing, chaired by Sydney MP Alex Greenwich, found these workers – who are broadly defined as someone who works face-to-face providing key services – are the forgotten group in the government’s housing policies.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/our-incomes-don-t-match-hous…
# Hot topic NSW, .A two-bedroom Bondi Junction unit for $1,100 a week. Is ‘affordable housing’ really affordable?
Cait Kelly The Guardian (No paywall)A two-bedroom apartment in Bondi Junction that is part of an “affordable” housing scheme run by the New South Wales government has been listed at $1,100 a week to rent, prompting advocates to warn that programs designed to help low-income earners are increasingly out of reach. Across the country, affordable housing programs are meant to offer rent below market rate for low-to-moderate income households that make too much for social housing but not enough for the private market.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jun/17/a-two-bed…
# Must read NSW, Rent.Newcastle renters feel the pinch of housing crisis
Olivia Goeldner Newcastle Weekly (No paywall)More than 450 households in Newcastle faced eviction last year, as renters across the city are finding themselves locked out of a market where demand far exceeds supply. Despite being the largest regional city in NSW, the LGA’s infrastructure is failing to keep pace with its rapidly-growing population. According to City of Newcastle (CN), the populace was expected to increase by 21.24% between 2021 and 2046, exceeding 205,000 residents. That surge has placed immense pressure on the city’s rental market, too. As of 2021, 35.6% of the Newcastle population were renting, a steep 10% higher than the regional NSW average.
https://newcastleweekly.com.au/newcastle-renters-feel-the-pinch-…
# NSW, Rent.Flood-affected Ingham pleas for help as housing crisis worsens
Georgia Loney ABC (No paywall)Karen Thomas is packing up precious memories and the few belongings she has left as she prepares to leave her beloved community of Ingham. Ms Thomas hasn't been able to find any permanent housing since floods inundated her rental property in February. Community advocates say she's not alone. Residents in the flood-stricken Queensland town say they are being forced to leave due to a worsening housing crisis. Ms Thomas has not only lost her home in Ingham, she has lost her community. The floods came just after her daughter, Jody Davies, died from suicide in September.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-14/ingham-flood-victims-home…
# Must read Australia, Disasters, Rent, Repairs.Busselton bans new unhosted short-stay accommodation in residential areas
Stan Shaw and Chela Williams ABC (No paywall)Unhosted holiday homes will no longer be permitted in certain parts of a popular tourist destination in the south-west of Western Australia. The City of Busselton council has approved changes to its short-term accommodation policy. City planners said the policy change was to ensure there was enough permanent housing left for the community. The policy will not affect holiday homes with existing approvals. The council's director of community planning Gary Barbour said holiday homes will not be permitted in residential and future growth areas.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-12/busselton-bans-new-short-…
# Hot topic Australia, .WA Planning Commission approves Busselton social housing, despite opposition
Pip Waller ABC (No paywall)WA's Planning Commission has approved a high-density social housing development in the state's South West despite a fierce backlash by residents. The three-and-four-storey apartment block will be built on an unused site on Brown Street in Busselton, 223 kilometres south of Perth, by developer Housing Choices Western Australia. It will feature 30 apartments, 16 of which will be social housing units and 14 affordable housing. With the median house price climbing to $780,000 and rents now upwards of $800 per week, housing has become a critical issue in the community.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-06/anger-as-brown-street-soc…
# Hot topic Australia, Public and community housing.