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
Renting can seem like a lottery. How can you improve your chances of getting a lease?
Evan Jones The Guardian (No paywall)“How good’s renting?” I say, trying to break some tension. Ten of us have silently sardined into the lift, optimism fading at the thought of the hundred or so others waiting outside for their turn to view the reasonably priced apartment in Fairfield, Melbourne. “I’d actually prefer if they just made us fight like gladiators in the Colosseum,” one person replies. There are some nervous chuckles and a general murmur of agreement . This is what it feels like house hunting in 2026, a time when rental prices keep increasing while vacancy rates remain stubbornly low.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/sep/12/how-to-impr…
# Australia, Starting a tenancy.Horror warnings about Australia’s ‘collapsing’ housing market are absurd – and very much in bad faith
Greg Jericho The Guardian (No paywall)House prices in the June quarter fell slightly off the back of three interest rate rises and the changes to the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing. But prices remain extremely high. In the June quarter the total value of Australia’s housing fell $34bn. Sounds like a lot? In percentage terms it was just 0.3%. That’s because in the June quarter the total value of Australian housing was $12.18tn. And here’s the kicker: that is $948bn more than it was a year ago. The horror warnings about Australia’s “collapsing” housing market really are quite stupid – and very much in bad faith.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2026/sep/10/why…
# Australia, .'Broken by design' - Kimberley report calls for the end of centralised housing maintenance model
Giovanni TorreNational Indigenous Times (No paywall)
A new report from Kimberley Community Legal Services following a year long survey of 166 public housing tenants has revealed widespread failures in the delivery of public housing maintenance across the Kimberley, raising serious questions about the effectiveness of the current Head Maintenance Contract model. The report found nearly 70 per cent of tenants surveyed were still waiting for repairs, while only five per cent reported their maintenance issues were fixed quickly. Plumbing failures, electrical faults, leaking roofs, mould and structural damage were common across the region.
https://nit.com.au/17-09-2026/26530/broken-by-design-kimberley-r…
# Australia, Aboriginal renters.Balcony solar could soon become legal in Australia. Here's how plug-in systems work
Romy Stephens ABC (No paywall)Australia could soon follow in the footsteps of Germany and the United Kingdom as it prepares to lift a ban on plug-in solar and batteries, unlocking access to the technology for millions of apartment dwellers and renters for the first time. The move was discussed during a meeting of the country's energy ministers, where they agreed to explore pathways to support the "safe deployment" of plug-in solar across the country. The systems, which are also commonly referred to as 'balcony solar', were legalised in the United Kingdom last month and New Zealand has flagged plans to do the same within 12 months.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-11/balcony-solar-to-become-l…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Utilities water energy internet.Housing with benefits: Why co-housing could be the new Australian dream
Alice Uribe and Caroline Zielinski The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)It was a conversation with their son who put words to something Ross and Paula Wade had always felt: the desire to live a little differently. They wanted to share a garden and were happy to live in a modest home in exchange for community. They just didn’t think realising this dream would come with a $200,000 premium. The Wades, a couple in their 70s, are part of a group of like-minded prospective home owners who want to live as part of a co-housing development.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/housing-with-benefits-why-c…
# Australia, .Kimberley report calls for the end to centralised housing maintenance model
Kimberly Community Legal Services (No paywall)A new report from Kimberley Community Legal Services following a year long survey of 166 public housing tenants has revealed widespread failures in the delivery of public housing maintenance across the Kimberley, raising serious questions about the effectiveness of the current Head Maintenance Contract model. The report found that nearly 70% of tenants surveyed were still waiting for repairs, while only 5% reported their maintenance issues were fixed quickly.
https://kcls.org.au/news/media-release-kimberley-report-calls-fo…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Repairs, Utilities water energy internet.Queensland homeless man shot with Taser after being given move-on order to make way for kite festival
Andrew Messenger The Guardian (No paywall)(TW: SH) A homeless man was shot with a Taser by police after attempting to take his own life during a tent city clearance, sparking calls for mental health considerations when dealing with move-on orders amid Queensland’s homelessness crisis. On 1 September, Moreton Bay city council rangers gave six homeless residents 24 hours to leave Pelican Park north of Brisbane, where Martin* had been living in a camper trailer, to make way for a kite festival this weekend. The 48-year-old said he was unable to comply with the move-on order because he had lost his driver licence due to a drink-driving conviction.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/sep/15/queenslan…
# Australia, .Residents at Darwin's YiSSA homeless shelter to be moved 100km south to Batchelor
Jason Walls, Jane Bardon and Oliver Chaseling ABC (No paywall)Up to 150 people in transitional accommodation in Darwin will be relocated 100 kilometres south to the regional town of Batchelor when the Batten Road homeless shelter in Marrara closes next month. Northern Territory Children and Families Minister Robyn Cahill today announced the new facility would be stood up alongside emergency evacuation accommodation by October 11. Ms Cahill said the decision to relocate the residents had come after negotiations with the owner of the YiSSA site in Darwin, Ausco , stalled amid a failed $3.5 million Commonwealth intervention.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-16/yissa-batten-road-homeles…
# Australia, .