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
NT government planning to recoup public housing rent debts, evict tenants
Jack Hislop and Jane Bardon ABC (No paywall)The Northern Territory government says it plans to recoup $39 million in rent arrears from public housing tenants and fast-track evictions for people who engage in antisocial behaviour. In parliament on Thursday, NT Housing Minister Steve Edgington said the Country Liberal Party (CLP) government would implement a range of reforms to hold tenants accountable. "Antisocial behaviour and unpaid rent won't be tolerated," he said. "The time for excuses and rolling out the red carpet for repeat offenders is over."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-20/nt-public-housing-rent-de…
# Australia, Eviction, Public and community housing.Real estate agents discouraging long-term leases labelled 'culpable' in state's housing crisis
Eden Hynninen, Prue Bentley, and Jane Nield ABC (No paywall)A Victorian property investor says real estate agents are "culpable" in the state's housing crisis and has called for their tactics to be scrutinised. This week, the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) proposed property tax reforms to the government to help alleviate land tax pressures on rental providers offering long-term leases. Land taxes have been on the rise and some real estate agents claim landlords are looking for ways to make up the $2,000 bill from their tenants. In Australia, lease agreements are often between six months and two years. REIV has suggested a 10 per cent land tax discount for a three-year lease, 20 per cent for a five-year lease, and 45 per cent for a 10-year lease. The move would seek to retain properties that are slipping out of the rental market.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-21/real-estate-agents-called…
# Australia, Rent.Company acting as 'sublandlord' accused of creating invalid sublet agreements in Hobart
Adam Holmes ABC (No paywall)Katie* knew it was going to be tough to find a rental in Hobart, so when a company reached out to her with a room, it seemed worth looking into. "I put an ad on flatmates.com.au and just described myself," she said. "Arx actually reached out to me and said, 'Oh, we've got a room that might really suit you'." The share house was in leafy West Hobart, she could have her cat, and live with five housemates. When it was time to sign a lease, Katie was sent a "residential sublet agreement".
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-24/company-acting-as-subland…
# Must read Australia, Rent, Share houses, Starting a tenancy.Freak storm adds to rental crisis in Harden as 12 homes become uninhabitable
Rachel Holdsworth ABC (No paywall)In a town where the rental vacancy rate was already less than 1 per cent, the last thing locals needed was a destructive storm. But that is exactly what Mother Nature dished up to a small community in the NSW South West Slopes last month. Harden, north-west of Canberra and with a population of about 2,000, faced the brunt of a storm during the early hours of February 9. It caused severe flash flooding and left a dozen homes uninhabitable. Local real estate agent Rosie Fairfield-Smith said every home in Harden had received some type of damage.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-24/freak-storm-uninhabitable…
# Must read Australia, Disasters.Renters receive almost $50,000 back after illegal background checks
Yashee Sharma 9 News (No paywall)Renters have received almost $50,000 back after being slugged with illegal charges for background checks in New South Wales. Some online rental property applications formerly encouraged renters to pay between $25 to $40 to cover the cost of their background checks, which typically came with the promise it would increase their chances of securing a home. The state parliament passed changes to rental laws in October, banning landlords from making applicants pay for those checks.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/nsw-sydney-renters-receive-alm…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Starting a tenancy.Are rental blacklists being misused?
ABC (No paywall)If you're renting, did you know that your details are often cross-checked with rental "blacklists" — systems put in place to flag tenants with issues before they can sign another lease. It's obvious why these blacklists would exist, but some renters say they're being used unfairly in a housing system that already puts them at a disadvantage.
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/lifematters/are-rental-bl…
# Hot topic, Audio Australia, Rent.Tenancy tribunal rehearing for UK family’s ‘unliveable’ Auckland rental denied
Hannah Bartlett Radio NZ (No paywall)The landlord on the other side of a dispute over an "unliveable" rental has spoken out about where he believes things went wrong. Simon Usher and his wife, Lynne, took landlord Richard Pretious and two property managers to the Tenancy Tribunal last year and were awarded more than $18,000 in damages. But Pretious says he thinks the outcome could have been different if he'd defended the hearing himself. The tribunal ruled in favour of the tenants, who said the property, which was listed as furnished, had significant issues including broken appliances, a cracked hob, nails sticking out of the deck with boards that flipped up when you stood on them and a faulty fireplace that sent smoke billowing through the house. They'd also been required to pay six months' rent upfront to secure the tenancy; legally a landlord can require only two weeks in advance and four weeks for a bond.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/545780/tenancy-tribunal-rehe…
# Must read International, Rent, Repairs, Security and safety.Something vital is missing from Labour’s housing policy: council houses
Abi O'Connor The Guardian (No paywall)Amelia* is a full-time working mother of two being forced to leave her home because she can’t afford the latest rent increase from her private landlord. On paper, Amelia’s one of the luckier ones: she has a stable job and lives in a city where rents are 35% lower than the national average. Yet for three months, Amelia has failed to find a single alternative home she could afford. Though she is theoretically eligible for social housing, joining the 1.3m households already trapped on waiting lists won’t fix her immediate crisis. Neither, it seems, will Labour’s flagship pledge to build 1.5m new homes.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/25/missing-la…
# Must read International, Public and community housing.