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
The quiet cul-de-sac at the centre of Sydney’s newest housing debate
Anthony Segaert The Sydney Morning Herald (Soft Paywall)There are many things that concern Louise Marchant and her son, Gary, about being forced out of their home after more than 30 years. Where will they go? How do they pack up the dozens of family photos and memories? And what do they do about the sheds overflowing with Christmas decorations in their backyard? Louise, 67, and Gary, 39, have worked with neighbours and friends to light up the quiet cul-de-sac of Indigo Way, Blacktown, in Sydney’s west, with a show-stopping display of lights and decorations ranging from snow-capped model towns to rooftop reindeer.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/the-quiet-cul-de-sac-at-the-…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Rent.Energy efficiency standards could save NSW renters $1000 a year and increase landlord returns
Unity Jackson-Muir realestate.com.au (No paywall)Rental energy efficiency standards are a win-win that can help investors get higher property values and tenants get lower bills, according to new research. NSW is considering minimum energy efficiency standards for rentals and sustainability not-for-profit Renew have crunched the numbers on the pros and cons of efficiency renovations. Helen Oakey is Renew’s chief executive officer and said most rentals only hit a star rating of two out of 10 and that efficiency renovations can be good for both renters and their landlords.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/energy-efficiency-standards-c…
# NSW, Utilities water energy internet.Surcharge ban will leave some renters in the lurch
Elias Vistontay The Sydney Morning Herald (Soft Paywall)Tenants who rely on credit cards to pay their rent could soon be forced into arrears, advocates warn, after a major rental payment platform blocked the method of payment in response to a new ban on card surcharge fees. Ahead of the surcharge ban and the Reserve Bank’s broader reforms to Australia’s payments systems that came into effect from Thursday, Macquarie Bank said it would no longer accept cards from the same date on its DEFT platform, one of the nation’s largest payments systems, which processes about 1.2 million rent transactions each month.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/surcharge-ban-w…
# TUNSW in the media NSW, .‘Holding on for dear life’: Sydney unit rents at a record high
Dan F Stapleton The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)Sydney unit rents are at a record high and experts warn they could rise further as interest rate rises and the tax changes announced in the May budget work their way through the system. The median asking rent for a Sydney unit was $780 a week in the September quarter, Domain’s latest Rent Report, released on Thursday, shows. The median held steady over the quarter, but was up 4%, or $30 a week, over the year.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/holding-on-for-dear-life-sy…
# NSW, .Submission: Federal Government Social Housing Inquiry
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)Australia’s social housing system is trapped in a structural crisis caused by decades of chronic underinvestment and policy shifts that transformed social housing from a universal public good into a tightly targeted welfare model. Long term underinvestment has forced low income and vulnerable households into an unstable private rental market characterised by steep rent increases. Waiting lists for social housing in each state and territory are well over 10 years but this is not a true measure of the level of need as we know many people do not apply for social housing for a range of factors. There is a critical imperative to rebuild Australia's social housing supply and restore housing security.
https://www.tenants.org.au/reports/submission-federal-government…
# TUNSW in the media NSW, Public and community housing.Tenants forced to get creative after being told they can’t erect TV in rental home
Kaylee Cranley news.com.au (No paywall)A pair of Sydney tenants looking to catch up on their favourite shows while whipping up dinner have revealed the hoops they had to jump through to watch entertainment after their landlord told them they couldn’t put up a TV. Renters Jess and Dylan had wanted to mount their TV on their wall but were informed they would not get consent from their landlord. Fearing they would risk losing their bond money if they went ahead with plans to put it up in their kitchen, the couple revealed they had to find a creative workaround. Their fears came as new figures showed approximately one in three Aussie households that rent lost a portion of their bond in the last year.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/couple-transforms-re…
# NSW, .Eviction of 87yo sparks mass protest against Spain's housing crisis
ABC (No paywall)Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in Madrid to protest against Spain's housing crisis and ask for protective measures for tenants, anti-fraud rules and a ban on evictions without alternative housing. The protest on Saturday came in reaction to the dramatic eviction on Wednesday of an 87-year-old woman from the Madrid apartment she had lived in for decades.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-27/spain-housing-protest/107…
# Must read, Hot topic International, Eviction.Economic evictions – turning a blind eye?
Jessica Field Red Brick Blog (No paywall)With the abolition of Section 21 “no-fault” eviction notices on 1 May 2026, tenants gained protection from one form of arbitrary eviction: landlords can no longer issue a notice to quit without specific grounds. But economic eviction persists – that is, the ability of landlords to push tenants out with a hefty rent hike. Housing campaigners warn that this will be the new Section 21: rent hikes issued in revenge for tenant complaints, to increase their income whether the tenant decides to stay or not, or to clear the property to convert into something more lucrative.
# Hot topic International, Eviction.