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
Thousands left in limbo as National Rental Affordability Scheme comes to an end this year
Marina Trajkovich ABC (No paywall)After more than a year living in her northern New South Wales home, retiree Paula Swann fears she will be homeless by winter, when a federal rental subsidy is scrapped. Ms Swann, 78, is among thousands of renters who rely on the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS), which aimed to create more affordable housing, offering investors cash and tax incentives to rent their properties at 20 per cent below market rate. When the scheme ends in June, Ms Swann said she fears she will not be able to afford her existing unit in Port Macquarie on the mid north coast, which already costs half her pension.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-05/national-rental-affordabi…
# NSW, Rent.One in ten tenants lose their entire rental bond, new data reveals
Taylor Troeth realestate.com.au (No paywall)Landlords have been taking tenants for a ride with many renters losing more than $2000 to their bond at the end of their lease, often for unreasonable claims. Recent data from the Tenants Union of NSW has revealed that more than one in ten tenants (13 per cent) are losing their entire bond at the end of the tenancy and its costing them on average $2,314. That’s after staying in their home for an average of 1 year and 9 months. Almost one quarter of renters in NSW are losing part of their bond, which is a staggering average of $813.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/one-in-ten-tenants-lose-their…
# TUNSW in the media NSW, Bond, Tribunal NCAT.One unit block, two different entrances: The problem with ‘apartment apartheid’
Megan Gorrey The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)Behind two different doors in a proposed Mosman apartment block will lie two different realities. Residents of 34 build-to-sell apartments in the Rangers Avenue complex will enter through two foyers. Tenants paying below-market rent for 10 affordable housing units will enter via another. The idea that private buyers would have different entrances to less well-off residents in the same complex has echoes of a phenomenon dubbed “poor doors” that has long played out in London and New York. The debate surfaced closer to home when it emerged residents in key worker housing had a separate lobby to luxury apartment owners in the One Sydney Harbour towers at Barangaroo.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/one-unit-block-two-different…
# NSW, .Portable bonds scheme for NSW renters quietly delayed after flagged rollout missed
Miriah Davis ABC (No paywall)A key election promise from the Minns government to make moving rental homes easier amid the cost of living crisis has been quietly delayed. An Australian first, the portable bonds scheme was announced as part of a suite of rental reforms that the Labor Party took to the 2023 state election. The initiative would allow for the digital transfer of a bond from one property to another, alleviating renters of the financial stress of having to come up with another bond before their old one is returned.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-29/nsw-minns-government-port…
# NSW, Bond.Submission: Capital Gains Tax Discount
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)
The Tenants' Union of NSW welcomed the opportunity to provide a submission to the Federal Government Select Committee on the operation of capital gains tax discount.
We have a long standing interest in reforms to the capital gains tax settings for a fairer, more stable renting experience. We have seen first hand the inequality of our housing system and the negative impact the capital gains tax discount has on housing affordability. The interaction of capital gains tax discounts and negative gearing have further contributed to housing inequality. Both of these tax settings encourage speculation in housing investment which most concerning to us is the flow on impact this has on rental prices and quality of the housing experience.
https://www.tenants.org.au/reports/submission-capital-gains-tax-…
# Research alert NSW, .Rebuilt Lismore student housing offers relief from record-high rent costs
Catherine Piltz Daily Telegraph (Paywall)As regional housing costs hit record highs, Lismore students have been thrown a lifeline with the anticipated reopening of a flood resilient accommodation complex. The 27-unit Sirius College at Southern Cross University on Military Rd is expected to be ready next month, rebuilt to withstand future floods after being gutted in the 2022 disaster. New data released on January 20 by the REA Group shows the median weekly rent in regional NSW has jumped to $600 – a 5.3 per cent hike over the last 12 months.
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/lismore/rebuilt-lismo…
# NSW, Disasters.Outrun the rent!
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)2026 marks 50 years of the Tenants' Union and our mission to ensure renters get a fair deal. From individual assistance to system-wide advocacy, research and supporting networks of allies, we've helped millions of NSW renters facing challenges. As we enter our 5th decade, we're not stopping – and we're asking you to help us pick up the pace by donating to our Sydney Marathon fundraiser. Donations help us take up the fight in new and innovative ways, fund legal challenges, research, campaigns or activities that other funds can't.
# Must read NSW, .OECD says it’s time to cut capital gains tax discount and negative gearing
Greg Jericho The New Daily (No paywall)The OECD’s annual survey of Australia’s economy last week bluntly noted what most Australians understand very clearly – housing is expensive and in short supply. The report highlighted issues with planning that restrict density in urban areas, but importantly it also noted the need to reform Australia’s tax system to stop favouring investors. Housing affordability has for well over two decades now been a critical issue for Australians. The OECD annual survey of Australia revealed that not only does the data support people’s feelings that housing is much less affordable than in the past, but that what is happening here is unique.
https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2026/01/30/oecd-housing-t…
# Australia, .