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
More adults are moving in with their parents as the U.S. affordability crisis deepens
CBS News (No paywall)With inflation and rising costs, the affordability crisis is prompting some adults to consider rooming with their parents. CBS News' Jericka Duncan spoke with a 34-year-old woman about her decision to move back home.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/more-adults-are-moving-in-with-the…
# Video International, .Number of young people with no close friends has soared since 2014 in England
Denis Campbell The Guardian (No paywall)The number of young people with no close friends has risen fivefold since 2014 as a result of growing up in a “bleak world” dominated by austerity, the pandemic and social media. New research paints a sobering picture of how 11- to 24-year-olds in England are increasingly lonely, isolated and “disconnected” from themselves, peers and wider society. “Young people in England are becoming dramatically more isolated from one another, with one in 20 now reporting that they have no close friends at all, up from one in 100 in 2014,” according to a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) thinktank called “the loneliest generation”.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/sep/01/thinktank-report…
# Hot topic International, .New portable bond scheme for NSW renters starts today
Nick Dole ABC (No paywall)From today, renters moving into selected New South Wales suburbs can transfer their existing bonds to their new rental properties, potentially saving thousands of dollars. The government's Smart Rental Bonds scheme is now live, but currently it is only available in the Parramatta, Penrith and Central Coast local government areas. The system is being introduced a year later than expected and it won't be free to use, but the government thinks it will be popular with renters.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-10/nsw-portable-rental-bond-…
# Hot topic NSW, Bond, Rent, Starting a tenancy.NSW renters to save thousands as new scheme scraps ‘double bond’ payments
Unity Jackson-Muir news.com.au (No paywall)NSW renters will keep more cash in their pockets under the new smart rental bonds program that aims to also keep landlords “fully protected”. The current bond system often leaves tenants scraping together up to $4,000 for a second bond before they can move into a new property and receive their old rental bond. The new scheme leaves the current bonds process unchanged for agents but is expected to stop ‘double bonds’ by streamlining the process for the 330,000 bonds transferred each year. Premier Chris Minns said the optional program aims to stop NSW’s two million renters from paying a double bond while moving house.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/landlord/nsw-renters…
# TUNSW in the media NSW, Bond, Rent, Starting a tenancy.David Chandler wants to build housing that people can afford. And says he’s the man to do it
Max Maddison The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Former NSW building commissioner David Chandler says he would be willing to return to public life to address “absolute market failure” in the missing middle apartment sector, laying down his solution to address the state’s housing crisis by building thousands of cheaper dwellings for those who have been priced out. Two years after resigning as the inaugural building commissioner, Chandler said he would apply to head the delivery of his “intentionally disruptive” project – named MM3 – if the Minns government adopted it, saying the housing initiative required someone with a reputation for “getting stuff done”.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/david-chandler-wants-to-buil…
# NSW, .Renders of new Town Hall Square released, community feedback sought by City of Sydney Council
ABC (No paywall)New renders of what Sydney's new Town Hall Square will look like have been released, promising "the grandeur of a European square". The new public square will be opposite Town Hall in the heart of Sydney's CBD and the design shows a plaza surrounded by a curved grove of 30 native Australian trees. Fixed and movable chairs and tables are set to be included in the more than 4,500 square metres of accessible open space.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-11/designs-released-for-sydn…
# NSW, .Peter Colquhoun’s wife jailed in legal first over $3.6m ‘squatter’s rights’ scheme
Elodie Jakes Daily Telegraph (Paywall)In a legal first, the 78-year-old wife of a prominent Sydney lawyer has been jailed after fabricating a “squatter’s rights” claim to acquire a $3.67 million Glebe property. Grandmother Margaret Colquhoun, 78, was sentenced to two years and four months imprisonment on Monday, while her co-offender son Andrew, 40, only received an 18-month community corrections order. Charges against Margaret’s husband, Peter Colquhoun, the former principal of Rozelle law firm Colquhoun & Colquhoun, were dropped by the court.
https://www-dailytelegraph-com-au.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.dai…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent.We want your feedback on our policy priorities!
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)Over the past couple of years, we have seen long overdue wins for renters in NSW. These are important reforms that renters, the Tenants’ Union and fellow advocates have campaigned on for decades. From ending 'no grounds' evictions to limiting rent increases to once in 12 months, and making it easier to keep a pet, these legislative changes represent real progress. But our work isn't finished. To ensure our rental system is fit for purpose and to guarantee new protections are effective in addressing ongoing challenges, we have updated our policy priorities to guide our work for the next 5 years. Before finalising these priorities, we want to hear from you.
https://www.tenants.org.au/news/we-want-your-feedback-our-policy…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media NSW, .