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
'Sharp' increase in rent prices as new rules in effect
RTE (Ireland) (No paywall)Rent prices rose as the Government's new rent reforms came into force on 1 March, according to advertised prices from property website Daft.ie. Figures show rents increased nationwide by 4.4% from December to March this year, the largest quarterly increase recorded by property website Daft.ie since 2002. Market rents are now more than one third above their pre-Covid levels and almost 80% higher than 10 years ago, while the availability of rental accommodation has increased compared with three months ago and a year ago, the report found.
https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2026/0520/1574246-rents-ireland/
# International, Rent.Largest Landlord in the U.S. Accused of Widespread Fair Housing Violations
Elizabeth A. Harris The New York Times (Paywall)Greystar, the largest apartment owner in the United States, has systematically refused to accept Housing Choice vouchers (better known as Section 8) in several states where that is illegal, according to complaints filed with state agencies and attorneys general by a national watchdog group on Monday. According to Housing Rights Initiative, “testers” trained by its organization have been calling Greystar offices around the country since October to inquire about available apartments.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/14/realestate/greystar-fair-hous…
# International, .After the sexual assault, they told her she had to leave her home
Debbie Kilroy and Tabitha Lean Women's Agenda (No paywall)Content Warning: Sexual Assault. She reported the sexual assault, spoke to police, gave statements, and endured the forensic examination, the interviews and the repeated retelling of one of the most traumatic experiences of her life. Days later, the email arrived to inform her that her lease would not be renewed. Not the man accused of sexually assaulting her that lives right next door. Her. By the time the criminal legal system had finished taking her statement, the housing provider had already begun removing her from the only place she called home.
https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/soapbox/after-the-sexual-assa…
# Australia, Eviction.Living in a glorified tent: new research shows huge energy gaps between older and newer homes
Matthew Daly The Conversation (No paywall)Every winter, millions of Australians are reminded how hard it is to live comfortably in older homes. Warm air constantly leaks out through poorly insulated ceilings, walls and floors, and through gaps in floors, windows and under doors. Heaters run day and night, sending energy bills soaring. The gap between new and old homes is huge. Since 2004, new homes across most of Australia have to meet minimum energy performance standards.
https://theconversation.com/living-in-a-glorified-tent-new-resea…
# Australia, Utilities water energy internet.How Australia’s new negative gearing rules might accidentally favour some property investors
Fei Gao and Richard Krever The Conversation (No paywall)For the best part of a century, Australian property investors have enjoyed a generous tax arrangement found in few other countries: the infamous “negative gearing”. Now, sweeping reforms to limit negative gearing to new builds and also change the way capital gains are taxed have become law. The federal government hopes to give first-home buyers a better shot at buying existing homes and at the same time redirect investor cash towards increasing housing supply.
https://theconversation.com/how-australias-new-negative-gearing-…
# Australia, .Inside the fight for Melbourne's public housing towers
The Age (No paywall)They are old and badly maintained, but the announcement that 44 of Victoria's public housing towers will be demolished has left many residents with questions and concerns yet to be answered.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/inside-the-fight-for…
# Hot topic, Video Australia, Public and community housing.Unaffordable: Australia's broken housing promise
ABC (No paywall)Australia has been promised a solution to the housing crisis: affordable rental housing delivered with private developers, public money and big investors. But a Four Corners investigation raises serious questions about whether the system is delivering for the people who need it most. Reporter Pat McGrath takes a look at the growing housing model being embraced by governments across the country and reveals the reality for some renters. In an exclusive data analysis, Four Corners examined affordable housing rental listings in NSW and Victoria over eight weeks. The findings raise serious questions about how affordable housing is being defined and delivered.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-09/unaffordable-australia-s-…
# Australia, .Four Corners analysed 'affordable' rental listings. We found a reality that didn't match the promise
Pat McGrath, Madi Chwasta, Kate Ashton and Kirsten Robb ABC (No paywall)A Four Corners investigation has discovered serious deficiencies in the nation's housing affordability schemes, with an analysis finding rentals in Australia's most populous states too expensive for people who need them most. The analysis of about two months of affordable rental listings in New South Wales and Victoria found some properties on offer were actually being advertised above median market rates. Our investigation also found cases of people being locked out of "affordable" rentals, seemingly because they did not earn enough.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-13/many-affordable-rental-li…
# Australia, .