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
Independent Planning Commission approves 46-storey rental tower for Sydney
Duncan Evans Daily Telegraph (Paywall)In a big win for Sydney’s YIMBYs, the powerful Independent Planning Commission has approved a massive $163m rental tower, overriding objections from the local council and a mixed reaction from residents. Novus on Victoria, a 46-storey retail and residential tower planned for 410-416 Victoria Ave in Chatswood, would deliver 260 rental apartments above commercial space. In approving the build this week, the IPC stressed the sharp and growing gap between the city’s housing supply and demand as a core factor in its decision.
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/business/new-south-wales/indep…
# NSW, .Vested interest ‘cartel’ killing Aussie housing dream
Michael West Media (No paywall)A “cartel” of vested interests is stymying crucial tax reforms which could help free up more homes, a former boss of the Reserve Bank says. Bernie Fraser, the only person in Australian history to have served as both RBA governor and Treasury secretary, said tax concessions for property investors should scrapped to boost housing supply. He argued the current capital gains tax discount, which applies to properties owned by an investor for at least a year, exacerbates inequality by rewarding the top end of town.
https://michaelwest.com.au/vested-interest-cartel-killing-aussie…
# Must read Australia, .ACT Shelter 'surviving on reserves' after serving Canberra's homeless community for 50 years
Peter Lusted ABC (No paywall)A not-for-profit housing organisation that has helped Canberra's homeless people and low-income earners for more than 50 years is at risk, after having its funding halved. ACT Shelter began in 1975, set up by a team of around 30 people, including Cathi Moore." We represented the voice of the poorest, the homeless, and the most disadvantaged in the housing sectors at that time," Ms Moore said. The organisation has a history of combining research and work with charities like the St Vincent de Paul Society and the Salvation Army, to advocate to government for policy change.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-04/act-homeless-shelter-face…
# History Australia, .How to push back on a rent increase
Gemma Kaczerepa Domain (No paywall)Rent increases are a stubborn reality of being a renter – and often a very stressful one. But even though they’re routine, rent hikes are not necessarily set in stone. In fact, you might be able to reduce the proposed increase, or even negotiate your way out of it entirely. Here’s how: know your rights. Unfortunately, there’s no cap on how much your rent can go up. (Except in the ACT, where rent increases are linked to inflation and cannot exceed 10 per cent above the CPI.) But the good news is that rent increases can’t be set on a whim.
https://www.domain.com.au/advice/how-to-push-back-rent-increase-…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent.Who’s afraid of changes to the Capital Gains Tax discount?
Rachel Withers Crikey (Soft Paywall)A remarkable thing about last week’s Senate inquiry into Capital Gains Tax (CGT) discount - a Greens led inquiry, conveniently occurring as Labor deliberates whether to reduce the discount in May’s budget - was how many heavy hitters agreed with the fact it needed to be reduced. There was no clear consensus on how much the 50% deduction on taxable gains from investments should be reduced (Treasury’s “preferred option” is 33%, with the government considering reducing it just for housing invesstments).
https://www.crikey.com.au/2026/03/03/capital-gains-tax-discount-…
# Australia, .Why your apartment has a 7-star rating, but you’re living in a hot box
Michael Bleby Australian Financial Review (Paywall)It’s 16 degrees just after 9am and Ben Walsham is drinking an iced long black. The sun is beating through the glass façade of his east-facing apartment in Melbourne’s Brunswick West. Walsham’s first-floor rental unit has a large balcony but no canopy or shading to block the sun and even though the large sliding door is double-glazed, it is no match for the blazing morning heat. “I’m sweating, even though I’m just sitting here,” he says. “It’s hot, very hot. It’s mind-blowing that it’s 16 degrees out there.”
https://www.afr.com/property/residential/why-your-apartment-has-…
# Australia, Rent, Strata, Utilities water energy internet.Housing ACT failing tenants by leaving properties in disrepair, ombudsman says
Harry Frost and Tahlia Roy ABC (No paywall)Canberra's biggest landlord is under fire for failing to repair and maintain its properties in a timely way — or at all. ACT Ombudsman Iain Anderson said "Housing ACT has not satisfied its legal obligations" after his office investigated multiple recent complaints by tenants. "We found that it often took a long time to fully complete required repairs, even though there were safety hazards such as mould and leaking roofs in their homes," Mr Anderson said in a report.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-04/housing-act-fails-canberr…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Repairs.Disabled Broome man evicted from public housing after brother's death
Ruby Littler and Dunja Karagic ABC (No paywall)A disabled man in Western Australia's far north is facing homelessness after discovering he was not on the lease of the public housing he shared with his late brother. When Michael McCarron's brother died before Christmas last year, he received a notice from the Department of Housing and Works (DHW) that he had to vacate his home. Despite living at the Broome residence for more than a decade, Mr McCarron has no claim over the property and no avenue for legal recourse.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-04/disabled-man-evicted-from…
# Australia, Eviction, Public and community housing.