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
Sydney rent cap: Greens propose new rent control legislation to freeze soaring costs
Robert White news.com.au (No paywall)The NSW Greens have pledged to cap rents, with the party arguing soaring housing costs in one of the world’s most expensive cities have left many households choosing between paying the landlord and paying for essentials. The NSW Greens have launched a campaign to introduce rent controls, with Newtown MP Jenny Leong saying the party will aim to introduce the legislation to parliament later this year. The proposal comes as fresh figures show Sydney’s rental market continues to spiral, with house rents in some suburbs surging by more than 40 per cent over the past year. “We want to cap rents,” Ms Leong told news.com.au.
https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/sydney-rent-cap-greens-…
# TUNSW in the media NSW, .Homes NSW fires back at claims of housing limits amid Wilks Park eviction
Maryam Sulaiman The Daily Advertiser (No paywall)Homes NSW says accommodation can be accessed by anyone experiencing homelessness for as long as they need it. The statement comes a day before homeless residents at North Wagga's Wilks Park are expected to move elsewhere. The homelessness issue in Wagga continues to escalate following orders from Homes NSW and Wagga Council for Wilks Park residents to remove themselves by July 7. Upon a visit to Wilks Park on Monday, July 6, The Daily Advertiser can report dozens of tents and caravans remain at the site.
https://www.dailyadvertiser.com.au/story/9305609/homes-nsw-denie…
# NSW, Eviction.Real estate boss demands Premier Chris Minns sack minister Anoulack Chanthivong
James O'Doherty Daily Telegraph (Paywall)A NSW industry leader has sensationally called for Fair Trading Minister Anoulack Chanthivong to be sacked, claiming the Labor MP is refusing to meet with one of his key stakeholder groups. Real Estate Institute of NSW boss Tim McKibbin sent a searing letter to Premier Chris Minns on Wednesday, saying Mr Chanthivong was not up to the job of managing rules that governed the state’s “singular most important asset class”. Mr McKibbin claimed Mr Chanthivong was refusing to meet with the real estate industry to explain and discuss major new rules that have hit the sector. He said the property market had “systemic, complex” problems which required a minister with “knowledge, political courage, and leadership”.
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=D…
# NSW, .‘Beyond reach’: Sydney’s owner-occupier rate slumps to 70-year low
Matt Wade The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The proportion of Sydney residents who live in a home they own has slumped to a 70-year low as the high cost of property reshapes ownership patterns across the city. Greater Sydney’s owner-occupier rate hit a multi-decade low of 59.9 per cent in 2025 having tumbled almost 9 percentage points in 15 years, analysis by consultancy KPMG shows. Home ownership in the city peaked at around 68 per cent in the mid-1990s but has fallen steadily since 2011 amid a rapid increase in property prices. The ownership rate has collapsed despite a range of generous government programs to help first time buyers enter the housing market.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/beyond-reach-sydney-s-owner-…
# TUNSW in the media NSW, .Curry, bagels … and AI? Londoners fight plan for huge datacentre in Brick Lane
Matthew Taylor The Guardian (No paywall)Campaigners in east London are opposing plans for a datacentre in Brick Lane that they say will worsen the area’s housing crisis and drive long-term residents away. The road, famed for its curry houses and 24-hour bagel shops, is the latest flashpoint in the rapid rollout of datacentres across the UK that aims to meet demand created by artificial intelligence. The Brick Lane datacentre, proposed to cover 5,200 sq metres, would be used for automated “high-frequency trading” in London’s nearby financial district.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jul/07/london-campaign-…
# International, .Far from waging war on the south, PM Burnham could improve the lives of Londoners. Here’s how
Polly Toynbee The Guardian (No paywall)When the “king of the north” called London “the world’s greatest capital city” this week, it didn’t reassure those who fear that Andy Burnham represents that old national grievance, the north-south divide. The right warned southerners that he was coming to tax their extravagant properties until the pips squeaked. The idea that London is reviled as a swelling boil or a vampire sucking life from the provinces long pre-dates William Cobbett. Go north of Watford, go east or south-west, and populists can always raise a hiss against the capital. Envy and loathing come in many political shapes: for the right, London is the citadel of left-leaning elitism and also the multicultural crime-ridden swamp of Trump-Vance fabrication.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/03/andy-burnh…
# Must read International, .Airbnb data identifies illegal social home sublets
Meghan Owen BBC (No paywall)Local councils and Airbnb have begun sharing data to identify the illegal subletting of social homes on the short-term rental platform. The scheme, coordinated by the Cabinet Office's fraud team, allows councils to cross-check social housing records against Airbnb listings in an effort to tackle what the government calls "social housing fraud." It is suspected nearly 6,000 social homes in England are illegally sublet on short-term rental platforms, according to the Tenancy Fraud Forum, a not-for profit organisation.
# International, Public and community housing.Pacific urged to act on housing crisis
Ema Ganivatu Island Business (No paywall)NEARLY half of Fiji’s housing stock is in average to poor condition, with thousands of families left vulnerable to climate-related disasters, Fiji’s Minister for Housing and Local Government, Maciu Nalumisa, has warned. Speaking at the Pacific Housing Forum in Suva, Nalumisa said the Pacific was facing a deepening housing crisis driven by rapid urbanisation, affordability pressures and increasing climate risks. He told around 100 participants that about 24 per cent of Fiji’s urban population currently lives in informal settlements, while rising demand for housing continues to outpace supply nationwide.
https://islandsbusiness.com/news-break/pacific-urged-to-act-on-h…
# International, .