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 suburbs set to be hit hardest by rent rises
Aidan Devine realestate.com.au (No paywall)Sydney tenants have been told to brace for another financial squeeze due to the government’s controversial decision to axe negative gearing. Economic modelling from property analytics group FoundIt has forecast rents will rise by up to $34 a week in some Sydney areas over the next three months alone. These rises would occur as new landlords await confirmation of negative gearing restrictions announced in the Budget, currently before parliament, which will restrict negative gearing tax benefits to new builds from mid-2027.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/sydney-suburbs-set-to-be-hit-…
# NSW, Rent.Parramatta, Central Coast & Penrith to lead Smart Rental Bonds rollout
NSW Government (No paywall)The Minns Labor Government has unveiled that renters in Parramatta, the Central Coast and Penrith will be first to experience Smart Rental Bonds with a phased rollout across NSW starting in August. Smart Rental Bonds will allow the 2.3 million renters across NSW to digitally transfer bonds between properties, eliminating the need to fork out thousands of dollars for another bond. This is expected to save renters up to $4,000 each time they move home. The fast-growing communities in the Paramatta, the Central Coast and Penrith Local Government Areas have some of the state’s highest rates of daily bond lodgement, with Smart Rental Bonds delivering crucial cost-of-living savings to renters in metropolitan and regional NSW.
https://www.nsw.gov.au/ministerial-releases/smart-rental-bonds-r…
# NSW, Bond.NSW to set up modular housing factory to 'turbocharge' delivery of new homes
Sean Tarek Goodwin ABC (No paywall)The New South Wales government is looking to partner with construction companies to create a new modular housing factory to "turbocharge" the delivery of new homes. It is opening a tender process for a Modern Methods of Construction Innovation Facility, where prefabricated housing modules and components could be built faster and more cheaply. The model would involve large sections of rooms being constructed off-site in a dedicated facility before being transported to new developments across the state. "The way we build homes has barely changed for generations," Premier Chris Minns said in a statement.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-21/nsw-modular-homes-plan-to…
# NSW, .Could a Human Rights Act transform renters rights in NSW?
Eloise Parrab Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)In late 2025 Greens MP Jenny Leong introduced a Human Rights Bill into NSW Parliament and over 120 organisations (including the Tenants’ Union) and individuals endorsed an open statement calling on all NSW Parliamentarians to support the establishment of a public enquiry into a Human Rights Act in NSW. This call also reflected the NSW Labor Party's platform at the last election where they committed to conducting a community consultation into legislation to better protect the human rights of residents in NSW.
https://www.tenants.org.au/blog/could-human-rights-act-transform…
# NSW, .‘Affordability crisis’: How the Western housing crisis spiralled
Dwayne Oxford Al Jazeera (No paywall)In 2026, a mounting housing crisis in Western nations has finally forced its way onto the agenda of some of the world’s richest governments. In the UK, a landmark renters’ rights law took effect in England and Wales on May 1, ending “no-fault” evictions in one of the country’s biggest private-rental reforms in decades. Across the Channel, the European Commission and Parliament have launched a new push on housing affordability, while in Washington, the United States Senate has advanced a rare bipartisan bill aimed at loosening barriers to new construction and expanding affordable housing supply.
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/6/26/affordability-crisis…
# International, .Mamdani’s Promised Rent Freeze Approved in New York: What to Know
Chad de Guzman Time (No paywall)Freeze the rent” became the definitive rallying cry of Zohran Mamdani’s affordability-focused mayoral campaign for New York City, one of the most expensive cities in the world. Despite skepticism that he could actually pull it off, a board he controls made good on his pledge on Thursday, just six months into his term. The city’s Rent Guidelines Board, in a 7-1 vote, approved a rent freeze covering both one-year and two-year leases for people living in about 1 million rent-stabilized apartments, which make up about 27% of the overall housing stock across New York City’s five boroughs.
https://time.com/article/2026/06/26/new-york-rent-freeze-stabili…
# Must read, Hot topic International, Rent.US renters call for action to combat surge of ‘take it or leave it’ apartment fees
Tracie McMillan The Guardian (No paywall)Across the US, many renters are calling for national action to stem add-on charges that increase their housing costs and increase their risk of eviction. “The rental housing market is one where consumers have little power,” Farah Momin, a renter in Seattle, told the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in April. “Landlords can impose fees through take-it-or-leave-it lease terms, and the cost/disruption of moving means that tenants may absorb unfair charges rather than leave. Federal baseline protections are needed to level this playing field.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/25/renters-apartmen…
# International, Eviction, Rent, Strata.Petition urges rethink of family's no-fault eviction
Olivia Richwald & Fiona Callow BBC (No paywall)A petition calling for the reversal of a no-fault eviction served on a family two days before a government ban on the practice has gathered more than 33,000 signatures. Mother-of-four Linsey Reeves and her husband were told to leave their flat in Ripon by 1 July but said they currently had "nowhere to go". The family were served a Section 21 eviction by the Holy Trinity Properties Trust - a type of notice that does not require a landlord to give a reason - but such evictions were outlawed under the new Renters' Rights Act from 1 May. The trust previously said it acted on advice from its letting agent Linley and Simpson, while the agency said it acted under instruction from its clients.
# International, Eviction.