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
Bay Area lawmaker seeks to strengthen rent cap, tenant protections
CBS News (No paywall)Assemblymember Ash Kalra of San Jose has introduced a measure that aims to strengthen tenant protections, including a cap on how much rent can go up every year. Anne Makovec reports.
https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/video/bay-area-lawmaker-see…
# Video International, Rent.Voters and economists united against major party housing policy promises
Adelaide Miller and Rhiana Whitson ABC (No paywall)Since becoming a single mum three years ago, Angela Ramsey said buying a property for her and her daughter became her number one priority. But, despite working overtime as a nurse and receiving an early inheritance from her mum — which secured her more than $60,000 for a deposit — Ms Ramsey said the banks wouldn't loan her enough for a property in Sydney. "Because of my single income … I could only borrow $500,000," she said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-14/voters-economists-united-…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent.Every four days a young homeless person dies. Advocates are calling for urgent reform
Shalailah Medhora ABC (No paywall)Every four days, a young homeless person aged between 15 and 24 dies. Most of the time the cause of death is suicide, according to new figures released by community support organisation, Melbourne City Mission. The organisation cross-checked Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data with coronial records and homelessness services to try to estimate the prevalence of suicide in young people without a fixed address.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-15/youth-homelessness/105175…
# Must read Australia, .Australians tell ABC's Your Say they are struggling more than ever with housing costs
Ben Knight ABC (No paywall)Harry Jang is a 24-year-old ACT resident, who's hoping to buy his first home soon — a one or two-bedroom apartment. So, when the two major parties launched their big housing policies on the weekend, he was watching closely. "I think it's great. I think it provides a big spotlight and a real drive. It tells me that there is a focus on housing amidst all the economic concerns and cost of living," he said. "As to whether the policies will work — that's a different question."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-15/abc-your-say-federal-elec…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent.Half of all investment properties sold within two years of tenants living in them, AHURI study finds
Adelaide Miller and Emilia Terzon ABC (No paywall)Half of all investment properties are being resold within two years of tenants living in them, according to new data from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI). The research, based on data from a large and long-running survey by the Melbourne Institute, shows people aged 25-34 years are more likely to buy a rental property compared to other age groups, but also more likely to sell quickly.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-16/new-rental-housing-data/1…
# Must read, Hot topic, Research alert Australia, .‘A time of great anxiety’: renters fear surge in no-grounds evictions before NSW ban comes into force
Daisy Dumas The Guardian (No paywall)Renters and advocates are worried there could be a surge in no-grounds evictions in New South Wales over the coming month as landlords act ahead of the law changing in mid-May. The Tenants’ Union of NSW says it’s a “real risk” and the Minns government has dropped the ball by not putting interim measures in place to protect renters. Luke Fennell and his family in 2023 faced a massive 40% increase in the rent of their Sydney home. Fennell knew challenging the rise was risky but fought for a 25% jump instead. Two months later, the engineer was served a no-grounds eviction notice.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/apr/11/nsw-rente…
# Must read, TUNSW in the media NSW, Eviction, Rent.Explained: The laws that will prevent landlords from saying no to pets
Frances Howe The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)On Monday, NSW Premier Chris Minns announced that, from mid-May, landlords would not be able to reject a prospective tenant for having a pet without providing a valid reason. But, on Tuesday, his description of when landlords can and can’t reject tenants with pets left some confused. “If the landlord deems the property is not suitable for a pet, that’s a valid reason to reject the application, it’s just that you can’t put on the advertisement that no pets are allowed,” Minns told 2GB.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/explained-the-laws-that-will…
# Must read, Hot topic NSW, Rent.Greens’ Energy Policy Welcomed by Sydney Alliance – But More Needed to Ensure Renters Benefit
Sydney Alliance (No paywall)The Sydney Alliance welcomes the Australian Greens’ energy policy announcement today, which includes a significant expansion of funding for social housing energy upgrades and a new initiative to increase access to solar energy for renters. We hope this represents the beginning of a race to the top on long-term cost-of-living solutions that are good for people’s health and for the planet. All households—regardless of income or housing status—must have access to the benefits of the energy transition.
https://www.sydneyalliance.org.au/news-1/community-and-climate-w…
# NSW, Rent.