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
Bulldozing affordable Sydney flats for luxury builds makes people ‘extremely cynical’ about development, Spender warns
Anne Davies The Guardian (No paywall)The trend of knocking down older blocks of flats to replace them with a smaller number of luxury apartments in parts of Sydney could see community support for development dive, federal independent MP Allegra Spender has warned. Spender, whose Wentworth electorate takes in Bondi, Potts Point and Paddington, has written to the New South Wales housing minister, Rose Jackson, calling for urgent action. She is meeting with councils too, urging them to adopt policies similar to the City of Sydney, which does not allow developments that lead to a significant loss of dwellings.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/dec/11/bulldozin…
# NSW, .Video cover letters coming for renters as hundreds of Aussies jump on divisive feature: ‘Win for landlords’
Tamika Seeto Yahoo News (No paywall)Rental application platforms have started rolling out video cover letters for prospective tenants. Renters already have to hand over swathes of information when applying for a home, but property managers believe this divisive extra step could help renters and landlords alike. Tenant Options, which is used by more than 100 agencies, launched video cover letters last week. Those applying for properties now have the option to record a 60-second video within the platform to accompany their application, which is then viewed by the property manager.
https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/video-cover-letters-coming-for…
# NSW, Rent, Starting a tenancy.Overcrowding, structural issues: suburbs with worst housing exposed
Aidan Devine news.com.au (No paywall)Pockets of Sydney and Melbourne have been revealed to have the worst housing in the country, with thousands of properties plagued by defects, overcrowding and structural problems. Many of the areas flagged as having the worst property issues in a sweeping national study of housing conditions were home to a large concentration of high-density apartments or recently constructed medium density. The research from iSelect analysed SA4 regions across 21 factors, including housing conditions, climate, population health, and access to healthcare.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/sydney-nsw/overcrowd…
# NSW, Rent, Repairs.Renters need to earn $500k to live here, so why is this the most in-demand rental hotspot in Australia?
Sue Williams Domain (No paywall)Thinking about renting in some glamorous location in the eastern suburbs as a much cheaper alternative to buying? Well, think again. While that area is currently the most sought-after in Australia for renters, it comes at a price. And a very, very steep price, at that. Currently, to rent comfortably in Vaucluse – defined as paying less than 30 per cent of your pre-tax income on your weekly bill – you’ll have to be earning over a staggering $511,000 per annum; more than seven times what you need for a house in the most affordable suburbs.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/renters-need-to-earn-500k-to-live…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent.Sydney loses half its Airbnbs as listings surge drives up regional rents
Lydia Kellner realestate.com.au (No paywall)Sydney’s Airbnb market is in freefall, with a dramatic exodus of short-term rental properties reshaping the city’s accommodation landscape. But while this might signal a glimmer of hope for long-term renters in the harbour city, it’s simultaneously fuelling a housing catastrophe in regional Australia, where a relentless “holiday gold rush” by investors is pushing local communities to breaking point. According to a report by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Sydney has witnessed a staggering 48.3 per cent drop in Airbnb listings since 2019. Melbourne isn’t far behind, experiencing a significant 23.8 per cent decline.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/sydney-loses-half-its-airbnbs…
# NSW, .Albanese talks about his ‘five biggest things’: What’s next?
Sean Kelly The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Right at the end of his press conference on Thursday, hit with yet another question on travel expenses, the prime minister said: “What I’m focused on today is an issue which is a revolution.” When people are writing books about this government, looking at the “five biggest things that we did, I tell you what, this will be one of them”. He was talking about – or trying to talk about – the social media ban.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/albanese-talks-about-his…
# Australia, .Navigating the Rental Market During Housing Crisis
iHeart Radio (No paywall)Renting in Australia is no longer just expensive. It is unstable, exhausting and quietly wearing people down.
In this episode of Navigating the Rental Market During Housing Crisis, I am joined by Alice Pennycott, Principal Lawyer (Tenancy) at Circle Green Community Legal in WA, and Leo Paterson-Ross, CEO of the Tenants' Union of NSW and a representative of the National Association of Tenant Organisations. This conversation names what renters know but rarely say out loud: the fear of being labelled difficult, the data you give up just to compete and the exhaustion of living on the edge. Contrary to what we hear often, this is not a wicked or unsolvable crisis. It’s systemic, human-made and entirely fixable — not through personal resilience, but by changing a system broken by design.
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-dr-johari-hussein-nassor-a-28…
# TUNSW in the media, Audio Australia, .Households now need six-figure income to comfortably rent in any capital city
Stephen Clarke ABC (No paywall)Renters need to be earning a six-figure income to be able to comfortably rent a house in any of Australia's capital cities, according to new analysis by Domain. It represents a more than 50 per cent increase since 2019, with households now needing to bring in at least $112,667 to rent a median-priced capital-city house without entering rental stress. Households spending more than 30 per cent of their pre-tax income on rent are in 'rental stress', according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-11/qld-rental-prices-data-si…
# Hot topic Australia, .