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
'Landlord' earns $30 million without owning a single property
9 News (No paywall)It's not a loophole and it's not illegal. Landlording is making plenty of people plenty of cash. James Murphy was once a broke Sydney pastor but he has become a self-described millionaire. Across his properties, Murphy claims he has collected more than $30 million in booking revenue across his Airbnb homes without owning a single property. "it's powerful to think that you can generate significant revenue without needing to actually purchase properties," he said. He says he got the sign from God to quit his day job as a pastor to sub-let other people's properties. Murphy leads a dedicated list of disciples, charging a pretty penny for lessons to follow in his footsteps.
https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/sydney-landlord-earns-…
# NSW, .In the middle of Parramatta sits a 24-storey residential tower. No one lives there
Ellie Busby The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Elegant, timeless and convenient – that was how Observatory Place, a 24-storey residential building in Parramatta featuring 173 apartments, was described by its developer. But despite construction finishing in 2022, the tower is abandoned. Identifiable by its orange cladding, passersby can’t miss the 5-7 Parkes Street building that towers over Jubilee Park, on the southern side of the railway station. They also can’t miss the fence that stretches around it, preventing anyone from entering the vacant complex that is now sporting chipped paint and graffiti on the walls.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/in-the-middle-of-parramatta-…
# Hot topic NSW, Strata.In the housing debate between NIMBYs and YIMBYs, a map of Sydney shows what's at stake
Gareth Hutchens ABC (No paywall)In the debate about Sydney's housing situation and the protection of the city's heritage buildings and suburbs, there's a map that does the rounds. It comes from a NSW Productivity Commission report (2024). It shows that roughly one-quarter of the residential-zoned land within 10 kilometres of Sydney's CBD is subject to some form of heritage protection. It's used by YIMBYs (Yes In My Backyard) to show how absurd the city's heritage movement has become.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-26/nimbys-yimbys-housing-deb…
# NSW, .Beachside apartments deemed ‘affordable’ cost $1,000 a week. Is the NSW policy helping renters or developers?
Anne Davies The Guardian (No paywall)A small block of units on Clovelly Road built in 2021 was granted extra floor space so the developer could add five affordable units, taking the total development to 13. The Sydney units, three minutes’ walk from the beach, with parking and a bus stop outside, are in a highly desirable spot. But “affordable” they are not. According to RP Data, the affordable two-bedroom units now rent for $960 to $1,000 a week, which is a 20% discount to other two-bedroom units in the block in line with government policy.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/oct/29/nsw-in-fi…
# NSW, .Most Australians agree there’s a housing crisis. But they differ on what’s causing it – and how to fix it
Ben Spies-Butcher, Adam Stebbing, Alistair Sisson, Kristian Ruming and Shaun Wilson The Conversation (No paywall)Housing was a key issue during the 2025 federal election. In a campaign fought on the cost of living, rising housing costs – rents, mortgage repayments and house prices – were issues that all parties had to address. Major housing announcements were key to the campaign launches of both the Albanese government and the Peter Dutton-led opposition. While all parties agreed housing needed urgent attention, they were divided over how to fix it. Labor and the Coalition focused on first homebuyers and housing supply. The Greens emphasised rent control and social housing, and One Nation campaigned on cutting immigration and taxes on building materials for new houses.
https://theconversation.com/most-australians-agree-theres-a-hous…
# Australia, Public and community housing, Rent.Home in Place evicts social housing tenants from Morningside apartments over landlord failures
Kenji Sato ABC (No paywall)Scott Giuffrida feared he would become homeless after being told he would be evicted from transitional housing due to his landlord's ongoing failure to maintain his apartment. Community housing provider Home in Place initially told Mr Giuffrida there were "no guarantees" they would find another home for him by the eviction date of October 31. Mr Giuffrida is one of six transitional housing tenants being evicted from the Morningside apartment, which Home in Place rents from a private landlord.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-15/home-in-place-evicts-morn…
# Australia, Eviction, Rent.Rental price ranges banned on major property sites across Vic
Nathan Mawby realestate.com.au (No paywall)Victorian landlords and real estate agents have been blocked from advertising rental homes with price ranges or ‘contact agent’ in the latest phase of a rental taskforce crackdown. It comes as Consumer Affairs Victoria has revealed the watchdog that aims to stamp out dodgy rental providers has now issued 90 fines worth a combined $750,000 since it was established in 2024. Penalties have been issued for a range of offences, including for landlords and agents who have incited rental bidding — a practice in which would-be tenants make offers above an asking price to secure a tenancy.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/rental-price-ranges-banned-on…
# Australia, Rent.The government wants more of us living in high rises. Here’s why Australians don’t want to
Emma Baker, Amy Clair and Chris Leishman The Conversation (No paywall)Australia was once a nation where the great Australian dream was owning a home with ample space for a lawn and a garden. But by the 1990s, the dream had shifted, at least politically, with then prime minister Paul Keating famously saying there was “more to life than the quarter acre block”. He suggested governments should plan for more diverse, denser and consolidated housing options. Our cities could be more efficient, allow people to be closer to the services they needed, and the smaller land requirements of higher density and high rise would provide people with more affordable housing options.
https://theconversation.com/the-government-wants-more-of-us-livi…
# Australia, Strata.