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.
Our main email newsletter, Tenant News is sent once every two months. You can subscribe or update your subscription preferences for any of our email newsletters here.
See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
We love sharing the news and hope you find it informative! We're very happy to deliver it for free, but if you find it valuable, can you help cover the extra costs incurred by making a donation?
Archive
Teachers in England driving homeless pupils to school and washing clothes, research shows
Geraldine McKelvie The Guardian (No paywall)Schools are regularly referring homeless children to food banks, driving them to classes and washing their clothes, according to research. A survey conducted by the housing charity Shelter and NASUWT, also known as the Teachers’ Union, asked 11,000 teachers about their experiences of working with children living in temporary accommodation. There are now a record 175,025 children in temporary housing in England, according to the most recent government figures. Many families affected are living in B&Bs, hostels and overcrowded flats.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jan/25/teachers-in-engl…
# International, .Reform UK council chair resigns after ‘illegally renting out unsafe properties’
Neha Gohil The Guardian (No paywall)A Reform UK council chair has resigned after it was found he was illegally running two unsafe rental properties, according to a neighbouring local authority. Edward Harris, the chair of Warwickshire county council, owned two unlicensed houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) in Staffordshire that had “multiple serious safety failures”, according to Labour-led Tamworth borough council. In a statement on Thursday announcing his resignation as chair and as a member of Reform UK, Harris said he took “full accountability” for the condition of the homes and “made public my contrition for the situation and willingness to correct everything under my responsibilities as owner of those two properties”.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jan/29/reform-council-c…
# International, Security and safety.Renoviction but no renovation?
Zuzia Buszewicz Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)Being asked to leave a place you have called home is an awful experience. Thankfully, no one renting in NSW has to move out without at least knowing why, because as of 19 May 2025, ‘no grounds’ evictions are unlawful. This means that the landlord must have a valid legal reason to end your tenancy. One of such reasons is a termination for significant renovations or repairs. These have been given the name of 'renovictions' after renters in Canada started experiencing a wave of both legitimate and illegitimate claims.
# Research alert NSW, Eviction, Repairs.Thousands left in limbo as National Rental Affordability Scheme comes to an end this year
Marina Trajkovich ABC (No paywall)After more than a year living in her northern New South Wales home, retiree Paula Swann fears she will be homeless by winter, when a federal rental subsidy is scrapped. Ms Swann, 78, is among thousands of renters who rely on the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS), which aimed to create more affordable housing, offering investors cash and tax incentives to rent their properties at 20 per cent below market rate. When the scheme ends in June, Ms Swann said she fears she will not be able to afford her existing unit in Port Macquarie on the mid north coast, which already costs half her pension.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-05/national-rental-affordabi…
# NSW, Rent.One in ten tenants lose their entire rental bond, new data reveals
Taylor Troeth realestate.com.au (No paywall)Landlords have been taking tenants for a ride with many renters losing more than $2000 to their bond at the end of their lease, often for unreasonable claims. Recent data from the Tenants Union of NSW has revealed that more than one in ten tenants (13 per cent) are losing their entire bond at the end of the tenancy and its costing them on average $2,314. That’s after staying in their home for an average of 1 year and 9 months. Almost one quarter of renters in NSW are losing part of their bond, which is a staggering average of $813.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/one-in-ten-tenants-lose-their…
# TUNSW in the media NSW, Bond, Tribunal NCAT.One unit block, two different entrances: The problem with ‘apartment apartheid’
Megan Gorrey The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)Behind two different doors in a proposed Mosman apartment block will lie two different realities. Residents of 34 build-to-sell apartments in the Rangers Avenue complex will enter through two foyers. Tenants paying below-market rent for 10 affordable housing units will enter via another. The idea that private buyers would have different entrances to less well-off residents in the same complex has echoes of a phenomenon dubbed “poor doors” that has long played out in London and New York. The debate surfaced closer to home when it emerged residents in key worker housing had a separate lobby to luxury apartment owners in the One Sydney Harbour towers at Barangaroo.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/one-unit-block-two-different…
# NSW, .Portable bonds scheme for NSW renters quietly delayed after flagged rollout missed
Miriah Davis ABC (No paywall)A key election promise from the Minns government to make moving rental homes easier amid the cost of living crisis has been quietly delayed. An Australian first, the portable bonds scheme was announced as part of a suite of rental reforms that the Labor Party took to the 2023 state election. The initiative would allow for the digital transfer of a bond from one property to another, alleviating renters of the financial stress of having to come up with another bond before their old one is returned.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-29/nsw-minns-government-port…
# NSW, Bond.Submission: Capital Gains Tax Discount
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)
The Tenants' Union of NSW welcomed the opportunity to provide a submission to the Federal Government Select Committee on the operation of capital gains tax discount.
We have a long standing interest in reforms to the capital gains tax settings for a fairer, more stable renting experience. We have seen first hand the inequality of our housing system and the negative impact the capital gains tax discount has on housing affordability. The interaction of capital gains tax discounts and negative gearing have further contributed to housing inequality. Both of these tax settings encourage speculation in housing investment which most concerning to us is the flow on impact this has on rental prices and quality of the housing experience.
https://www.tenants.org.au/reports/submission-capital-gains-tax-…
# Research alert NSW, .