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
Developing Coffs Harbour foreshore will amount to a ‘desecration of the land’, traditional owners say
Douglas Connor The Guardian (No paywall)Traditional owners in Coffs Harbour are fighting against a “heartbreaking” proposal to build a six-storey private housing development near cultural heritage sites, in a project the state government says will “revitalise” the city’s foreshore. The proposal, still in the early planning stages, would see up to 250 residential dwellings and 200 short-stay units built on two “underutilised” lots within the 60-hectare foreshore precinct, subject to planning approvals.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/aug/10/coffs-har…
# NSW, .Victory for El Lago residents – but no action
Merilyn Vale Coast Community News (No paywall)Residents have received legal assistance in their struggle for basic improvements at the El Lago Waters Resort at The Entrance but it is yet to result in action on the ground. The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal issued orders that the residents be recognised as homeowners under the Residential Land Lease Communities Act. Central Coast Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service (CCTAAS) assisted nine homeowners – those who own their homes and rent the site – to lodge applications with NCAT after El Lago issued 90-day eviction notices late last year. CCTAAS represented the homeowners at their formal hearings which were held in May and the decision by the Tribunal was set down on June 11.
https://coastcommunitynews.com.au/central-coast/news/2025/08/vic…
# Hot topic NSW, Land lease communities.‘It is huge’: Plan to cram 31,000 more homes in Sydney’s inner west splits opinion
Megan Gorrey The Sydney Morning Herald (Soft Paywall)Plans to encourage the construction of more than 30,000 new homes have divided Sydney’s inner west, as the local council faces pockets of backlash from residents of densely populated suburbs. The Inner West Council in May revealed its long-awaited proposal to boost housing supply after it objected to the government’s transport-oriented development (TOD) scheme to rezone land within 400 metres of dozens of train stations across Sydney to allow six- or seven-storey unit blocks.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/it-is-huge-plan-to-cram-31-0…
# NSW, .Vivian’s new Sydney apartment caps rent at 30% of her income. Is this the way to tackle Australia’s housing crisis?
Luca Ittimani The Guardian (No paywall)Hundreds of residents will soon move into a newly built block of inner Sydney apartments full of modern perks including induction cooktops, a nearby Metro train station, and rent capped at 30% of their household income. The Boronia apartments in Sydney’s fast-developing inner south have been purpose-built to house people in need of discounted rent – and are among the kinds of projects experts say Australia needs to solve its housing crisis.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/aug/09/housing-c…
# Hot topic NSW, .Submission: Economic Reform Roundtable – Housing System Reform for Productivity and Resilience
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)The Tenants’ Union of NSW welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Economic Reform Roundtable and strongly encourages the government to consider housing system reform, particularly in relation to the rental sector, as essential to improving productivity and building long-term economic resilience.
https://www.tenants.org.au/reports/submission-economic-reform-ro…
# Hot topic, Research alert NSW, .Warrawong NAIDOC Family Fun Day 2025 – Celebrating Strength, Vision & Legacy
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)This year’s Warrawong NAIDOC Family Fun Day – held on Tuesday 8 July 2025 at Darcy Wentworth Park (in the southern suburbs of Wollongong) – was an incredible celebration of culture, community, and connection. As proud members of the Warrawong NAIDOC Organising Committee, the Illawarra Legal Centre and Illawarra and South Coast Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service were honoured to play a role in bringing this special event to life – marking 50 years of NAIDOC Week and celebrating the powerful 2025 theme: "The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy."
https://www.tenants.org.au/news/warrawong-naidoc-family-fun-day-…
# NSW, Community languages.The exposed horror reality for tenants in NSW
Kaylee Cranley realestate.com.au (No paywall)A video tour of a Sydney home recently listed for rent has exposed the living conditions some tenants have been expected to endure, with the home alleged to have a trashed kitchen and leaking ceiling. Posted to Instagram by online content creator Jordan van den Lamb, who has garnered a large following from exposing less-than-desirable listings, the video casts the spotlight on a $550 a week listing in the inner west suburb of Burwood.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/the-exposed-horror-reality-fo…
# Must read, TUNSW in the media NSW, .NSW real estate agents threaten renters with fees if they are not home for tradespeople – but legally they don’t have to be
Catie McLeod The Guardian (No paywall)New South Wales real estate agents are threatening renters with fees as high as $330 if they are not at home to let maintenance workers in, despite there being no legal requirement for renters to personally allow entry. On 8 July, Lauren Gillin’s agency told her she needed to be home during a two-and-a-half-hour window seven days from that date to allow access for a smoke alarm inspector or pay a $90 fee. “Please make yourself available, this inspection is compulsory, and access must be provided,” Gillin’s property manager at Rich & Oliva said in a letter seen by Guardian Australia.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jul/26/nsw-rente…
# NSW, Privacy and access, Security and safety.