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
Home batteries for renters? A solution could be coming soon
Mike Foley and Nick Toscano The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)More than 4 million people who live in rented accommodation have been missing out on the renewable revolution – until now. Some of the country’s biggest electricity companies have signalled plans for free household batteries that could slash power bills. Federal government rebates that wipe 30 per cent off the cost of buying and installing home batteries have been wildly popular since they started in July, driving a 400 per cent spike in sales. But there is little incentive for renters to spend $10,000 or more to install a battery, coupled with solar panels, on a home they do not own, or for landlords to pay for the device to subsidise power bills they do not pay.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/home-batteries-for-rente…
# Australia, Rent.Exposing The $5,000,000,000 Rental Scam
ADU (No paywall)More and more people are becoming renters, as housing increasingly becomes out of reach. But how does the renting system specifically work? What happens when you submit a bond? Who holds that bond? Governments across the country hold culmatively $5 billion in tenants bonds. This is used to generate income via interest and investment. However, this revenue isn't being appropriately distributed in a way which properly ensures that tenants get a fair go in the renting system. Leo Patterson Ross, the CEO of the Tenants Union NSW, explains how it all works, explains the problems, and gives some potential solutions and ways forward.
# TUNSW in the media, Video Australia, Bond.Chalmers urged to overhaul CGT discount on housing
Ronald Mizen and Paul Karp Australian Financial Review (Paywall)Rank-and-file Labor members are urging Treasurer Jim Chalmers to curtail the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount on housing, arguing it would push money into more productive areas of the economy and open up fresh supply for first home buyers. NSW Premier Chris Minns on Monday also backed taking a fresh look at tax breaks that “disadvantaged” first home buyers, saying he would “encourage” the Albanese government to look at CGT as part of the “big conversation on productivity and taxes” currently taking place.
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/chalmers-urged-to-overhaul-…
# Australia, .Hobart couple buy former student boarding house for older women at risk of homelessness
Crystal McKay ABC (No paywall)It was while offering short-term stays to women in need that retirees Richard and Jan Gould heard first-hand of the depth of Tasmania's growing housing affordability issues. Moved by the stories they were confronted with, the Goulds resolved to try to make a difference in their community by offering their own low-cost housing solution. "We haven't done this sort of thing before," Ms Gould said. "So, we are consulting widely with charities to see if we've hit the mark on what the people who come to them would want."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-23/retired-couple-buy-hobart…
# Hot topic Australia, Public and community housing, Rent.Interstate investors swarm NT homes, shutting out local buyers and raising rent prices
Roxanne Fitzgerald ABC (No paywall)Interstate investors are targeting properties across the Northern Territory and buying them up hours before they hit the market, as Darwin's rental market firms as the tightest in the country. Local doctor Nicolas Darmanthe moved to Darwin at the beginning of the year with his partner, and thinking they would be able to afford to rent a "fairly nice" three-bedroom home. But, after a few months of looking in a city where the vacancy rate is just 0.3 per cent, they realised that wouldn't be the case.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-21/interstate-investors-swar…
# Hot topic Australia, .Pet tax: Why having a pet could be costing renters $14k a year
Samantha Healy news.com.au (No paywall)Shocking research has revealed that pet owners are paying up to $270 extra a week - or over $14,000 a year - just to keep Fluffy or Fido at home. With rental vacancies remaining extremely low across Australia, many renters with pets are facing tough choices, including surrendering their furry friend in orders to keep a roof over their heads. The disheartening phenomenon sweeping Australian cities has been dubbed ‘pet-bidding’.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/perth-wa/pet-tax-why…
# Hot topic Australia, Pets, Rent.Help protect against renovictions!
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)On Friday 20th June, only five weeks after the new rental laws came into effect ending no-grounds evictions, the NSW government significantly weakened the rules surrounding evictions for renovations/repairs. This puts renters at greater risk of falling victim to a practice referred to as "renovictions" – unfair evictions hidden behind a smokescreen of renovations or repairs. The rules introduced on 19th May 2025 required landlords who wanted to evict a tenant for significant renovations/repairs to provide both a written statement and a choice of one of 5 pieces of evidence. The additional evidence could be a quote from a licensed builder or tradesperson, development consent, or receipts for purchased building materials. These evidence rules were established to ensure that claims to repossess a property for renovation or repair were genuine, not merely a tactic to unfairly evict tenants.
https://www.tenants.org.au/news/help-protect-against-renovictions
# Must read, Legal significance NSW, Eviction, Rent.Minns government accused of rental reform backflip
Elizabeth Pike Daily Telegraph (Paywall)More than 20 organisations from the legal, social and union sector have accused the Minns government of quietly walking back a key plank of its rental reforms only four weeks after the “landmark” changes came into effect. Community centres, legal services and charities, representing hundreds of thousands of people across the state, have called on the government to bring back evidence requirements for landlords who want to evict their tenants to do repairs and renovations. It comes after the government introduced the safeguard as part of its sweeping rental reforms on May 19, but quietly removed it only one month later on June 20 without consultation.
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/minns-government-accu…
# Must read, TUNSW in the media NSW, Eviction, Rent.