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
‘Nowhere to go’: NSW renter given less than 24 hours to leave home over repairs
Kate Kachor Domain (No paywall)A New South Wales renter has been left in a state of shock after being given less than 24 hours to vacate their home. The tenant, who we’ll call Amanda, revealed she received the sudden news after returning to her apartment to find a letter from her property manager. “Have received this today at 5.30pm. No way to contact agency as was after close of business,” she wrote on June 24 in the Facebook group Don’t Rent Me. She shared a screenshot of the letter with her personal details, location of her apartment and name of her real estate agent cropped out. The subject line of the letter read: “Termination notice of residential tenancy agreement frustration of residential tenancy agreement”.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/nowhere-to-go-nsw-renter-given-le…
# Must read, TUNSW in the media NSW, Eviction, Repairs.Final residents of Paddington boarding house face eviction, ahead of redevelopment
Ursula Malone ABC (No paywall)With eviction day fast approaching, long-time tenant Jeff Elliott reluctantly packed up his belongings over the weekend. He spent years living on the streets after his mother died when he was 14. He credits finding a room at a boarding house in Sydney's inner city with helping him turn his life around. "It was like a family," he said. "We all got on, we all helped each other out. "If you had no money or something, they'd help you out. You had no food, they'd help you out." He lived there for 21 years, working as a postman and paying $300 a week in rent for a room with a kitchen, shower and small living area attached. Moving out, he said, has been the worst experience of his life. "I don't want to go. To be honest, I'd rather stay here."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-30/final-tenants-of-paddingt…
# Must read NSW, Eviction.NSW social housing process ‘inequitable’
Christopher Kelly Government News (No paywall)The process to apply for social housing in New South Wales is inefficient and inequitable, says a report from the Auditor-General’s office. Monitoring the activities of Homes NSW – a division of the Department of Communities and Justice established in February 2024 to streamline housing and homelessness services across the state – an audit drawing on data for 2023-24 found the new agency took an average of 33 days to fill a vacant property, more than three times its target of nine days. The application process requests substantial amounts of evidence to determine whether an applicant is a priority. “Collecting this evidence can be difficult and expensive for vulnerable households,” says the report. “This discourages applications from potential applicants who would otherwise qualify.”
https://www.governmentnews.com.au/nsw-social-housing-process-ine…
# NSW, Public and community housing.Stage One Relocation – cassette tapes, costumes and letting go
Norrie May-Welby The South Sydney Herald (No paywall)When I first looked at my old place in Waterloo seven years ago, I was told I would have to move again when the Waterloo Redevelopment Project called for it, so I had been preparing for this possibility, saving boxes from every appliance so they could be safely moved. Then, I really liked where I lived, in the walk-ups, and didn’t think much of the previous Liberal state government’s plans to move half a thousand of us for a net long-term gain of a measly few dozen social housing places. When Labor promised to stop privatisation of public housing before the last state election, and then said it would be proceeding with the privatisation of the Waterloo Public Housing estate after the election, I was disappointed.
https://southsydneyherald.com.au/stage-one-relocation-cassette-t…
# NSW, Rent.As pay battles rage, Mookhey makes a $122 million decision
Alexandra Smith The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey has set aside $122 million to ensure thousands of frontline community services workers in non-government organisations receive a 3.5 per cent pay rise, with the government insisting it underscores its commitment to grow real wages. While the state government is not footing the pay rises directly, it is boosting funding to non-government organisations so they can pay the increase in the minimum wage for the workers in line with the Fair Work Commission’s annual minimum wage determination.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/as-pay-battles-rage-mookhey-…
# NSW, .Landlords Prepare For Week Of Heavy Storms By Blocking All Incoming Calls
Monty Benfica Betoota Advocate (No paywall)SATIRE: Landlords and rental agents across the east coast have rushed to block their tenants from all forms of communication ahead of a wet and windy week. Meteorologists are calling the oncoming storm a “bomb cyclone”, adding another new word to the vocabulary of the weather watching community to describe a heavy downpour. Following the news, landlords across the east coast braced for their annoying tenants calling them to complain about leaks, mould, flooding and broken roofs. “Best to just block their numbers until this rough weather passes, they’ll take the hint” explained Greg Huntsman (65), a Sydney landlord.
https://www.betootaadvocate.com/uncategorized/landlords-prepare-…
# Hot topic NSW, Disasters.Torrential rains cause havoc – natural disaster declared
Coast Community News (No paywall)Torrential rains and high winds have caused havoc around the Central Coast over the past week, with road closures and storm damage rife. As a result, a natural disaster was declared by the state government on Wednesday evening May 21. The declaration means residents and businesses affected by the weather can access emergency funds for essential structural repairs, emergency accommodation, emergency loans and assistance in replacement of essential items.
https://coastcommunitynews.com.au/central-coast/news/2025/05/tor…
# Hot topic NSW, Disasters.A broken housing market is driving inequality right across Europe – and fuelling the far right
Kirsty Major The Guardian (No paywall)Housing is as personal an issue as it gets. Homes are where we take refuge from the outside world, express ourselves, build relationships and families. To buy or rent a house is to project your aspirations and dreams on to bricks and mortar – can we see ourselves sitting outside in the sunshine on that patio? It can also be a deeply frustrating process – can we afford that house? For more and more of us, the answer is no. Experienced at such an individual level, it’s easy to think that rising costs are a problem particular to your community, city or country. But unaffordable house prices and rents are a continent-wide issue.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/26/broken-hou…
# Must read, Hot topic International, Rent.