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
Tenancy Tribunal orders landlord Jake Sim to pay tenant $3500 for unlawful entries, breaching his peace
Tara Shaskey NZ Herald (No paywall)A man leaving his home for work at 6.30am went to jump into his work van but unexpectedly found his landlord sitting in it, drinking a handle of beer. On another occasion, the landlord, Jake Sim, left a note for the tenant on the bench saying: “It’s fixed ya w[h]inging pr**k” after going to the property to fix a heatpump". The incidents were a part of a bigger tenancy issue in which Sim turned up at the property intoxicated and banging on the doors, and on other occasions, unlawfully let himself in. According to a recently released decision, the concerned tenant began setting “traps” to catch Sim in the act and also changed the locks, which, legally, he was not allowed to do.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/tenancy-tribunal-orders-landlord-j…
# Hot topic International, Privacy and access, Rent, Security and safety.Los Angeles Tenants Union calls for rent freeze, eviction pause as ICE raids continue
CBS News (No paywall)The LA Tenants Union on Tuesday called on city officials to halt evictions as some renters live in fear while immigration enforcement operations continue throughout the area. KCAL News reports.
https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/video/los-angeles-tenants-uni…
# Video International, Discrimination, Eviction, Rent.Housing bill 'catastrophic for wildlife' - charity
Janine Jansen BBC (No paywall)A new bill which the government says aims to speed up housebuilding has been described as "catastrophic for wildlife" by a nature charity. Devon Wildlife Trust's chief executive Nick Bruce-White has said it will give developers an open door to pay "cash to trash" the environment. Labour says it wants to build 1.5 million homes during this parliament and 150 large infrastructure projects. The government says the new Planning and Infrastructure Bill will deliver a "win-win" for the economy and nature by ensuring builders can meet their environmental obligations faster.
# International, .Rent changes: How will tenants be impacted by the plans for Ireland’s rental market?
Cormac McQuinn Irish Times (No paywall)Huge changes to Ireland’s rental market beckon under Government reforms aimed at boosting private investment to build more housing – while at the same time strengthening tenant protections. Opposition parties have attacked the plans saying rents will continue to increase. The Government ultimately hopes if more investors can be attracted to deliver more homes, rents will fall in years to come. So what are the changes and what do they mean for current and future renters?
https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/housing-planning/2025/06/12/w…
# International, Rent.$1b guarantee for developers central to NSW budget housing plan
Alexander Lewis ABC (No paywall)A $1 billion plan making it easier for developers to get finance and build new homes has been announced in the New South Wales budget. In an Australian first, the state will guarantee the pre-sale of up to 5,000 apartments, which it claims will allow developers to get finance to build 15,000 new homes over five years. The scheme is designed to combat the feasibility problems inhibiting development, as the state falls behind its targets for building homes.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-24/nsw-budget-2025-26-announ…
# TUNSW in the media, New policy announcement NSW, .How did renting in Australia turn into a full-blown personal audit?
Archie Milligan National Account (No paywall)Applying for a rental property in Australia is completely cooked. I’ve had to hand over my bank records, wage slips, passport, driving licence, utility bills, multiple references — professional and personal — all in order to secure a rental. But in the regions it’s even worse. Because there are often no open inspections, tenants have to supply all this information just to view a property. The thing is, I don’t really want randoms to know how many Sundays I’m feeling a little dusty and a chicken burger is being delivered to my door or what else I’m spending my money on. I get that tenancy contracts are worth a lot of money, tens of thousands of dollars a year, so it makes sense someone wants to know if I can follow through with payment.
https://www.nationalaccount.com.au/p/australia-rental-applicatio…
# Must read, TUNSW in the media NSW, Privacy and access.This mother and her kids were rejected for emergency housing after fleeing a violent ex-partner
Lia Harris ABC (No paywall)An Indigenous woman who fled her hometown with her children to escape a violent ex-partner was rejected for temporary housing by a state government service and claims she was told to return home. Sarah, whose name has been changed for privacy and security reasons, and her four young children were on the brink of homelessness when she first spoke to ABC News earlier this month, saying she was terrified to return to her community and had nowhere else to go. She said trying to get help from government support services had been "like talking to a brick wall".
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-24/indigenous-domestic-viole…
# Must read NSW, Aboriginal renters, Domestic violence.Lane Cove: 86-unit public rental apartment development approved
Jim O'Rourke Daily Telegraph (Paywall)A large scale social housing development which ignited an ugly debate among North Shore residents who called for it to be relocated has been given the go ahead. The NSW Government’s housing block at Lane Cove North will have 86 social and affordable units for rent, accommodating up to 155 tenants. But when plans for the $57m five-storey redevelopment went on public display, they attracted an avalanche of negative comments from NIMBYs who feared it would affect residential property values in the area. Some locals also feared the block, to be built opposite Mowbray Public School, would led to a rise in local crime, including theft, as well as see a spike in anti-social behaviour. Of the 88 public submissions received by the Planning Department, 87 were from objectors.
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/north-shore/lane-cov…
# NSW, .