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
All my friends are buying investment properties. Should I buy one too?
Paul Benson The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)I’m single, 44, and finally at a point where I have a bit of extra money to invest. My friends are jumping into investment properties, but I’m hesitant – the costs with my home feel high, and the property is a constant hassle. I have been steadily building an investment portfolio through a couple of ETFs, which has worked well for me over the last 6 years. But that requires me to have extra cash on hand ready to invest. Property lets you leverage, but outside my principal residence, is it really worth it? If I want to build wealth without going down the property path, what realistic alternatives should I consider?
https://www.smh.com.au/money/investing/all-my-friends-are-buying…
# Hot topic Australia, .Opticomm customers across Australia losing free-to-air television and facing internet outages
Grace Atta ABC (No paywall)When Leah Wray and her family moved into a new suburb on the outskirts of Darwin in 2023, she was sold on the promise of it being a "smart community" with top-of-the-line underground technology. But two years later and Ms Wray says "ultimately it was the opposite of that", with reports of regular internet outages and recently, the loss of free-to-air television. And she's not alone, with tens of thousands of residents across Australia — typically living in greenfield suburbs — experiencing similar issues.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-01/opticomm-free-to-air-tele…
# Australia, Land lease communities, Rent, Utilities water energy internet.Landmark High Court judgment undoes steep NT Government rent hikes
GrataFund (No paywall)This morning, four First Nations remote renters won their case unanimously in the High Court, successfully invalidating the Northern Territory Government’s widely-criticised ‘Remote Rent Framework’. The NT Government had hiked rents by up to 200% in 2023 for remote NT communities during a housing and cost-of-living crisis. Asher Badari, Ricane Galaminda and Lofty Nadjamerrek from Gunbalanya, along with Laramba woman Carmelena Tilmouth have made history in the High Court by striking out the unlawful actions of the NT Government. The High Court found unanimously that the NT Government did not afford the tenants impacted by the new model procedural fairness, therefore rendering the ‘Remote Rent Framework’ unlawful.
# Hot topic Australia, Aboriginal renters, Public and community housing, Rent.Renters win bond relief as 10,000 homes exit Victorian rental market.
Nathan Mawby realestate.com.au (No paywall)Victoria’s landlord exodus has continued with an about 10,000 home fall projected for the state’s supply of rental residences across the past financial year. Investors have been deterred by a raft of rules and initiatives aimed at protecting the state’s tenants have been passed into law and rolled out. The latest five major changes to the state’s rental rules will come into force on 25 November. The first is a ban on no fault evictions, where landlords will now need a valid reason to issue a notice for tenants to vacate, even once a lease has ended. Next is raising the bar on minimum standards for rentals, where properties will need to be compliant in all areas before being listed, not just before tenants move in.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/renters-win-bond-relief-as-10…
# Hot topic Australia, Bond, Rent.‘I would just like to see more people housed’: inside NSW’s social housing changes
Penry Buckley The Guardian (No paywall)Over the past few weeks, Carolyn Ienna has been watching the public home they lived in for 30 years disappear. First, the inside was gutted and piled up in the former back common area. Then, the roof and most of the windows were removed. “I know if I go there too often, I’m just going to get really sad,” says Ienna, a Wiradjuri person. Despite a three-year campaign to save the 17 public houses at 82 Wentworth Park Road in Glebe, the New South Wales government’s demolition has begun in earnest.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/nov/22/carolyns-…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media NSW, .Growing complaints against Sydney shared housing provider ShareSorted
Miriah Davis and Sean Tarek Goodwin ABC (No paywall)Rohan Beck knew it would be tough finding a place to rent in Sydney — but he did not think he would be flatting with a woman who lived in a "shed". The university student had been desperately searching for a room when he found a representative for a "student housing provider" who had a share house room available for $340 per week in the inner west. The room came with air conditioning and a balcony, and Mr Beck was told if he paid an up-front $600 "reservation fee" he would have his rent reduced by $40.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-24/nsw-complaints-against-sh…
# NSW, Rent, Share houses.Sydney commute times soar as city’s affordable rental ‘deserts’ grow
David Barwell The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)The number of Sydney suburbs classified as “affordability deserts” for renters has been laid bare as housing advocates call for an overhaul of the state’s planning laws in a bid to boost the supply of housing for key workers and low and middle-income households. The 2025 national rental affordability index report has found not a single suburb in the city’s east, lower north shore or northern beaches is classified as affordable for renters – meaning the average Sydney renter now must travel up to 20 kilometres from the CBD in order to find an affordable place to live.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sydney-commute-times-soar-as…
# Hot topic NSW, .'Truman Show': holiday rental cap roils Airbnb
Farid Farid Illawarra Mercury (No paywall)The fight between a local council in one the most picturesque parts of Australia and accommodation giant Airbnb hasn't eased, a year after a controversial rental cap was imposed. Home to celebrities and yoga instructors, Bryon Bay in northeast NSW has become a coastal battleground over spiralling property prices amid a housing crunch. The Byron Shire placed a 60-day cap on non-hosted short-term rental accommodation (STRA) in September 2024, in a bid to reduce prices for locals competing with holiday-makers.
https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/9118050/truman-show-ho…
# Hot topic NSW, Rent.