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
Boosting new homes for renters
NSW Government (No paywall)The Minns Labor Government has today introduced a bill to Parliament extending tax cuts to boost new build-to-rent homes. The legislation means that owners of an eligible new build-to-rent development will be able to access a land tax concession indefinitely, rather than the previous end date of 2039 which was set by the former government. This ongoing program provides: A 50 per cent reduction in the assessable land value of eligible build-to-rent properties. There is no cap on the number of years owners can apply for the concession; eligibility requirements including that construction have commenced on or after 1 July 2020 and the building has not been used for any other purpose, and a prohibition stopping build-to-rent properties from being subdivided, or otherwise having ownership divided, within the first 15 years of accessing the concession.
https://www.nsw.gov.au/departments-and-agencies/homes-nsw/news/b…
# NSW, .‘Hugely important’ rental change for victim-survivors of domestic violence in NSW
Nathan Schmidt news.com.au (No paywall)Victim-survivors of domestic violence will no longer need to notify an abuser that they have left a shared lease under a raft of reforms the NSW government hopes will give greater power to people to leave unsafe homes. The Residential Tenancies Amendment (Domestic Violence Reform) Bill 2025, which is set to be tabled before NSW parliament on Tuesday, seeks to strengthen privacy and security protection for victim-survivors of DV. The proposal would allow victim-survivors to change the locks on their rental without their landlord’s approval if there is a court order or bail/parole condition prohibiting the abuser from accessing the property.
https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/hugely-important-rental…
# NSW, Domestic violence.Aussie tenants spill the beans on their landlords from hell
Samantha Healy realestate.com.au (No paywall)From landlords gardening only in an adult nappy to raiding tenants fridges and enlisting spies in the street, Aussie tenants have dished the dirt on their landlords from hell. One even had a vegan landlord who complained when their tenant cooked a steak. “Landlords from hell aren’t uncommon in Australia,” Money.com.au’s finance expertt Fi Ahlstrom said. “But remember, just because you’re renting doesn’t mean you surrender your rights. “You don’t have to put up with a landlord who barges in, cuts corners, ignores repairs or hikes up your rent unfairly.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/aussie-tenants-spill-the-bean…
# Australia, Rent.Melbourne 'affordable' housing tenants face 17 per cent rent increase
Pat McGrath ABC (No paywall)The operator of a new public-private affordable housing complex in Melbourne has hit residents with a rent increase of 17 per cent less than a year after they moved in. The Flemington development is the first example of the "Ground Lease Model" the Victorian government plans to roll out as part of its redevelopment of Melbourne's 44 public housing towers. When Alix Butler first stepped into her new, inner-Melbourne apartment last year, a feeling of relief washed over her. "It felt like we finally had a place to call home," she said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-04/ground-lease-affordable-h…
# Australia, Rent.Homebuyers turn to shared ownership in expensive Wollongong market
Penny Burfitt ABC (No paywall)It's morning tea time at Gem Romuld's Gwynneville home in Wollongong and there are plenty of hands to help wrangle two toddlers, clean up dishes and prepare the food. That's because Gem lives not only with her partner Dinah Too and their two young children Thea and Marlowe, but also with her friends Lexi Dickson and Renata Field and their nine-year-old son Finnley. This isn't a university share house — the adults purchased the property together in 2021 and have a co-living arrangement, meaning they co-own and live on the property.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-10/homebuyers-turn-to-shared…
# Must read Australia, Share houses.Dirty truth behind rise of horror living conditions in rental homes
Aidan Devine realestate.com.au (No paywall)Rental homes are increasingly descending into squalor, with problems ranging from festering mould to crumbling finishes, because their landlords are so buried in debt they cannot afford repairs. It comes as research from comparison group Finder.com.au revealed close to a third of renters across the country were waiting more than six months for issues to be fixed. Serious problems that were not being addressed promptly included water leaks, structural defects, mould and broken appliances, according to the results of the national survey.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/dirty-truth-behind-rise-of-ho…
# Australia, Rent.Revealed: How much more Aussie renters will pay in 2030
Owen Raymond realestate.com.au (No paywall)Apartment supply failing to keep up with population growth could see Aussies spending over $1000 per week on two-bedroom apartments by 2030, according to new data from CBRE’s Apartment Vacancy and Rent Outlook. The report states that by the end of the decade, rental shortages in Australia’s biggest cities will see vacancy rates drop drastically, driving up prices by an average of 24 per cent across our capitals.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/revealed-how-much-more-aussie…
# Australia, Rent.The hidden $50b tax break that could help solve the housing crisis
John Kehoe Australian Financial Review (Paywall)Treasurer Jim Chalmers lit a fuse under the debate about the taxation of wealth when he declared last month that there was consensus at his economic roundtable on the need for intergenerational fairness and a fair go for working people.
Chatter quickly turned to what the Labor government might consider taxing more to fund elevated government spending and pay for tax relief for working-age people struggling to afford to buy homes.
https://www.afr.com/policy/tax-and-super/the-hidden-50b-tax-brea…
# Australia, .