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
'What have I done?': Aussie dad handed notice that would be illegal today
Yashee Sharma 9 News (No paywall)Arafath Mannan was blindsided to receive a notice that would be illegal in NSW today. The now 38-year-old moved into a home in Riverwood, in south-west Sydney, in 2017. He remained there through several full-time jobs, surgeries, the COVID-19 pandemic, being made redundant, getting married and the birth of his daughter. The father renewed his lease in August last year and copped a rent hike, which brought the weekly total up from $650 to $720. Mannan struggled to keep up, but his situation deteriorated after he was hit with a no-grounds eviction notice just two months later. The no-grounds eviction notice, seen by 9news.com.au, meant that Mannan was not given a reason why he had to leave, but had 90 days to do so.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/nsw-rental-reforms-aussie-dad-…
# Must read NSW, Eviction.VIDEO: Laws ending no fault evictions come into effect in NSW
ABC (No paywall)Leo Patterson Ross, the CEO of the Tenants' Union of NSW, say the new rental laws will make a positive difference, but still leave loopholes for landlords.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-19/laws-ending-no-fault-evic…
# TUNSW in the media NSW, Eviction.Tom’s plan was to get a degree in Sydney. It went horribly wrong
Christopher Harris The Sydney Morning Herald (Soft Paywall)After finishing high school, Chinese international student Tom considered university study in the United States. But, after seeing pictures of Australian beaches and the Opera House on social media, he enrolled in a degree in Sydney. He did not realise that, within months of arriving, he would find himself homeless for the first time, trying to sleep in a park underneath the Harbour Bridge. “I was so tired, but I cannot sleep because I was hungry and freezing,” Tom said. That was in February 2024. After more than a year, he’s become accustomed to sleeping in parks.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/tom-s-plan-was-to-get-a-degr…
# NSW, .The Guardian view on social housing: invest boldly to tackle ‘simmering anger’ about substandard homes
The Guardian (No paywall)The most obvious social housing problem in Britain is the lack of it. The failure to build enough homes to keep up with need, and replace those sold off under the right-to-buy scheme, has adversely affected millions of lives. In parts of England, the wait for family-size homes has reached 100 years, with long waiting lists also in Scotland and Wales. Charities rightly call this a national scandal. While the slowdown dates back decades, the 60% cut in the affordable housing budget in 2010 made the situation far worse. The resulting shortages mean millions of people are stuck in privately rented accommodation with no prospect of buying their own. Hundreds of thousands of others are officially homeless, and trapped in overcrowded temporary flats and rooms.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/29/the-guardi…
# Hot topic International, Public and community housing.‘Modular homes aren’t shit-boxes, they are the future’: Minns commences NSW public housing backyard infill
Julian Bajkowski The Mandarin (No paywall)
NSW public housing tenants living in detached houses with big backyards will soon find themselves welcoming new neighbours, literally in their own backyards, after the Minns government revealed plans to accommodate new, pre-fab, one-bedroom dwellings on existing public housing blocks. As the state government continues to ramp up its demonstrable wins on new builds to attack the affordable housing shortfall — ostensibly laid at the feet of obstinate local governments resisting planning reforms aimed at urban infill — glorified granny flats have become the latest quick fix to boost supply.
https://www.themandarin.com.au/292452-minns-embraces-modular-hom…
# NSW, Public and community housing.Deflated renter says cost of rent for tiny studio apartment 'is insane'
Mikala Theocharous 9 News (No paywall)Bartender and student William Connell lives in university student accommodation in Newtown, in Sydney's inner west. Rent for his 13 square metre studio apartment sets him back $1267 a fortnight. He says rent is so expensive he's been left with no other option - his parents, who currently live and work in Singapore, have had to help supplement his rent. "I could not afford this place, I'd have to live with my grandparents in Cronulla if my parents didn't [help me] pay," he said. "It's just insane, I would never be able to afford it with my part-time job... I probably get paid $600 a week, which doesn't make my rent." Connell was born in Sydney, but his family moved to Singapore and Hong Kong when he was a child.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/deflated-renter-says-cost-of-r…
# NSW, .Landlord demanded tens of thousands of dollars then threatened to kick out tenant if they did not pay up
Emma Kirk news.com.au (No paywall)A landlord who demanded tens of thousands of dollars from a tenant before they moved in then threatened to kick them out if they did not pay more money found herself in front of a magistrate. The woman from NSW claimed she did not understand her obligations to handle rent, bond payments or a property condition report under WA’s tenancy laws when she pleaded guilty to four charges of breaching the Residential Tenancies Act. The NSW landlord owned a property in the Perth suburb of Ardross when she entered into a tenancy agreement and demanded $16,200 from her tenant to cover the first three months’ rent, about a month before the tenant moved in.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/money/investing/landlord-demande…
# NSW, Bond, Starting a tenancy.Labor introduces landmark laws to crack down on misuse of affordable housing
NSW Government (No paywall)The Minns Labor Government will today introduce sweeping reforms to streamline the regulation and access of affordable housing across the state, as they continue work to create a fairer housing market in New South Wales. The Government’s legislation will close existing loopholes in the system. Currently, without central oversight, it is not known how many affordable homes there are in New South Wales. This can lead to poor compliance and mismanagement, including overcharging for rent and not providing priority access based on need.
https://www.nsw.gov.au/departments-and-agencies/homes-nsw/news/l…
# NSW, .