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
Tenants win €3,000 from landlord who told them he was selling house, but re-let it
Jack WhiteIrish Times (No paywall)
A Galway landlord who claimed he was selling a house when he terminated a tenancy, but went on to advertise the property at a rent nearly 50 per cent higher, has been ordered to pay €3,000 in damages. Cathal Lennon, who had been renting the house in Merlin Park, Murrough, along with Robyn Kirby for nine months, claimed they received a text message from landlord Stewart Shephard asking them to leave within one month as he wished to sell. This was subsequently changed in April of last year to three months’ notice, with Mr Lennon saying the pair were unable to find alternative accommodation until July.
https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/housing-planning/2025/05/12/t…
# Hot topic International, Rent.More good news for tenants
Susan Edmunds Radio NZ (No paywall)It's a good time to be a tenant, new data suggests. Realestate.co.nz said the supply of rental properties across New Zealand was at the highest level of any April in almost a decade, last month. There were 5868 new listings on the site in the month, up 24.1 percent year-on-year. The last time the number listed was that high was in April 2016. Auckland had the largest number of new listings followed by Canterbury and Wellington. Wellington's average rental price was down 7.2 percent year-on-year to $647 and Auckland's down 3.3 percent to $702. The national average was down $14 a week.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/560504/more-good-news-for-te…
# Hot topic International, Rent.Listening to Renters' Voices
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)
This report summarises the key outcomes of a series of innovative Renters’ Forums hosted by the Tenants’ Union of NSW in partnership with the Sydney Alliance and the NSW Rental Commissioner, NSW Fair Trading between May and November 2024. The central purpose of these forums was to directly engage renters across NSW, particularly those from often marginalised communities, to share their experiences and propose solutions related to the challenges of renting. This initiative aimed to ensure that renters' voices were heard by decision-makers and to foster a deeper understanding of the systemic issues within the NSW rental market.
'No-grounds' evictions to end in New South Wales
ABC (No paywall)There's some good news for renters in New South Wales coming into effect later this month, with the state government ending 'no-grounds' evictions and making it easier to keep a pet. It comes as a report from Anglicare reveals that out of the more than 51,000 rental listings reviewed nationwide, less than one per cent were deemed affordable for a full-time worker on the minimum wage.
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/radionational-breakfast/-…
# Hot topic, Audio NSW, Eviction, Rent.NCAT Snapshot
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)The Tenants' Union NCAT Snapshot aims to provide transparency on the use of the NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal (NCAT). This dashboard will be updated regularly to ensure the public has access to up to date information on who and why landlords and tenants are using the tribunal. This dashboards allows us to compare the rates that tenants and landlords are applying to the tribunal. The evictions snapshot highlights the percentage of eviction applications out of all landlord applications as well as all applications (landlord and tenant). The application breakdowns allow us to explore the types of applications both landlords and tenants make to the tribunal.
# Must read, Research alert NSW, Tribunal NCAT.Sydney Boarding Homes Threatened by Luxury Builds
Bloomberg (No paywall)Australia’s housing crisis is a key issue in this year’s upcoming election. The future of some Sydney boarding homes being threatened by luxury builds highlights the severity and complexity of the issue, Frances Du reports.
# Video NSW, Boarders and lodgers.NT's remote communities still waiting on benefits of federal $4 billion housing promise
Olivana Lathouris ABC (No paywall)More than a year ago, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited the remote Aboriginal community of Binjari to announce $4 billion for remote housing. But since then the community have yet to see a single new home built. Binjari, located around 16 kilometres west of Katherine, is one of more than 80 Aboriginal communities dotted across the NT and, like many, it is struggling with chronic overcrowding. Lifelong resident Olivia Raymond vividly remembers the day the prime minister visited town, pleading for help with her home which she said was no longer liveable.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-26/nt-communities-waiting-fo…
# Must read International, Aboriginal renters, Rent, Repairs.More than 200,000 children in short-term housing in England by 2029, analysis shows
Kiran Stacey The Guardian (No paywall)More than 200,000 children will be living in short-term emergency accommodation in England to keep them off the streets by the end of this parliament, according to projections by the housing charity Shelter. The analysis shows that 206,000 children will be living in temporary accommodation by 2029 – a 26% increase over five years – while the cost to the taxpayer is set to rise by 71% to £3.9bn a year. The figures, which take account of government policies and projected house prices, show how England’s housing crisis is playing out behind the closed doors of bedsits, hostels and bed and breakfasts across the country.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/apr/29/shelter-forecasts-r…
# Hot topic International, .