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
International students ‘not the culprits’ of rental crisis in Australia, study claims
Frank Chung news.com.au ()International students are not responsible for Australia’s rental crisis and should not be “scapegoated” by politicians and media, a new study claims. Researchers from the University of South Australia have conducted new analysis, thought to be the first of its kind in Australia, which found no relationship between international student numbers and rising rental costs for local residents. The study by Associate Professor Guanglun Michael Mu and Dr Hannah Soong, published in The International Journal of Higher Education Research, looked at data from 76 time points from 2017 to 2023 at the national level and 79 time points from 2017 to 2024 at the capital city level.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/renting/internationa…
# Must read NSW, Rent.Tenants anxious about a surge of no-grounds evictions ahead of NSW rental law changes
Kelly Fuller ABC (No paywall)Rebekah Wills and her partner had lived in their two-bedroom flat above a shop in Corrimal, New South Wales for 11 years when, in January, they were told they would have to move out. "Abruptly kicking out people who, in our case, have been with you over a decade … you know, we are good tenants," Ms Wills said. "It's a whole lot of bloody stress." The NSW government's rental reforms, including an end to "no-grounds" evictions, are set to take effect on May 19, representing the most significant changes to the state's rental laws in over 50 years.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-02/concerns-over-renter-evic…
# Must read, TUNSW in the media NSW, Eviction.The great divide over this north shore council’s housing plan
Frances Howe The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)There was only one item on the agenda at Ku-ring-gai Council’s extraordinary meeting on Monday, yet it was hours before councillors could debate it. For almost three hours, members of the public rotated in front of a lectern to express their opinions on the council’s proposed alternative to the NSW government’s transport-oriented development (TOD) program. The government’s scheme rezoned four areas – Gordon, Killara, Lindfield and Roseville – to help deliver 23,200 homes in six-storey buildings within 400 metres of train stations. The council rejected that scheme and, aiming to protect the area’s heritage and environment, instead put forward plans to allow apartment buildings up to 28 storeys in an 800-metre radius.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/the-great-divide-over-this-n…
# NSW, .Australian federal budget 2025: Government gives up on one million renters
Sarah Petty realestate.com.au (No paywall)A million tenants have been forgotten in this year’s budget despite rental affordability at its worst level on record. The Australian government has earmarked extra funds for its Commonwealth Rental Assistance (CRA) program in the last two budgets, except for this one. Renters are eligible to CRA who receive pensions, youth and study allowances, JobSeeker payments and some parenting and family benefits. Last year, tenants benefited from a $1.9bn injection into the CRA program announced in the 2024-25 budget, which cut $22 from renter’s fortnightly housing costs.
https://www.realestate.com.au/news/australian-federal-budget-202…
# TUNSW in the media Australia, .Photos reveal shocking reality of housing crisis
Alice Uribe The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)Solo tenants receiving government assistance have limited affordable property options, with no increases made for rent support or JobSeeker in this year’s budget. The federal government raised the maximum rate of Commonwealth Rent Assistance by 27 per cent in the previous two budgets, which is over and above inflation, according to Grattan Institute research. This year budget housing initiatives were more focused on homeownership, such as expanded eligibility criteria for the first home buyers’ Help to Buy scheme.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/photos-reveal-shocking-real…
# Must read, TUNSW in the media Australia, .Financial hardship and economic vulnerability in England
Inclusion Centre (No paywall)We were pleased to see our financial vulnerability dashboard we developed for the Local Government Association (LGA) referenced in this new government guide on health and well being. It provides an overview of financial hardship and economic vulnerability at local authority area. It has been designed for viewing at local authority geographies. Users can select individual councils at the top of the report and compare it on a range of criteria against different peer groups – for example, within a city or across England.
https://inclusioncentre.co.uk/our-work/financial-hardship-and-ec…
# International, .Only 2.5% of private rentals in England affordable on housing benefit, study finds
Jessica Murray The Guardian (No paywall)Only 2.5% of private rented homes in England were affordable for people on housing benefit last year, with charities warning that more people will be pushed into rent arrears and homelessness as a freeze on the benefit takes effect. From Tuesday, housing benefit rates will be locked at current rates until 2026, affecting 5.7m households on low income which rely on it to cover rent. Research from the homelessness charity Crisis and the campaign group Health Equals found fewer than three in every 100 private rental properties listed in England were affordable for people on housing benefit between April and October 2024.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/apr/01/private-renting-en…
# Must read International, .Americans' Average Rent Just Got More Expensive
News Week (No paywall)The U.S. median asking rent climbed by 0.4 percent in February compared to a year earlier to reach $1,607—the first increase in six months and the biggest in nine, according to a new report by Redfin. Compared to January, the median asking rent in the U.S. was up 0.6 percent last month. While it is a very modest growth, experts warned that landlords may be raising prices as apartment construction slows down across the country—a trend that is likely to hurt renters should it continue. The country is in a housing affordability crisis that is impacting both homeowners and renters. Rents spiked during the pandemic, when a record half of all U.S. renters were cost burdened, according to a study from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. In 2022, 22.4 million renter households spent more than 30 percent of their income on rent and utilities—2 million more than three years earlier.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&ur…
# International, .