RELEASE: Renters take fight for cooler, cheaper homes to NSW Parliament as experts forecast sweltering summer  

SYDNEY, 23 September 2026 — Today, more than 100 renters and civil society leaders from across NSW will be advocating for liveable, affordable homes directly to Parliament, as part of the NSW Community Alliance's Launch Day, demanding the state government pass mandatory Minimum Energy Efficiency Rental Standards (MEERS), which are currently being considered by the NSW Government.

The action comes as forecasters warn of an intense summer ahead, driven by a strengthening El Niño, on the back of the hottest August on record globally. For the state's 950,000-plus renting households that forecast means another summer of choosing between dangerous heat and unaffordable power bills. 

Dozens of renters, faith leaders and community leaders will meet more than 35 MPs at NSW Parliament House throughout the day, starting with a press conference on the steps of St Stephen's Uniting Church, opposite Parliament, featuring lived-experience storytellers and senior faith and community leaders.

Among them are three Sydney renters, Mirabel, Harry and Andrea, each living with a different face of the same problem: homes that were never built to keep people safe from extreme heat.

Mirabel, 19, is a Dulwich Hill renter who has lived through a summer she describes as being trapped in "a human pizza oven."

"My apartment has huge west-facing windows, no air conditioning, no proper blinds and no double glazing. Last summer it hit 35.5 degrees inside at 10 o'clock at night. For three separate stretches, it never dropped below 27 degrees overnight, even with seven fans running. When I asked my landlord for blinds or reflective film to help with the heat, I was offered blackout blinds, for an extra $50 a week, that my housemates and I had already put up ourselves. Renters shouldn't have to pay more just to be safe in their own home."

Harry, a father to a baby daughter, rents a 1940s house in Croydon Park with warped floors, mould and moisture damage, slugs entering nightly through the subfloor, and an uninsulated back extension that traps heat, after the landlord cut down the backyard trees that used to provide shade. Harry, who has studied sustainability and worked as a tradie, offered to do repair labour himself if the landlord covered materials, and was refused.

"This house wasn't built for heat or cold; it wasn't built for either condition. My partner and I are both on above-average incomes and we still can't get basic problems fixed. If it's this hard for us, I don't know how a pensioner or a single parent is supposed to cope."

Andrea rents a top-floor Marrickville apartment where her own temperature tracking shows indoor overnight temperatures didn't drop below 24 degrees for three months last summer. Running the air conditioning briefly cools the apartment, but with no ceiling insulation the walls and ceiling radiate the heat straight back. Andrea avoids running it overnight because of the cost. Even with a landlord she describes as one of the better ones, the home still falls short of a livable standard.

"A working toilet isn't a premium extra you charge higher rent for — it's a minimum standard. Being able to sleep at a safe temperature should be exactly the same. My landlord isn't a bad landlord, and my home still isn't fit to get through summer. Without regulation, there's no reason for that to change."

Currently, NSW has no minimum standard requiring rental properties to include basic protections against extreme heat and cold, such as insulation, draught-proofing and efficient appliances. Victoria has already legislated MEERS, taking effect from March 2027, and the ACT has required ceiling insulation in rentals since 2023 — leaving NSW lagging behind.

New analysis from Energy Consumers Australia estimates mandatory standards could save NSW renters between $300 and $570 a year on energy bills, with the greatest relief for households in Western Sydney and the state's colder regions. Other recent ECA research shows 68% of NSW renters went without heating or cooling last year to save money.

"We need stronger rental standards that can ensure things that most homeowners take for granted during extreme weather, like window coverings, fans, insulation, heating, cooling and energy-efficient appliances are standard in all NSW rental homes —" said Diana Olmos, Acting Lead Organiser, Sydney Alliance. 

NSW Community Alliance is a non-partisan coalition of Civil Society organisations. The Launch Day at parliament house marks the start of a broader season of engagements with elected representatives from across the political spectrum, starting with a Renters Assembly planned for November. 

ENDS

Launch Day event details 

• WHO: 100+ renters and community leaders from more than 40 organisations

• WHAT: Press conference for the NSW Community Alliance Launch Day, before meeting with Ministers and MPs, focusing on key asks we heard from the community, including renters rights, social isolation and community connection

• WHEN: 9:30am, Wednesday 23 September 2026

• WHERE: Outside St Stephen's Uniting Church, 197 Macquarie Street, Sydney (opposite NSW Parliament House)

Available for interview and photography:

• Mirabel (19, Dulwich Hill) — renter and Better Renting campaigner. Home photography possible, subject to her and her housemate's final approval.

• Harry (Croydon Park) — renter, father, sustainability-trained. Home photography tentatively booked for Sunday (Saturday morning as backup), likely including baby daughter Pia and the family dog, subject to confirmation.

• Andrea (Marrickville) — renter with her own logged indoor temperature/humidity data from last summer. Home photography tentatively planned for Monday morning. Andrea's partner, a former landlord, may also be available for a short dual renter/landlord-perspective quote.

About NSW Community Alliance

The NSW Community Alliance is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition of 40+ member organisations, including faith groups, unions and community organisations across Sydney.

Media contact

Lawrence Muskitta, lawrence.muskitta@being.org.au — 0413621913