10 hours ago
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Australians are struggling through one of the most brutal heatwaves and hottest summers on record. Day after day, temperatures into the high 30s are turning homes into ovens, workplaces into hazards, and everyday tasks into endurance tests.
All of us are feeling it. But spare a thought for the millions of renters trying to survive this heat in homes that were never designed to cope with it.
Across the country, renters are living in properties with no insulation, poor sealing, broken or inadequate fans or no cooling options at all. Others technically have air conditioning, but they are in such extreme rental stress they can’t afford to turn it on. In the midst of a housing crisis, even basic cooling has become a luxury.
This is not a minor inconvenience. It is a serious public health risk.
A recent survey by Everybody’s Home paints a confronting picture of how renters are coping. Large numbers report that their homes become dangerously hot in summer, yet many are forced to ration electricity use or go without cooling altogether because they can’t afford the power bill if they want to pay the rent. People describe choosing between running the air conditioner and buying groceries, or sitting in stifling heat because they’re terrified of the next bill.
For people with chronic illness, disability, or heart and respiratory conditions, this can be life-threatening. For older people, babies and young children, prolonged heat exposure dramatically increases the risk of hospitalisation. Heatwaves already kill more Australians than any other natural hazard or disaster. As global heating worsens, that risk is only growing.
Yet renters are expected to endure these conditions silently.
Many are afraid to ask for repairs or upgrades because they fear a rent increase or eviction. In the middle of a rental crisis, tenants know how replaceable they are. When vacancy rates are at record lows and rents are soaring, asserting your rights can feel like gambling with your home.
This is what happens when housing policy ignores livability.
Governments have created a system where landlords can charge record rents for homes that trap heat, leak air and offer no protection from extreme weather. At the same time, they have failed to put meaningful limits on rent increases, leaving renters trapped in a vicious cycle: rising rents, rising energy bills and falling standards.
This is not inevitable. It is a policy choice.
Some governments are starting to acknowledge that this is a problem. In South Australia, the state government says it is working to improve rental standards to better protect tenants from extreme heat. That recognition matters – but it also underlines how far behind policy has fallen. Renters are already living through dangerous conditions this summer, not in some distant future.
Minimum rental standards should guarantee that every rental home is safe and livable in extreme heat. That means proper insulation, effective ventilation and fixed cooling where it is needed. These are not luxury upgrades. They are basic protections in a warming climate.
At the same time, limits on rent increases are essential. Without them, any improvement risks becoming an excuse for another rent hike, putting decent housing even further out of reach. Renters should not have to choose between safety and affordability.
As summers get hotter and heatwaves become more frequent, doing nothing is not a neutral position. It is a decision to expose renters to harm.
Governments often talk about resilience and adaptation in the face of climate change. But resilience starts at home. If they are serious about protecting people from extreme heat, they cannot keep ignoring the conditions inside rental properties.
Australians deserve homes that keep them safe, not homes that put their health at risk. If governments fail to act on minimum standards and rent limits, they are not just neglecting renters. They are choosing to leave people at risk as the country grows hotter, one summer at a time.
