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As the recent summer blazed through New South Wales, many renters found themselves enduring oppressive heat within their homes. Alarming new data reveals that the temperatures inside some rental properties soared to a sweltering 40°C, posing significant health risks.
A study conducted by the rental advocacy group Better Renting monitored 50 rental homes throughout the state from December 2025 to March 2026. The findings highlight a worrying trend: while the World Health Organisation flags indoor temperatures above 25°C as a potential overheating risk, numerous participants in the study were exposed to temperatures between 25°C and 30°C for an average of 12 hours each day.
This prolonged exposure to intense heat left renters grappling with severe fatigue, headaches, nausea, anxiety, and exacerbations of pre-existing health conditions. The oppressive conditions were so unbearable that two participants required hospital emergency care due to the detrimental impact of the heat on their health.
The situation underscores the urgent need for improved living conditions for renters in New South Wales, as current environments threaten not only comfort but also the well-being of those residing in these homes.
The health impacts became so severe that the extreme heat even drove two renters participating in the study to visit the hospital emergency departments.
‘It’s pretty gross: A renter’s nightmare
Bel Langford, 19, was one of the participants in the study.
Langford, a part-time student and worker, lives with a flatmate in a Dulwich Hill apartment, in Sydney’s inner west.
The older-style brick unit has large, west-facing windows and no trees for shade.
“For most of summer, from about 11am until sunset, we have direct sun streaming into our windows,” she said.
“It’s a bit like a pizza oven … it just heats and heats and heats and then it can’t cool down overnight either. It’s pretty gross”
During the summer, the peak temperature recorded in her apartment was 35.7 degrees.
Langford, who is neurodivergent and takes medication that increases sweating, told nine.com.au the heat became a sensory nightmare which left her physically and mentally exhausted.
Desperate for a bit of relief, Langford said she slept with ice packs and set up three fans in her room.
“Unfortunately for us, most nights, especially in January, were above 25 degrees. During two of the heat waves, it didn’t drop below 27.7 overnight for three nights,” she said.
Langford resorted to sleeping with ice packs and running three separate fans in her bedroom just to stay regulated.Â
But the physical toll was still visible; with Langford developing an uncomfortable heat rash all over her body.
Call for mandatory standards
The report argues that these conditions are a direct consequence of policy failure. New South Wales currently has no mandatory minimum energy efficiency standards for rental homes, meaning landlords are not legally required to provide basic features like insulation or effective ventilation.
Meanwhile, the ACT implemented mandatory standards for insulation, draught-proofing, and efficient heating/cooling in 2023 and Victoria is set to follow suit in 2027, leaving NSW is under pressure to follow suit.
NSW Rental Commissioner, Trina Jones, has been tasked with investigating how to improve energy efficiency in rental properties.
Bernadette Barrett, Deputy CEO of Better Renting, said it was time for the government to step in.
“After reading survey responses from renters who can’t sleep, can’t function properly in their homes, and in some cases are ending up in hospital because their homes are too hot, you have to ask — how are we allowing this to continue?” she said.
Barrett said the NSW Government has a clear opportunity to introduce minimum energy efficiency standards so that renters can sleep, work, and live safely.Â
Currently, the only way for a tenant to claim a property is uninhabitable due to temperature is to take the matter to the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal, a process that is often too slow and intimidating for young or vulnerable renters.
Langford said it would come as a huge relief if her landlord decided to install an air conditioning unit in their rental property, but they did not want to ask for it in case it led to an increase in their rent.
“We’re very nervous that if we ask for aircon to be installed, that will risk a rent increase, and we just don’t want to be priced out of our unit,” she said.
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