<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Many renters in New South Wales were left to swelter in dangerously hot homes this past summer, with new data showing indoor temperatures in some rental properties reached extreme temperatures of up to 40°C.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rental advocacy group Better Renting tracked 50 rental homes across the state between December 2025 and March 2026. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While the World Health Organisation considers indoor temperatures above 25°C to pose an overheating risk, many NSW study participants spent an average of 12 hours per day between 25°C and 30°C. </span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/ben-roberts-smith-arrested-suspicion-of-war-crimes/eecd47fa-2781-4337-b032-1c4982c3c91b" rel="" target="" title="Ben-Roberts Smith to spend at least two months behind bars"><strong><span>Ben-Roberts Smith to spend at least two months behind bars</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Renters reported extreme levels of fatigue, headaches, nausea, anxiety, and worsening of existing health conditions due to the suffocating temperatures.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The health impacts became so severe that the extreme heat even drove two renters participating in the study to visit the hospital emergency departments.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>'It's pretty gross: A renter's nightmare</span></strong></h3></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/like-a-pizza-oven-nsw-renters-trapped-in-dangerously-hot-homes/8f9748d9-5d80-4dfe-b356-03906de673e1" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Bel Langford, 19, was one of the participants in the study.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Langford, a part-time student and worker, lives with a flatmate in a Dulwich Hill apartment, in Sydney's inner west.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The older-style brick unit has large, west-facing windows and no trees for shade.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"For most of summer, from about 11am until sunset, we have direct sun streaming into our windows," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"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"</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>During the summer, the peak temperature recorded in her apartment was 35.7 degrees.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>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.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Desperate for a bit of relief, Langford said she slept with ice packs and set up three fans in her room.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"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.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Langford resorted to sleeping with ice packs and running three separate fans in her bedroom just to stay regulated. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the physical toll was still visible; with Langford developing an uncomfortable heat rash all over her body.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Call for mandatory standards</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>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.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>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.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>NSW Rental Commissioner, Trina Jones, has been tasked with investigating how to improve energy efficiency in rental properties.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Bernadette Barrett, Deputy CEO of Better Renting, said it was time for the government to step in.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"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.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Barrett said the NSW Government has a clear opportunity to introduce minimum energy efficiency standards so that renters can sleep, work, and live safely. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>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.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>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.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"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.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>ticking this box here</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Sign up to</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></em></strong></a></li></ul></div></div>