Report: Fit to Rent: A Roadmap for Mandatory Energy Efficiency Standards in NSW
EMBARGOED: 22 SEPTEMBER 2026
Far too many New South Wales renters are living in homes that were never designed for today’s climate, especially the heatwaves that are becoming more frequent and intense. That means the homes they rent are uncomfortable, unhealthy, and too expensive or impossible to properly cool and heat.
But there’s a solution that can help solve this problem: mandatory rental standards for energy efficiency in NSW.
Most landlords wouldn’t want their tenants to be living in unsafe housing, in the same way that they wouldn’t want their own children or relatives to have to rent unsafe housing. But many people might not be aware of the risks of living in a home that is not efficient and doesn’t have adequate heating and cooling. They may also not be aware of the financial supports – including loans and rebates – that are in place that can help with home efficiency upgrades.
Renew have done the modelling and released new research that proves while there definitely needs to be an investment to lift the quality of rental properties, with the right finance models and potentially support from governments (as is on offer in NSW), achieving significant improvements in safety, efficiency and health is within reach.
Renters can’t insulate a ceiling they don’t own, they can’t install solar on a roof that isn’t theirs, and so they bear the brunt of the discomfort and the power bills, while the upgrades that would fix both sit outside their control.
Key findings
1. Moderate upgrades (insulation, shading, reverse-cycle air conditioning, heat pump hot water, solar) delivered the strongest benefits through cutting energy bills by two-thirds to three-quarters across all NSW climate zones, while keeping indoor temperatures in a healthy 18–25.5°C range.
2. In most of the seven locations across NSW, annual bill savings outweigh the annual financing cost of the upgrades.
3. Implementing the “excellent” scenario adds to upgrade costs, yet delivers only marginal extra savings on bills for tenants. Homes
upgraded to the excellent scenario do have
greater comfort.
4. Upgrades deliver a sharp reduction in greenhouse gas emissions everywhere, and when solar is added, several locations generate more clean energy than they consume, turning net emissions negative.
READ THE FULL REPORT HERE
