We live in a pizza oven’: Sydney renters left to suffer in 40°C heat
Aussie renters are calling for better protection as a new report reveals the shocking state of apartments across one major city.   


News.com.au
April 8, 2026

The shocking living conditions of Sydney renters has been exposed in a new report detailing the internal temperatures reached in homes around NSW last summer.

The report from Better Renting tracked the indoor temperatures of 50 rental homes across the state between December and March, revealing that the some homes reached as high as 40.6°C internally.

NSW has no mandatory minimum energy efficiency standards for rental homes, meaning many properties lack basic features like insulation, ventilation and effective cooling.   

Renters reported suffering significant physical, mental and financial distress as a result of the heat in their homes, which were compared to tents and pizza ovens.

The absence of features like air conditioning and insulation can significantly drive up interior home temperatures.

Many said they had been unable to sleep, work, cook, or carry out basic daily activities during periods of prolonged indoor heat, while some experienced headaches, nausea and the worsening of existing medical conditions.

On average, renters spent 12 hours per day between 25-30°C, with over a quarter of all sleeping hours spent above 27°C.



Dulwich Hill renter Bel's apartment reached almost 36°C internally. 

Nineteen-year-old renter Bel’s Dulwich Hill apartment reached an indoor temperature of

35.7°C over the summer.


She and her housemate described their Inner West home as a “pizza oven” which heats up rapidly and doesn’t cool overnight.

“The heat in our home affects our ability to get a proper sleep even with ice packs, multiple fans, limited clothing and blankets … it affects our ability to focus on tasks like work or study requiring us to leave the home to complete these tasks,” she said.

Bel has had to create a system of fans in her bedroom just to allow her to be able to have some reprieve from the heat overnight.

“When it has been extremely hot over weekends I have chosen to go and sleep at my parents house on their couch as they have aircon, but I am unable to do this during the week,” she said.



Bel has to use multiple fans in her bedroom overnight to beat the heat.

North Parramatta renter Isabella’s apartment hits as high as 33°C inside.

Isabella, aged 30, suffers from a chronic health condition, and said the lack of relief from the heat in her apartment “severely negatively impacted” her.

“I have been seriously sick multiple times and have even ended up in hospital emergency twice,” she said.

“I felt depressed and frustrated during the worst of the heat, being unable to do even the little things that brought me joy due to being stuck inside in bed made me miserable.”

Isabella said her chronic pain worsened every day the heat dragged on.

“I felt like I lost weeks to the pain and was unable to function properly.”

Her home’s lack of insulation also came at a significant financial cost.

“Having to run our portable AC vastly increases our electricity bill and being unable to cook properly means we spent more money on pre-made meals and take away in order to make sure we were fed,” she said.



Internal heat has also led to property damage.

Photos from various renters show the shocking condition of windows that let in heat through cracks and gaps.

Better Renting deputy CEO Bernadette Barrett said no one should be forced to endure a home that becomes dangerously hot or makes it impossible to sleep or carry out basic daily activities.

“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.

Living In A Pizza Oven  and paying enormous rent.   

Bobby. wrote on Apr 11^th, 2026 at 8:45am:


What are you doing to make sure renters can get cheap rentals Bobby, are you doing nothing and just complaining or are you actively doing something whilst you complain.

Bobby. wrote on Apr 11^th, 2026 at 9:33am:


But what actions are you taking to ease the burden on the renters, if a whole bunch of people like you started a resource where you buy a air conditioner and donate it to someone who doesn't have one. I'm sure you would love to buy a air conditioner for someone. You could lobby the government to lower the taxes landlords have to pay so rents can be kept lower. Are you doing anything Bobby?.

38 years ago, we moved into our first home.
A fibro house with a corrugated iron roof.
No insulation at all.
Outside our bedroom window was a concrete slab patio with no cover at all.
All day the house and the concrete soaked up the heat, all night it radiated the heat into the house.
It was terrible.

The first thing I did was install the thickest batts I could into the ceiling cavity and fitted 2 whirlys onto the roof.
The difference was amazing.
Later we had the house clad, a new insulated roof fitted, a roof over the patio and extra whirley's fitted.

Our home now stays 10 to 15 deg cooler inside than outside ( as long as we keep it closed up and curtains drawn)
I later fitted screen shades to all the west facing windows to cut the afternoon sun.

Finally, we installed air conditioning and ceiling fans in every room but the kitchen and bathroom.

But those first years were HELL.
WINTER WAS FREEZING.

We survived.
And now we live comfortably.

Quote:


Those single (exhaust) hose portable airconditioners should be banned. They should have been banned a long time ago.

Here's why: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/portable-air-conditioners-suck/

Only political (I suppose I really should say bureaucratic) incompetence at its finest has allowed them to continue being sold all these years.

The dual hose ones are more efficient (as are the portable split systems shown in the article) but good luck trying to find one anywhere in Australia.

Both the single hose and dual hose portables failed efficiency standards about 15 years ago but the stupid government made an exemption for the single hose portables due to them being the main ones available in the shops and the outcry about banning them.

The portable split systems were banned due to some stupid technicality regarding the refrigerant hose or something.

Apparently dual hose portables can now be legally sold in Australia (for about the last 5 years, so I believe) due to a change in the efficiency rules but I guarantee you still won't find one anywhere in Australia because the horribly inefficient single hose ones are still selling well and the dual hose ones would be more expensive to make and sell.