Some are trapped in a vicious cycle: rising rents, rising energy bills and falling standards. But this is not inevitable

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.