In early 2019, myself, my partner and our beloved cat secured a rental in Orange, NSW. Our condition report indicated our ducted gas system and split air conditioning worked fine. Turns out neither worked reliably.

After an uncomfortable conversation with our property manager, who implied it would be "too expensive to fix both", we were instructed to pick just one to be repaired.

Orange winters are notoriously cold so we 'chose' heating. But little did we know the devastating Black Summer Bushfires would follow months later.

The poor air quality meant we couldn't open the windows. Outside those windows we watched helplessly through the smoke and dust as magpies with singed feathers and galahs sought water and reprieve from the heat.

Inside our rental became a house of horrors. We made do with all the blinds drawn, two fans going, a wet sheet hung up inside, a packet of frozen peas sitting underneath my cat, and a wet shirt on to try and keep cool. It was physically and mentally exhausting.

This year we had to move into a new rental. Its lack of insulation also meant it was hard for our wooden fire heater to keep us warm during last month's unseasonable cold snap. Now, torrential rain has rendered our broken, rusted roof gutters useless with waters rising around our home.

Everyone deserves to have a healthy home, but renters are getting sick because landlords aren't required to take basic actions to make homes healthy.

Australia needs to change this so more people don't have to experience the same - and often worse - living conditions in rentals I have endured.

That's why I am taking part in Better Renting's Healthy Homes for Renters campaign. It's calling on the federal and state governments to implement minimum energy efficient requirements for rental properties.

Basic energy and thermal standards are needed to keep people warm in winter and cool in summer - as well as reduce our energy costs and waste.

Extreme weather will become more frequent and severe due to climate change and for the 30 plus per cent of renters in this country, it is imperative our governments take this plight seriously and act.