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What you need to know right now to make renting fair in NSW

Crowd of Make Renting Fair supporters, Housing Assembly March 2023 Westmead
We’ve worked hard to get this far, but there’s work still to be done! Along with renters and other supporters in the community, we have been campaigning with Make Renting Fair on our 6 demands for the last 18 months. And we’ve had good progress. In this blog we look at that progress, and then talk about ways to keep pushing. Consultation on the law reforms the new NSW Government committed to during the election is one good way. The Government is encouraging everyone to have their say about Improving NSW Rental Laws – and we have some resources to help you contribute!
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Organisations unite in rental reform call to Senate inquiry

Residential home with For Lease out front of property
A coalition of more than 80 organisations across Australia has urged governments to act swiftly on rental reform in a joint submission to the Senate’s rental crisis inquiry. Fair limits on rent increases, ending no-cause evictions, and improving energy efficiency in homes are among the advocates’ listed priority areas of rental reform. 
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Modernising Consumer Protection in Renting: From Individualised to Systemic Protections

Listings for rentals from an old newspaper
Over the last 50 years, tenancy acts have been directed by the results of the national inquiry conducted by Ron Sackville as part of the Whitlam poverty inquiries. The recommendations of that inquiry built on previous attempts to carve out protections from the common law and balance the individual interests of a renter and a landlord. What will drive reform in the coming years and decades?
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Tenants' Union says Yes to the Voice

Yes to the Voice
The Tenants' Union supports a Yes vote in the upcoming referendum on the Voice to Parliament. Ensuring all people have a home that nurtures their lives, including connection to community is so important for everybody, but in particular for Aboriginal people who face current and historic barriers to achieving it. The Voice is one part of a long process to rectify these issues and creates opportunity for Aboriginal people to be better heard and recognised in public policy that impacts them.
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Own Goal? Thinking about the impact of the FIFA Women’s Cup on rental housing

image of Circular Quay in Sydney Harbour, showing office buildings
FIFA Downunder is just a day away as the 2023 Women’s World Cup Finals are played across nine cities in Australia and New Zealand over July and August.  It is truly a mega-event, and a really exciting opportunity to showcase football in Australia. We also need to learn lessons from Australia and the world to ensure these events don't cause housing issues.
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Renters, have your say!

Speak up now to improve rental laws
The NSW Government has now opened a consultation on Improving NSW renting laws. Now’s your chance to have your say on the changes needed to make renting fair!
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Tenants' Union hopes newly appointed Rental Commissioner will elevate the conversation about renting in NSW

Coastal town in NSW, aerial shot. Image: Bailey Clark @blclark
The Tenants’ Union of NSW congratulates and welcomes the newly appointed NSW Rental Commissioner, Trina Jones. The Rental Commissioner will play an important role in elevating the conversation we have about renting in NSW. This can only be achieved through strong collaboration and consultation with all stakeholders, while ensuring that renters’ voices and experiences remain at the forefront.
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Co-operative housing: Interview with co-op renter Amalina Wallace

A woman sits on a red couch, smiling at the camera.
Amalina Wallace is a founding member of Erskineville’s Eroh Ruo housing co-operative. She spoke with the Tenants’ Union about her experiences establishing and living in housing co-ops over the years.
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Joint statement: NSW Government urged to ease pressure on renting households

House key chain being held over the horizon
A Joint Statement by Tenants’ Union of NSW, Shelter NSW, Housing Action for the Aged Group and the NSW Council of Social Services (NCOSS) 
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A little gnome fact

Gnome with posters
The Tenants’ Union and Tenants’ Advice and Advocacy Services have a long history with garden gnomes. Several gnomes are scattered throughout our office, honouring their role in a collective act of rebellion against unreasonable rules including a ‘gnome-ban’ in a residential land-lease community. Yet the work of one professor suggests garden gnomes have an even deeper connection to the abuse of power in housing.
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