Government takes step in the right direction but needs to walk all the way with tenants

The Tenants’ Union welcomes the NSW government’s announcement of reforms this week for survivors of domestic and family violence in rented homes.

However we urge the Minister Matt Kean and the rest of Cabinet not to miss the opportunity to make renting fair or delay bringing change for the more than 2 million renters of NSW.

The Tenants’ Union along with hundreds of other organisations across the Make Renting Fair, Everybody’s Home and Sydney Alliance have been calling for the amendment of unfair ('no grounds') evictions to bring in reasonable grounds to provide greater stability and protections for those who rent their home. These organisations represent a broad movement of people from diverse backgrounds and communities including welfare, justice, faith-based, unions and consumer groups.

The Tenants’ Union calls for strong leadership from our government for the NSW community. People and families who rent should have both safe homes and stable homes they can rely on.

Property owners who have a legitimate reason to remove a person from their home will not be affected by this change. The government should stand firm against misleading statements about the impacts of good legislative reform in this area.