Report: Share Housing in NSW

The 2015/16 statutory review of the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (RTAct) recommended, among other things, to “give further consideration to whether it is appropriate to provide occupancy rights to sub-tenants without a written tenancy agreement and/or to boarders not covered by the Boarding Houses Act 2012 (BHAct), and what kinds of occupancy rights should be provided to these groups”.

During the review, the Tenants’ Union of NSW (TUNSW) and Tenants’ Advice and Advocacy Services (TAASs) made strong recommendations that law reform for sharehouse residents and boarders not covered by the BHAct should be prioritised.

Between December 1st 2016 and January 12th 2017, TUNSW and TAASs conducted a survey of people who have lived in a sharehouse in New South Wales over the last five years, to gather data and insights into their experience and expectations. The information collected from this survey will inform our continuing discussions with Fair Trading NSW and the NSW Government on this issue.

Over six weeks our survey attracted responses from 317 people who have lived in a shared house or flat in New South Wales during the last five years.

The survey indicated that many people, across all ages, are living in shared housing without written sub-tenancy agreements. They have no legal protection against unfair eviction or access to effective dispute resolution services. Disputes do occur – our survey indicated a broad range of disputes are more likely to arise in shared housing than not. Disputes were often left unresolved, and respondents were more unsatisfied than satisfied with outcomes. Respondents overwhelmingly indicated they would support reform to clarify and improve the law for sharehouse residents.