A focus on housing-related poverty uncovered by a government inquiry into poverty in the 1970s provided impetus for activism to protect the interests of renters.

People concerned with unfair housing conditions began to articulate a new agenda for housing justice, which led to campaigns for fairer laws, the formation of the Tenants' Union of NSW and the development of funded services to advise and assist tenants.

The Tenants' Union began as a volunteer-run activist organisation working for legal protections against evictions, high rents, the poor state of rental housing and discriminatory practices and unfair treatment by landlords and their agents.

Since its formation in 1976, the Tenants' Union has achieved or contributed to:

• the establishment of the Rental Bond Board in 1977
• law reform campaigns resulting in the passing of the Residential Tenancies Act 1987, the Residential Parks Act 1998 and, more recently, the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 and Boarding Houses Act 2012
• setting up and funding of Tenants Advice and Advocacy Services (TAASs) under the Tenants Advice and Advocacy Program (TAAP) in 1986–87 and 1993
• informing tenants about their rights and obligations through the publications Your rights as tenant in NSW (first published 1976), the Tenants' Rights Manual (first published 1980), and numerous other resources.

Today, the Tenants’ Union continues to:

• advocate for reforms to laws and policies affecting tenants (for example through policy and campaigns, and strategic litigation)
• support tenants’ advisory services through its resourcing of TAASs (through legal support, training and IT management, among other functions)
• produce publications on tenants’ rights

Tenant News – from 1976 to today

We have produced our flaghship publication, Tenant News, since 1976 – originally as a printed magazine, now as a free email newsletter. All issues are available in our archive here. We welcome you to subscribe!

Tenant activism: the emergence of the Tenants' Union of NSW

Robert Mowbray, founding Secretary and a life member of the Tenants' Union of NSW wrote this short history.

Unfinished Business: The story of the Tenants' Union of NSW 1976-1996 

Paul Mortimer, then Training and Resource Officer at the Tenants' Union, wrote Unfinished Business to celebrate our 20th Anniversary in 1996 It documents and evaluates the history of the Tenants' Union to that date.

Download it here or contact us if you would like a high resolution copy.

More Bang For Your Bond

In 2015 we campaigned for increases in funding for the network of Tenants Advice and Advocacy Services (TAASs). Total funding to TAASs had not increased in real terms for over a decade. However, the number of tenants had grown by 25 per cent over that time. This left TAASs stretched thin. Increasingly, tenants are missing out on the services they need and deserve. We called for funding to TAASs to be increased now by $5.2 million per annum — and going forward, funding for TAAS should grow in line with the number of tenants in New South Wales.

Read more here and on the campaign website.

My House, My Home: 40 Years of the Tenants Union of NSW (2016)

2016 marked four decades of the Tenants' Union. We held a series of events and activities in to celebrate, and also published a special edition of Tenant News.

We also produced this 40th Anniversary video. It sketches in our history, showcases the work we do now, and looks at the work still to come.

See also:

• Tenants' Union Acknowledgement of Country
• Tenants' Union Reconciliation Action Plan
• About our organisation
• What we do
• Tenants Advice and Advocacy Services
• Annual Reports
• Policy priorities
• Reports, submissions and research
• Make Renting Fair
• The Tenants' Union blog
• Tenant News newsletter
• The Noticeboard for land lease community residents