Track rents in your local area – new postcode tool for tenants

Today the Tenants' Union has released the first version of a new tool to help tenants in NSW. We believe the more information people who rent have the better. With the Rent Tracker Postcode Tool you can now check what the latest rents data is for any postcode in NSW using data directly from the Rental Bond Board.

The data is released by NSW Fair Trading each month, and our tool will stay up to date with each new release. Tenants can use the tool to see how many bonds have been lodged in the previous 3 months and what the range of rents was based on dwelling type and bedroom number.

Using the bonds data gives a valuable insight because it shows the actual price each new rent represents, rather than the advertised price which may be higher or lower than the property is subsequently rented for.

Tenants can use this tool as part of:

• working out what they might save or lose in moving to different areas
• questioning rent increases
• investigating whether a property they are applying for is overpriced or a good deal.

When the data was first released Minister Matt Kean said “As the Minister for Fair Trading I want to put consumers first and this data does that by allowing open, transparent access to useful rental information.” We welcome this and think the data set could go even further with even better data and a short, simple bond exit survey.

Today's release is a prototype which we will continue to develop, so please check it out and leave us feedback!