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Stories from 40 years of advocacy

Robert Mowbray
Robert Mowbray was a founder of the TU and continues to be active in the movement for the rights of tenants through his work as the TU Older Tenants Project Officer and his work with residents of Miller's Point. In this article for Tenant News Robert recounts some his favourite stories from his years of activism.
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Drawing on the past, taking on the future

Ned Cutcher
Ned Cutcher, Senior Policy Officer of the Tenants' Union reflects on 40 years of advocating for tenants' rights and the big ticket items that remain. Drawing on the experience and expertise we’ve gathered over the last four decades, the TU celebrates its 40th anniversary with a bold new plan. We’re working towards a society where low-income households can access secure, liveable and affordable rental housing, and in the meantime we’ll make a positive difference to the lives of people who rent in New South Wales.
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A place of my own

Annette Murphy
"I am originally from Walgett, Northern NSW. In Walgett everyone knows me as ‘Daughter’. I would like to move back to Walgett, but my children and grandchildren are in Sydney, so I will probably stay here. I have lived in Sydney since I was about 19 years old. I have been living in my current home in Doonside for about 4 years. I rent through the Aboriginal Housing Office (AHO)."
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Home is everything to me

Taressa Mongta, Surry Hills tenant
"I grew up on the Northern foreshores of Botany Bay at the La Perouse Aboriginal Reserve AKA ‘Lappa Mish’ in the 1970s and 1980’s. It was great growing up there. The sea was our backyard – 6 beaches, National Park Lands. We had plenty of space and freedom. Everyone (mainly us girls and a couple a boys) had a horse. In the words of Mr Greg Blaxland 'there were that many horses, in the end they were tying them up with string!'"
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Electricity pricing: are you being overcharged?

Margaret and Rod
Electricity charges in land lease communities are a hot issue for home owners. Prices continue to rise and, when home owners purchase electricity from the operator, the charges are complex and difficult to understand. In this article we will explore the laws, regulations and the charges.
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Hunter TAAS Residential Communities Project

Park walk photo
Hunter Tenant’s Advice & Advocacy Service, along with a number of other tenancy services received a one off grant from NSW Fair Trading to employ a part time project worker to assist with the implementation of the new Residential Land Lease Communities Act 2013. Hunter has a significant number of residential communities in its area and that number is set to increase. Large communities are currently being built in Newcastle and Cessnock and Maitland and Port Stephens councils have approved, or are considering development applications for even more residential communities.
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Increasing site fees: you deserve an explanation

Jock
Home owners in land lease communities understand that their site fees can increase and most are used to having an increase every year. Receiving a site fee increase might not come as surprise, but big or small, home owners want to know the basis for the increase. And for many homeowners it is now their right to receive an explanation from the operator.
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ISTAAS speaks up for public housing tenants in parliamentary inquiry

Kimberley Mackenzie (RLC Tenants' Advocate), Jacqui Swinburne (RLC Tenancy Coordinator) & Ned Cutcher (TU)
Redfern Legal Centre has spent many years advocating for public housing tenants waiting for basic repairs to be done on their homes. The lack of action they experience, even after correct procedure is followed, can be detrimental to people’s health and wellbeing.
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Five key changes to social housing laws

In October 2015, NSW Parliament passed the highly contentious Residential Tenancies and Housing Legislation Amendment (Public Housing - Antisocial Behaviour) Act - affecting the rights and obligations of all social housing tenants in NSW, and restricting the capacity of the Tribunal to consider the evidence before it. Strictly speaking, these changes have applied since enactment. But FACS Housing will begin actively using the new rules against public housing tenants from today, having published a new operational policy to guide its decision making in this regard. Community housing providers are expected to do the same in the near future. 
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2016 Budget to deliver income management for Social Housing tenants?

A few weeks ago we noted the NSW Government's continued interest in a Compulsory Rent Deduction Scheme for social housing tenants, as they took the idea to the recent Council of Australian Governments meeting.

Such a scheme would make it compulsory for tenants in social housing to have their rent taken from a social security payment and paid directly to the landlord. As we have noted many times before, such a scheme already exists, but it works on a voluntary basis. Direct rent deductions work for some people some of the time, but they won't work for all people all of the time. Making the use of such a scheme compulsory will produce awkward results.
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