Q+A: Water restrictions, drought and rental bond

03/07/2019
Watering can
"The agent is demanding all of my bond to pay for turf and lawn work. The lawn is not what it was at the beginning of the tenancy. But, we are in drought and there are water restrictions. It does not seem fair that I have to pay for turf etc when the lawn would probably have died anyway. Where do I stand? What can I do?"
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Changes to the law for 'protected tenants'

02/07/2019
Protected tenant's roof
From 1 July 2019 the law regarding ‘protected tenants’ changed. They previously were covered under the provisions of the Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act 1948. No-one knows how many protected tenancies remain, but in 2019 their number is small. Some five years ago we estimated that there were 400 to 600 protected tenancies across New South Wales. Today their numbers probably have halved.
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Tenant Advocates come together for Network Meeting

12/06/2019
Tenant Advocates at the Network Meeting
Tenant Advocates from across New South Wales recently came together for another successful Network Meeting organised by the Tenants' Union. There were sessions on the new domestic violence tenancy laws, the 'pay to stay' principle in relation to rent arrears, electricity in land lease communities, the NDIS, social housing transfers, and much more.
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Thank you to our volunteers!

21/05/2019
Volunteers Merrilyn and Tina
Merrilyn and Tina are two of the Tenants' Union Monday Advice Line volunteers. From rent increases, social housing, evictions and sharehousing, our volunteers explain the laws and systems and talk through renters' options. Their dedication has made a world of difference – between them they have assisted more than 300 people who called up looking for renting advice. What champions!
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A tenant's guide to the NSW election 2019

19/03/2019
A tenant's guide to the NSW Election 2019
We asked all the political parties 10 key questions about housing in NSW. This guide compiles their answers and compares key tenant demographics for each electorate. Addressing the state’s affordability crisis and implementing amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act was front of mind for many of those who responded. We also asked about pets, boarding houses, residential land lease communities, building quality and more.
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Tenants demand action on ‘no grounds’ evictions – new report released

14/03/2019
cartoon of furniture upside down
The Tenants’ Union of NSW with Marrickville Legal Centre has released the findings of a new report exploring the impacts of no grounds evictions. Just over three quarters (77%) of renters have held back from asserting a right or reporting a problem because they worried about receiving a ‘no grounds’ eviction.
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New domestic violence provisions start today

28/02/2019
Domestic Violence Amendments to Residential Tenancies Act
Changes to domestic violence provisions in the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 have now come into effect. The changes, passed by NSW Parliament in November last year, improve the protections for tenants experiencing domestic violence.
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Public Housing Transfers

31/01/2019
Public housing transfers
In October 2018, FACS Housing commenced their program of ‘whole of location’ transfers to Community Housing Providers with a group of just under one thousand tenancies in the Shoalhaven District transferred to Southern Cross Housing. These are the first of about 14,000 tenancies marked for whole-of-location management transfer over the coming year.
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Is it over?

31/01/2019
Ken and Margaret
On 9 January 2019 the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) handed down the decision regarding electricity usage charges in Reckless v Silva Portfolios Pty Ltd t/as Ballina Waterfront Village and Tourist Park (No. 2) [2018] NSWCATCD 59. In this issue of Outasite Lite we look at the history of the ‘Reckless’ dispute, the latest decision (‘Reckless No. 2’) and the expert witness report that was provided in evidence by the operator.
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NSW Fair Trading information sessions and webinars

25/01/2019
Sign reading 'Informaiton'
Throughout the year NSW Fair Trading holds information sessions of various sorts. Coming up soon are webinars about domestic violence law changes and live information sessions in the Northern Rivers about Residential Land Lease Communities.
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