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.

A small number of tenants of residential premises across New South Wales live in premises covered by the former Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act 1948 (‘1948 Act’). They are known as ‘protected tenants’. Unlike most tenants, they are not covered under the main provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 ('2010 Act') because of Section 7(a) of that Act.

The Inner Sydney Tenants' Advice and Advocacy Service at Redfern Legal Centre has just published their updated legal guide for people living in boarding houses in NSW. The guide explains the ins and outs of the Boarding Houses Act 2012, as well as other laws that can apply to boarding houses.

'The older I get the scarier it becomes' is a new report into the risk of homelessness for older people in NSW. The report was released on 29th November 2017, during the 2017 National Housing Conference, by the Ageing on the Edge Homelessness Prevention Project. Robert Mowbray, Tenants' Union Project Officer for Older Tenants, represents the TU on the NSW Reference Group for this project.

#WeLiveHere2017 was a community action led by local residents of Redfern Waterloo. Coloured lights lit up the two social housing tower blocks in Waterloo – Matavai and Turanga – that have dominated the southern skyline of Sydney since 1976. In 2015 the NSW State Government announced the redevelopment of the Waterloo Estate, including six large tower blocks and several low rise dwellings. Some 3,600 residents – many of them elderly or people with a disability – will be relocated in the process. The Tenants' Union spoke to two residents who participated in the #WeLiveHere action, Felix and Brian, to get their perspectives.

Paddi O’Leary was a tenant in social housing at Millers Point and participated in tenant action to reverse the policy of relocation and also supported tenants through the process of relocation. She talked with Paul van Reyk from the Tenants' Union about her relocation from there to Glebe. "That was the big thing in all of this, the loss of community. You can’t create it from outside,” said Paddi.

Raymond Morris is a public housing tenant who's very active in his community – he's mentored and supported hundreds of people in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. Last year, Raymond put up a carport at his place to secure his car. However Housing NSW informed him that is was an illegal structure, ordered him to take it down, and also served him with an eviction notice. So Raymond got advice from the Western Sydney Tenants' Advice and Advocacy Service (WESTS) and went to the Tribunal.

We spoke with John, a protected tenant who has been living in his home in Randwick since 1978. We asked him about his experience in a protected tenancy and the ongoing issues he has faced around repairs. Recently the original landlord who John had entered into his tenancy with sold the building. The new owner tried unsuccessfully to evict John. John attributes his success in fighting the eviction in large part to the excellent support he received from a local tenant advocate from the Eastern Area Tenants Advice Service.

This year the TU celebrated four decades of working for tenants’ rights. An anniversary such as this is an opportunity to celebrate achievements, acknowledge the many contributors to the journey and take a clear-eyed view on what still needs to be done. You can read more about how we celebrated this milestone in our Annual Report. The report also summarises the TU's activity over 2015-2016 across all our service areas.