The Tenants' Union has just published Outasite – our annual printed publication for land lease communities! It has been delivered to mailboxes in communities all over NSW. This issue includes articles on electricity in land lease communities, the Review of the Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act, Local Government regulations impact on home owners, site fee increase methods, and more...

The NSW Government has introduced financial incentives that can be claimed by landlords who provide a rent reduction to tenants impacted by COVID-19 during this period. If you are an ‘impacted tenant’, you can advise your landlord that if they provide you with a rent reduction, then they can claim one of the following two types of government payments.

VALE JOHN MANT, 1936-2021: The tenants of New South Wales owe a big thankyou to John Mant who died on 10 July, aged 84. He left a legacy still in the making, especially in the field of urban planning. He also made a big contribution to the creation and ongoing support for tenants advice and advocacy services in NSW

The Public Health Orders so far have continued to allow landlords and their agents to force a range of entries into residential premises against the wishes of the occupants and their attempts to follow health advice. We want to hear from renters about any requests for access they've received - e.g. routine inspection, viewing appointments, repairs or maintenance, other - you have received since the start of the NSW lockdown period. We will be using information collected to advocate for tougher restrictions on access to rental housing during lockdown.

The Northern Rivers region is beset by soaring rental prices, social housing issues, a crisis of housing instability and homelessness. In this article Sally Latter, Coordinator of the Northern Rivers Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service, shows why it's time to end no-grounds evictions and transform the housing system.

A new report by the Tenants’ Union of NSW and Youth Action digs into issues facing renters under 30. Young people’s voices feature, with quotes taken from the 304 responses to our survey of young renters, as well as observations from the 15 young renters who engaged in our young renter roundtable discussions.

We interview Neissa Carpenter Holmes – a Tenant Advocate with Murra Mia Tenant Advocacy Service. Neissa assist tenants in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven area. Her day to day work involves giving advice to tenants, representing clients at Tribunal, following up with clients’ cases, negotiating with housing providers, and referring tenant to other services for non-tenancy related assistance.

On Friday 21 May 2021, WESTS held a community engagement event at the Skye Hotel in Parramatta to reconnect with key partners of our organisation. The event was a great success. There were over 60 attendees at the community engagement day who were able to finally reconnect with WESTS after a long-period of physical isolation dating back to the COVID-19 lockdown in March last year.