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Tenants' Union news

Also check out our blog, Tenant News archive, media appearances, and Housing News Digest.
For factsheets and sample letters, please see Tenancy info.

 

Community Housing Transfers - What's It All About?

Want to know more about the transfer of public housing to community housing? Come to this Shelter NSW & Tenants' Union of NSW Forum.
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Big win for Aboriginal family in Northern NSW

NATAAS Tenant Advocates
Last year an Aboriginal family in Coffs Harbour with seven kids had their lives disrupted by building work. The family was renting a house on a large block in northern NSW. The landlord decided to redevelop the land by building another house on the block.

The tenants were annoyed enough to apply to the Tribunal for compensation and rent reduction. The Tribunal made directions for exchange of evidence. The tenants obtained some advice from an Aboriginal TAAS (Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service) about the evidence needed.
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Living in Residential Parks Workshop

Northern rivers
The Northern Rivers Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service (NORTAAS) is running a workshop about the legal rights and responsibility of home owners renting in residential parks.

The Workshop will be on Monday the 20th of March in Ballina.
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CHOICE research reveals renting crisis

Woman holding cat. List of statistics concerning text which reads "Discriminated against when renting? 50% of renters report discrimination when househunting. For having a pet (23%). For receiving government payments (17%). Age (14%). Having young children (10%)
Research finds renters facing insecurity, poor quality housing, and discrimination

CHOICE, the National Association of Tenants’ Organisations and National Shelter are calling for governments to prioritise rental security and quality issues, not just housing affordability, as a national study reveals widespread fear and discrimination faced by thousands of Australians.
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You can't do that! Operator Conduct in Land Lease Communities

Books
The Tenants’ Union regularly hears complaints from land lease community residents about the behaviour of operators. During the review of the Residential Parks Act 1998 the behaviour of park managers and owners was also a common theme. Many operators do the right thing but when an operator behaves badly residents can take action. The Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013 (the Act) contains a number of provisions around operator behaviour, including Rules of Conduct. In this issue of Outasite Lite we will take a closer look at these provisions.
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Long fixed-terms submission

Word cloud of Tenants' Union submission on long fixed terms
Tenants' Union of NSW submission on long fixed term tenancies
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Water Metering Win

Jen Ringold and Lorraine Devere of MRAG
Pay only for what you use. MRAG and TU win for social housing residents.
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Take our Share Housing Survey now!

a typical share house scene - the side of the house has fallen off
Take our 5 minute survey for share house residents
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It's tough being a 'protected tenant'

Broken roof
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.
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Vale Ross Smith - tireless advocate and TU member

Ross Smith
It is with great sadness that we note the passing of Ross Smith – a tireless advocate for fairness in the housing system, and member of the Tenants’ Union of NSW. Ross was always willing to say what many others would not regarding social housing policy - or as he would say 'public and community housing' policy. He strongly disliked the term social housing.
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