Tenants' Union news

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Latest news and analysis

Disclosure in land lease communities – Tribunal clarifies duty

23/02/2022
Lennox Head, NSW
The obligation on an operator to provide a disclosure statement in the approved form before entering into a site agreement is straightforward. The purpose of the obligation is also clear – to enable a prospective purchaser to make an informed choice about the community. Given the clarity of obligation and purpose, it is difficult to understand why disclosure is becoming a major source of dispute. Perhaps a recent Tribunal case involving Hometown Australia will provide some answers.
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The true cost of eviction

22/02/2022
The cost of eviction, image of apartment block and letterbox with 'for lease' sign out front.
Our recent special report, Eviction, Hardship and the Housing Crisis, looks closely at the immediate and direct costs of moving. This blog explores the true costs of eviction, and asks what we can do to better discourage its unnecessary and disproportionate use.
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Tenants' Union of NSW publishes Special Report: Eviction, Hardship, and the Housing Crisis

14/02/2022
Special Report front cover. Eviction, Hardship and the Housing Crisis. Image of apartment unit with 'for lease' sign out front.
A new Special Report published today by the Tenants’ Union of NSW, Eviction, Hardship and the Housing Crisis, asks us to take a new look at eviction. As we emerge from two years’ experience of directly responding to a health crisis, there is general discussion of what we have learned from Covid-19, and how we can ‘build back better’. The report hopes to intervene in this conversation, and provokes us to think again - and think harder - about how we can more effectively prevent eviction.
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Shifts in the balance of power – reflecting on 15 years of Tenant Advocacy

03/02/2022
Amanda El Gazzar
Amanda El Gazzar has been a Tenant Advocate at the Northern Rivers Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service for 15 years. She is now taking a well-earned break and looking at other possibilities. We took the opportunity to catch up with her and ask her for some reflections on her experiences, and on the situation of renters in NSW. 
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Make Renting Fair - first organising meeting of 2022

01/02/2022
Make Renting Fair
Come along to the first Make Renting Fair organising meeting for 2022 where we'll continue to map out what our Make Renting Fair campaign will be getting up to this year. Come and join the conversation, hear what we've got planned, give your input and ideas, and help build the first few Make Renting Fair actions this year.
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New ministers for renting, housing and homes in NSW

20/12/2021
NSW Parliament
Premier Dominic Perrottet has today announced a new line-up of Government Ministers in NSW. Here we look at the relevant Ministers for people who rent their home in the state.
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Riki's renting story

20/12/2021
Riki smiling at the camera
As part of our relaunch of the Make Renting Fair campaign, we're building a new website. For the site, we're collecting a range of renting stories from various renters across NSW, to put a human face to some of the policy issues we're campaigning on. Riki is a renter who was generous enough to share their renting story and photograph with us.
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Land Lease Communities Act Review Report Recommendations

07/12/2021
Myrtle Glen home with Christmas Decorations
The Land Lease Communities Act has been under review, and the Report has now been presented with 48 recommendations. In this article we take you through some of the key recommendations.
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A year of crisis and resilience – Annual Report 2020-2021

29/11/2021
Tenants' Union Annual Report Cover
No matter what challenges this year has thrown at us, the team at the Tenants’ Union of NSW remained focused on helping people in some of the toughest moments of their lives, many who faced the risk of losing their home in the middle of this ongoing health and economic crisis. Like renters across NSW, our staff have shown incredible resilience in the face of crisis. Our dedicated executive along with our expert legal team, our incredible education and resources team, and our fearless policy advocates have delivered services and information online and at-home when people really needed them. While the actions and impact of the Tenants’ Union this year are too many to mention, our Annual Report covers the highlights...
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Turning down free money: landlords and the problem of the split incentive

16/11/2021
Moratorium period shifted to transition period as of 11 Nov. Impacted renters can now directly apply for rent relief up to $4500
On November 11 the NSW ban on evictions for impacted tenants ended. We’ve now moved into a period of transitional protections. This means if you are an 'impacted tenant' and built up rent arrears during the moratorium period (14 July – 11 November) there are still restrictions in place to protect you against eviction for arrears. Another change is that renters who meet the eligibility requirements as 'Covid-19 impacted tenants' will now be able to directly apply for the residential tenancy support payment for an amount of up to $4,500.
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