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Welcome to our blog. Tenants' Union staff and occasional guests offer commentary and analysis of our renting system. We hope to inform, educate and debate the legal, political and cultural aspects of this renting life. For an official quote for media use, or questions regarding our research, policy or publications please contact us. For more articles see the Brown Couch archive, the Clearing House, and news. For factsheets see tenancy info.

 

Tenants' Union | 20/12/2021

Riki's renting story

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…
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Riley Brooke | 16/11/2021

Turning down free money: landlords and the problem of the split incentive

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…
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Leo Patterson Ross | 01/11/2021

End of fixed term evictions are unfair 'no grounds' evictions: Part 2

End of fixed term without a reason eviction is still without a reason. We explore different kinds of eviction and the best ways to understand them in this second part!
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Jemima Mowbray | 01/11/2021

End of fixed term evictions are unfair ‘no grounds’ evictions: Part 1

If you’ve been following the news about recent reforms to Queensland tenancy laws lately you’d be forgiven for thinking there had been a big win for renters we’d somehow missed or forgotten to…
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Robert Mowbray | 30/09/2021

Older women facing homelessness in Australia: from awareness to action

On Friday, 17 September 2021 HAAG organised the online forum, ‘At Risk 2021 Forum’, hoping to move us on from an acknowledgement of the problem of older women and homelessness to real action to…
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Lehana De Silva | 27/09/2021

Can an owners corporation legally mandate vaccination in a strata community?

Recently, a residential complex in Sydney informed residents it would be requiring that all persons entering the building must be vaccinated, which raises the question can an owners corporation…
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Paul van Reyk | 14/09/2021

The high risks faced by international student renters in Australia.

International students in Australia make a huge contribution to the economy and the community. They also face serious struggles and hardships. Finding and keeping rental accommodation is one of…
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Robert Mowbray | 12/08/2021

The tale of Alan and Annie: living in affordable housing and retiring from paid work

‘What happens to an affordable housing tenant when they retire? Will they be forced to move?’ The Tenants' Union of NSW isn't sure of the answer to this question. So, Robert Mowbray…
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Leo Patterson Ross | 24/07/2021

Vale John Mant – supporter of TAAS

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…
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Jemima Mowbray | 19/07/2021

Lockdown safety net: our analysis

This week NSW heads into a tougher lockdown. For many renting households, especially renters who are casual workers, this is going to have a significant impact on their income and ability to…
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Sally Latter | 06/07/2021

Call for systemic change amid Northern Rivers housing crisis

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…
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Riley Brooke | 05/07/2021

Fees to pay rent? Third party rent payment services: an explainer

There’s been a little bit of buzz lately around third party rent payment services, especially across social media. So, what exactly are these services, and are they a good idea?

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