ABOUT

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.

 

Home Sales: Rights, responsibilities and rules

For sale
When the Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013 commenced on 1 November 2015 all terms of existing site agreements that prohibited or placed restrictions on the sale of homes on site became void. The RLLC Act provides all home owners with the right to sell their home on site, including those in communities situated within a Crown Reserve.
Read more

Vale Christina

Christina
On 9 January 2018 Christina Steel passed away after a long illness, which she fought to her last day. She was hoping to see the end of Game of Thrones and she almost made it.
Read more

Perseverance pays off

Robin
When Robyn Meyers decided to sell her home, she did not expect to have to make multiple Tribunal applications to do so. Her home was located in a residential community in Byron Bay. Property prices in Byron Bay are at a premium, and many people working there cannot afford to live there. The home belonged to Robyn’s mother and after her death legal ownership was passed to Robyn, as well as the site agreement.
Read more

Sandy Gilbert: Resident advocate

Sandy
Sandy Gilbert is an advocate for residents of land lease communities in the Tweed area and a member of the Residential Parks Forum. She agreed to share her story with us for this issue of Outasite.
Read more

Rules of conduct

Outasite article
Schedule 1 of the Residential (Land Lease) Communities Act 2013 sets out the rules of conduct for operators and section 54 of the Act requires compliance with those rules. Taking action regarding operator conduct can be a difficult and stressful process and many home owners either don’t try or give up. Home owners have told the Tenants’ Union there is no way to enforce the rules of conduct and operators can behave in any way they want without fear of penalty. In this article we share two stories from home owners.
Read more

Out now! Outasite issue 4

Outasite 2018 cover
Outasite issue 4 is hot off the presses and finding its way into mailboxes in land lease communities all over NSW. This issue contains articles including: Electricity usage charges; Site Fee Increase dispute at NCAT; Agreements; Abandonment; Local Government Regulations; Rules of conduct; Sandy Gilbert - Resident Advocate; Sale of home; Vale Christina; Home sales; Buyer beware.
Read more

Mould and renting - share your experience!

Stylised text reads: Have you rented with mould? please take our survey
Tenants often report to us their experiences with mould and other infestations and the difficulties they have getting it resolved. We are collecting stories from tenants for submissions to a Federal Parliament inquiry.
Read more

Survey for Aboriginal Renters

Ngurampaa by Millmullian
The Tenants Union of NSW and the Aboriginal Tenancy Services are currently working on an Aboriginal Renting Policy Platform. This document will be used to strengthen the voices of Aboriginal people who rent regardless of who your landlord may be. We want to gather as many views from Aboriginal people as possible. If you an Aboriginal person who rents, please take a few minutes to complete the survey here.
Read more

Tenant Advocates speak out against unfair evictions

Tenant Advocates at the Inner Sydney Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service
Following the NSW government’s recent decision not to abolish ‘no grounds’ evictions as part of upcoming rental reforms, Nicole Kennedy (Tenancy Coordinator at Inner Sydney Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service at Redfern Legal Centre) spoke to Eastside Radio 89.7 FM about how these laws impact tenants.
Read more

A longer lease on life: issues for older renters

Older people faces
With a surplus of $3.9 billion for 2016-17, the 2018 NSW State Budget had its winners and losers. The latter include seniors and renters. This blog examine some of the issues confronting older renters.
Read more