MEDIA RELEASE: Greens-led inquiry forces Labor to finally act on no grounds evictions

Greens NSW Housing and Homelessness spokesperson Jenny Leong MP has welcomed the announcement that NSW Labor will finally introduce new laws to ban unfair no grounds evictions for all renters statewide.

Labor's announcement will be made at their state conference later today and comes on the eve of a NSW Parliamentary hearing chaired by Jenny Leong MP which is expected to hear evidence of strong support for this reform from tomorrow.  

In February, Jenny Leong MP introduced a Bill to end unfair no grounds evictions for periodic and fixed term tenancies. Rather than vote down the Bill and against their own policy, the Labor Government agreed to push it to an inquiry which begins on Monday.  

The Greens look forward to reviewing the government’s legislation when NSW Parliament next sits in August and ensuring this crucial reform for renters is finally delivered. 

 

Greens spokesperson for Housing & Homelessness and Member for Newtown, Jenny Leong MP said: 

“We are thrilled that Labor has finally got their act together and is moving forward with banning unfair no grounds evictions.  

“It has been 490 days since NSW Labor ran on a promise to end no grounds evictions – in that time more than 40,000 renters in NSW have been evicted for no reason.

“It has taken a Greens bill coupled with the threat of a lashing from the experts in tomorrow’s inquiry to force Labor to finally act on their long-overdue promise.  

“Ending no grounds evictions is the single most consequential change we can make to start to address the cooked rental market in NSW. For too long, landlords have had the power to evict tenants for no reason, regardless of how they treat the property or if rent is paid on time. 

“The Greens have stood with housing advocates and community groups pushing for this unfair practice to be outlawed for over a decade - this policy shift was hard-won by groups like the Tenants’ Union of NSW and the 60+ organisations behind the Make Renting Fair campaign who have worked tirelessly to bring this change about. 

“We know bans like this need to be comprehensive without loopholes for greedy real estate agents and big investors to game the system – which is happening in other states.

“The next big challenge is to make sure the rules in NSW are airtight and come with evidence requirements and strong penalties for landlords who lie to evict a tenant.  

“The Greens look forward to continuing to work across party lines to deliver more changes to expand renters’ rights, like allowing pets in all rentals, controlling rent increases, and implementing minimum standards for rental homes,” she says.  

 

The first public hearing of the Legislative Assembly Select Committee on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (Prohibiting No Grounds Evictions) Bill 2024 takes place Monday 29 July from 9am. See here.  

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