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.  

The Greens are calling on the NSW government to take urgent action to support people in the long-term who have become homeless due to the catastrophic floods throughout NSW.

It's crucial that the NSW Liberal / National government steps in and puts the interests of impacted communities ahead of their cosy relationships with investors.

The government's rent relief package will assist people in the short-term, providing funds for temporary accommodation however a longer term solution must be found. It was clear that before this flood event, there was a chronic shortage of rental accommodation in regional NSW. 

We know that there are many empty or unaffordable properties currently sitting vacant and available on short-term rental sites - these could immediately be made available and affordable to those who are in urgent need of somewhere to live.

We are calling on the government to look at options which will ensure that people can access housing at market rents and not holiday rents. 

We are urging the NSW state government to take responsibility for the housing crisis in flood impacted areas by using their powers to create more medium and long-term rental stock. Options available for the Premier to consider right now would be to:

-          Either suspend Short-Term Rental Accommodation by disallowing or revoking permissions for property owners to lease properties as short-term rental accommodation, unless in exceptional circumstances, to ensure that people who have nowhere to live have access to every available rental property at reasonable market rates for the next 6-12 months.

-          Or provide incentives to owners of short-term rental properties who lease their properties at an affordable rate for periods of at least 12 months.

People need secure options and stable accommodation - and that’s where the state government could use incentives or changes to planning permissions to make a whole lot of new housing stock available on the medium to long-term rental market.

The locals in flood impacted areas know all too well the damage the profit-driven short-term rental accommodation industry has already done to housing affordability in their communities.

Now is not the time for anyone to be making big profits from a crisis - and it’s critical the government steps in to ensure this doesn’t happen.

The Greens have also set out some other immediate actions the NSW government could implement to provide protection to the many renters who need support including stopping evictions, capping rents, and issuing bond vouchers.

Sign our petition calling on the government to take action now.

The Greens are calling on the NSW Government to take immediate steps to support renters who are impacted by the catastrophic floods throughout NSW.

Greens Member for Ballina, Tamara Smith MP has joined with NSW Greens Housing spokesperson, Jenny Leong MP to call for immediate action to support renters in this crisis and through the recovery period from these devastating floods – including bond vouchers, a freeze on rent increases, and a ban on evictions.

The NSW Government has just announced 60 day eviction moratorium for residential and retail tenants. Well done to every one who joined the call for this important protection. Eligible COVID-impacted residential tenants who cannot meet their rent payments will be protected from eviction during the moratorium period commencing from 14 July and finishing at the end of 11 September 2021.

We are pleased to support the first ever e-petition in the NSW Parliament - a petition to overturn the ban on pets in strata buildings. People love their pets.  In fact, around 69% of Australian households own a pet. However, for most people who live in a rental home, or in a strata building there are draconian rules banning pets even when they have no impact on neighbours.  This makes it extremely difficult for households with pets to find a new home when they need it.