Landmark Win For Renters: NSW Rental Reform Bans No-Grounds Evictions and Caps Rent Increases

In a landmark victory for renters, New South Wales has made major rental reform, introducing a ban on no-grounds evictions and capped rent increases to once a year. After years of advocacy, a groundbreaking reform to the Residential Tenancies Act has been approved by parliament, prohibiting evictions without cause. 

Amidst a housing crisis that is causing major issues _ including plummeting mental health – the 2024 Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill addresses issues like rent increases, payment rules, and pet-friendly policies.

This pivotal reform aims to enhance tenant security and stability in the rental market, providing millions of residents with greater peace of mind. Advocates are celebrating a major shift in the balance of power between tenants and landlords.

Premier Chris Minns emphasised that renters in NSW have been neglected for too long, but that would now come to an end.  

He stated that the government has made important reforms to ensure a fairer situation for the millions of renters across the state.

“Millions of people rent in NSW, and we know how anxious and challenging it can be. This brings the rental market into the 21st century.”

“Housing is the biggest cost people have, and renters are now getting a fairer deal,” Minns said. 

Advocacy Leads to Major Rental Reform in Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill 2024

Tenants’ Union of NSW The Bill highlighted that years of advocacy, community organising, and tireless efforts from renters, housing advocates, and the local network of Tenants’ Advice and Advocacy Services led to the successful passage of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill 2024 in Parliament. 

“The Bill introduces a range of reforms focused on eviction protections, pet-friendly renting, rent increases, and payment rules. These changes begin to address the imbalance of power in the rental market, strengthening renters’ security and stability,” Tenants’ Union of NSW said in a statement. 

CEO of Tenants’ Union of NSW Leo Patterson Ross noted that millions of renters have experienced the effects of no-grounds evictions firsthand, leading them to hesitate in requesting repairs, negotiating rent increases, or facing the challenge of finding new housing without any justification.

“This is the single most significant change we can make to residential tenancies law, as without protection from unfair eviction in place we can’t rely on other parts of the law to function properly” 

“Today we celebrate the work of generations of renters, tenant advocates, community organisations, researchers and activists whose tenacity and perseverance have brought us to this step,” Ross said. 

Urgent Action Needed to Address Rising Rents and Enhance Housing Affordability

The Tenants’ Union of NSW emphasised that the new changes tackle key issues surrounding affordability and rental payments:

• Rent can now only be increased once every 12 months, regardless of the lease type.
• Landlords must provide free and accessible payment options for rent.
• Background check fees are banned, removing a common barrier for renters applying for homes.

However, the advocacy group declared even more rental reform was needed to address the “steeply increasing rents across NSW”. 

“We would like to see Parliament engage in an all-in conversation about addressing rent prices, to explore what other measures alongside supply—and crucially the supply of social housing—we should be exploring. This must include consideration of what further rent regulation beyond today’s current reform we should be introducing,” Tenants’ Union of NSW said. 

Greens Celebrate Bill Passage After Decade of Advocacy for Renter Rights in NSW

Greens NSW Housing and Homelessness spokesperson Jenny Leong MP welcomed the passing of the bill following a decade-long campaign for renter’s rights in NSW.

The Greens proposed several amendments in the Lower House aimed at strengthening the government bill, however Labor and the Liberals voted to reject all but one, which establishes a timeline for a statutory review in five years.

Earlier this year, MP Leong chaired a Parliamentary Inquiry into no-grounds evictions, which urged the government to swiftly implement a ban. She has previously introduced two bills in the NSW Parliament seeking to prohibit no-grounds evictions.

“With more and more people set to rent for life these changes start to correct the power imbalance between landlords and renters by giving tenants the security and stability they need to plan their lives and set down roots in a community,” Leong said.

Leong credited the bill’s passing to the organisations and activists who “dragged the government kicking and screaming to these reforms”.

“There is so much more to do to take the fight for renters’ rights directly to the greedy real estate agents, dodgy landlords and big property investors but this is a massive win for the renters of NSW,” she said. 

NSW Rental Commissioner Trina Jones stated that the current rental market in NSW is the most challenging renters have faced in decades, characterised by historically low vacancy rates and a median rent increase of approximately 7 percent for houses over the past year.

She noted that these reforms will offer tenants significant and practical support, which would help “ease the insecurity and vulnerability of renting in challenging city and regional rental markets.”

As of July, a record number of people are renting, with approximately 33 percent of NSW now tenants—an increase of 17.6 percent since 2016.