In a historic shift, New South Wales has banned no-grounds evictions and capped rent increases to once per year as part of sweeping reforms to the state’s rental laws. The changes, which passed parliament Thursday night, aim to fundamentally rebalance power between the state’s 2.2 million tenants and their landlords.
Premier Chris Minns hailed the new laws as a long-overdue step to protect renters’ rights, declaring “This brings the rental market into the 21st century.” He emphasized that tenants have been “the forgotten people in NSW for too long and that ends now.”
Key Changes in the NSW Rental Reforms
The reforms outlaw the practice of no-grounds evictions, requiring landlords to provide a valid reason for ending a lease. Acceptable grounds include the landlord moving in, major renovations, or repeated rental agreement breaches by the tenant.
Rent hikes will now be limited to once per year, reining in the ability of landlords to impose multiple increases. This change aims to provide greater stability and predictability for renters.
Renting With Pets Easier, But Onus Still on Tenants
The new laws are also designed to make it more difficult for property owners to refuse requests from tenants to keep a pet. However, renters will still bear the burden of appealing pet rejections to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, a step some argue unfairly places responsibility on the tenant.
“Ending no-grounds evictions will not help the 70% of the population who have animals, because it is still going to remain virtually impossible for them to find rental housing with animals in the first place.”
– Emma Hurst, Animal Justice MP
Hurst, who pushed for an amendment to allow approved animals to stay even if the lease or property owner changes, ultimately voted against the reforms, slamming them as an “enormous disappointment” that do “nothing to help” domestic violence victims fleeing with pets.
Banning Rental Application Fees
In a win for rental affordability, tenants will be shielded from paying for background checks when applying for a property. This change targets the growing costs renters face just to be considered for a lease.
Reactions to the Rental Law Overhaul
Tenant advocates, who have fought for years to strengthen renters’ rights, applauded the reforms as a momentous step forward. Leo Patterson Ross, CEO of the Tenants’ Union of NSW, called the abolishment of no-grounds evictions the “single most significant change” ever made to the state’s residential tenancy laws.
“Millions of renters have felt the impact of no grounds evictions in their lives – whether it was hesitating to ask for repairs or negotiate a rent increase, or having to find a new home without justification.”
– Leo Patterson Ross, Tenants’ Union of NSW CEO
Greens housing spokesperson Jenny Leong said the changes would begin correcting the “totally cooked” imbalance between landlords and tenants. She praised the efforts of activists who “dragged the government kicking and screaming to these reforms.”
Homelessness NSW CEO Dominique Rowe highlighted the potential for the new laws to alleviate the state’s homelessness crisis, as evictions from private rentals are a leading cause of homelessness. “Anything we can do to reduce evictions will keep people in housing,” she said.
A New Era for NSW Renters, But Debate Rages
The passage of these rental reforms marks an undeniable turning point for the rights of tenants in NSW. By reining in no-grounds evictions and rent increases, prohibiting pet restrictions and application fees, the new laws strive to empower the state’s 2 million-plus renters.
Yet even as advocates celebrate this hard-fought victory, critiques have emerged from those who feel the changes fall short. The question of whether these reforms truly go far enough to close the landlord-tenant power gap will undoubtedly fuel ongoing debate and calls for further action.
As NSW looks ahead to implementing these 21st century rental rules, all eyes will be on whether they deliver the promised protections and stability for tenants, and how the rental market responds to this new era of renter rights. The nation will be watching this bold experiment in rebalancing the scales between renters and property owners.
