No grounds evictions leave renters effectively trapped in unsafe homes

The St Vincent de Paul Society NSW is calling on the next State Government to end no grounds evictions for renters.

“At the moment, a tenant can be evicted from a rental property without being given a reason and this places them at risk for asking for something like simple repairs or questioning a rent increase,” St Vincent de Paul Society NSW Acting CEO, Yolanda Saiz, said.

“People will often remain silent and live in unsafe, overpriced properties because they know they have nowhere else to go should they get evicted.

“We are seeing extremely low, even record low, rental vacancies with the regions worse off than Sydney.

“When you take the affordability crisis into account, it means more and more renters are becoming effectively trapped in conditions no-one would choose to live in due to this power imbalance between landlord and tenant,” Ms Saiz said.

“Queensland and Victoria have recently updated their tenancy laws to remove no grounds evictions and NSW needs to follow suit.

“It’s pleasing to see Labor pledging to remove no-grounds evictions if elected and we encourage them to learn what has and hasn’t worked about their implementation elsewhere.

“At the same time, it’s good to see the current Government focussing on other issues faced by renters such as banning the practice of rental bidding, and making it easier for victim-survivors of domestic violence to end or change a tenancy.

“It is the Society’s view that if the Coalition chose to support eliminating no-ground evictions, it would only enhance their policies that aim to make things fairer for renters.

“We need to replace no ground evictions with reasonable grounds evictions determined through community consultation.

“Landlords should still be able to terminate a rent agreement where there are reasonable grounds to do so,” Ms Saiz said.

“This is not a new request, people have been campaigning for decades for an end to no grounds evictions,” St Vincent de Paul Society NSW State Council President, Paul Burton, said.

“Everyone deserves to be treated fairly and no grounds evictions have always meant there is a power imbalance.

“But when one third of households in NSW rent their homes this has potential to affect a lot of people.”

“Times have changed, we need updated legislation to reflect the present so that everyone can have a safe and secure home,” Mr Burton said.

“St Vincent de Paul Society NSW members are increasingly needing to provide support to people who have never needed help before.

“We are seeing many more families and full-time workers in low paid jobs who are renting and can’t make ends meet and this puts them at risk of homelessness.

“The last thing they need is a system that forces them to remain silent for fear of losing their home when it needs repairs in order to be safe,” Mr Burton said.

Media contact: Lachlan Jones | 0417 446 430