The latest Census reveals that 30% of households in New England are renting, and 11% are paying more than a third of their income on rent. While housing in New England might be cheaper than in Sydney, wages are much lower, which means that many people are living in housing stress.

A staggering 59% of people living in The Entrance are renting, and those people are at risk of being kicked out of their homes over the summer months because our rental laws don’t offer enough protection.

Renting an average house in Coogee now costs more than an average full time salary, despite having one of the highest rates of renters in NSW, with 53% of households renting, according to recent census data.

Published in the Sunday Telegraph, 30 April 2017

“Bond theft” is costing tenants hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, they believe.

Published in the SMH, 22 April 2017

Talk about skin in the game: Australia's 225 federal politicians have $370 million tied up in the property market.

And that's a conservative estimate based on the assumption that each of their 561 declared properties is worth the average Australian dwelling price of $656,800.

NSW Greens spokesperson for Housing Jenny Leong MP says that the NSW Government must consider the needs of the growing number of tenants facing lifelong renting as they address the housing affordability crisis.

“The reason that affordable housing is so essential is that it provides people on moderate incomes with a safe and secure place to live. That security should also be extended to renters and there’s a simple and immediate way to do that – by ending ‘no grounds’ evictions,” says Ms Leong.

Published in SMH Domain, 20 March 2017

Philippa*, 35, pays more than $800 a week for a two-bedroom Redfern terrace. But despite paying a substantial sum she is refusing to call the property manager to undertake much-needed repairs.

The reason? She’s scared she’ll get evicted now that her 12-month lease has turned periodic. 

Commonwealth Assistant Minister to the Treasurer Michael Sukkar, who has been tasked with finding solutions to Australia's housing affordability crisis, recently told young people that the first step to being able to buy a home is to "get a highly paid job".

In the same week, his Government supported calls to cut penalty rates for workers.

Published at SMH Domain, 24 February 2017

Landlord-bashing by tenant support groups is doing renters more harm than good, says an organisation of property investors, hitting back at a report that revealed many tenants were too scared to complain about poor service and rent rises.