Published in the SMH, Tuesday 21 February 2017

"Affordability, that's what we've got on offer here today," announces the auctioneer of a two-bedroom flat 12 kilometres from the CBD with a guide price of $650,000.

"For those entering the market, and for investors, it ticks all the boxes," he continues, opening a frenzied bidding session that doesn't stop until $780,000.

In response to the “Unsettled: Life in Australia's private rental market” report released today, NSW Greens spokesperson on Housing Jenny Leong MP gave notice of a motion (text and video below) in the NSW Parliament calling for an end to ‘no grounds’ evictions in the state.

The report, a national study co-authored by Australian consumer advocacy group CHOICE, the National Association of Tenants' Organisations and National Shelter, shows that tenants across Australia are living in a climate of fear, due to insecurity around their tenure.

Published in the SMH, Thursday 16 February 2017

At first it was just a bit of mould in the bathroom. But when repeated attempts to remove it failed, Lara Cook's real estate agent told her she would have to move out of her rented apartment in Coogee for four weeks while the bathroom was remodelled.

At considerable cost, she did. Upon her return she stepped in the shower – and the water pipe burst. The real estate agent told her the apartment was uninhabitable and she would have to vacate.

Published in the SMH, 10 February 2017

Furniture going begging on the kerbside and no car to get it home? Not a problem. When you're a group of five 19-year-olds who have just moved into a share house, you just wheel it home on your skateboards.

"Our lounge is fully furnished and we didn't pay a cent for any of it," says Harry Gregg, a political economy student. Signing a lease in December came in handy too. "My Christmas present I got nothing but a fridge; someone else got a washing machine."

Published by ABC Online, 10 February 2017

It used to be children who were forced to ask adults for a pet in the home, but for millions of Australians, it is still a frustrating reality.

Those who rent often find themselves pleading and making promises before they can get a cat or a dog.

Published at SMH Domain, 2 February 2017

Despite Sydney’s rentals being the smallest in the country, singles are being squeezed into house-sharing arrangements due to sky-high rents, new data shows.

The cost of renting a one-bedroom apartment in Sydney’s CBD is now $645 a week, a room-by-room breakdown of rental advertisements by tenant advocacy company Don’t Rent Me found.

Published by ABC Online, 1 February 2017

New apartments flooding the market in Sydney are actually driving up rent in some areas, according to the latest report from the New South Wales Tenants' Union.

The union's Rent Tracker report, which analyses rental bond data, shows the price for new leases rose about 4 per cent across Sydney in the year to September.

Published at SMH Domain, 29 January 2017

Sydney house prices have grown at twice the rate of incomes over the past 20 years, leaving today’s first home buyers in a near-impossible situation, experts say.

But it’s another part of the housing affordability equation – rent increases – that policymakers are being urged to look at.

Every single major housing market in Australia is ‘severely unaffordable’ according to the latest Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey. Sydney is second on the list of the most severely unaffordable housing markets in the world.

Greens housing spokesperson Senator Lee Rhiannon and Greens NSW housing spokesperson Jenny Leong say it is absurd that both federal and state governments insist that they can tackle housing affordability without making any changes to unfair tax structures like negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts that favour investors.

One of the biggest issues for renters in New South Wales is a lack of stability. While rental laws in other countries have been set up to provide long term security for tenants, in NSW many renters don't know where they'll be living from year to year.