Know your rights: Renting in NSW

November 30th 2016

house

Image: Jorge Quinteros

Finding a house or a room to rent is a stressful experience for a young person in NSW.

Getting a roof over your head is the most important thing you can do – though visiting open houses and trawling through online listings really rips the enthusiasm out of you.

What’s worse is discovering the place you finally settle on is not what you signed up for. Problems with real estate agents and landlords is one of the most common issues for Sydneysiders – whether it’s trying to get your bond back, getting something fixed or your rental conditions suddenly changing.

Backchat’s Emily Smith spoke to a Sydney renter about their worst-case situation and got Michael Blaxell, a solicitor at the Student Legal Service at the University of Technology, Sydney, to explain our rights as renters. He gave Backchat the run-down on where we stand as tenants, and what we should do when confronted with difficult landlords and real-estate agents.

 

Your questions answered

Joining Oz Faruqi and Serge Negus in the studio was Ned Cutcher, a Senior Policy Officer at the Tenants’ Union of NSW.

Ned answered tenancy questions from Backchat listeners and explained common problems with the law in NSW.

For more info on the Tenants’ Union, check out their website.
 

 

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Contributor

Oscar is Backchat‘s digital producer.

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