NSW commits another $4m for tenant advocacy groups
The NSW government has committed an additional $4 million in funding to 21 not-for-profit groups to help tenants during negotiations and NCAT hearings.
The government has pledged an additional $1 million in funding a year until 2028, with a total of $16.2 million delivered for 2024–25.
Leo Patterson Ross, chief executive officer of the Tenants’ Union, welcomed the announcement, noting that the support will help mitigate the risk of long-term disputes as the number of renters continues to increase.
“Tenants Advice & Advocacy Services are an important part of resolving disputes fairly. We help ensure renters know where they stand and help avoid prolonged disputes and unnecessary tribunal applications,” he said.
“We look forward to continuing to work with the NSW government to cover funding needs that have emerged with the growing renting population and as important tenancy reforms come into effect.”
Minister for Fair Trading and Better Regulation, Anoulack Chanthivong, said the extra funding would help reach out to more people and keep the information service free.
“The Tenants Advice & Advocacy Service provides local support through a network of highly skilled advocates who work to ensure quality advice and advocacy is available to all renters in NSW,” he said.
“The funding boost will mean the services can reach even more renters and keep this critical information service free.
“This is another step forward to get renters a fairer deal.”
The announcement comes as the NSW government passed new reforms that ban no-grounds evictions and limit rental increases to one per year.
The Tenants Advice & Advocacy Service currently fields 30,000 requests a year.