In September 2024, we wrapped up the last of our seven Tenant Talk events for the year. The events ran like kitchen table conversations, with a volunteer host and a small group of local renters who got together to talk about their shared experiences of renting. Renters also discussed how they could get involved to change the rental system for the better. We captured these conversations through notes from each event, and used these to help inform our reporting and policy recommendations for our Renter Lobby Day and for future campaigns.

At each event, renter hosts asked people to talk about their experiences with the rental system: the good, the bad, and the broken. The 90 renters who attended Tenant Talks spoke of many severe issues within our rental system, including maintenance requests being ignored, a sense of powerlessness, and a sense that renters lacked privacy and dignity. We heard stories of renters having to move frequently due to increasing rent costs and unfair evictions, stories of difficult rental application processes, and countless stories of renters’ rights being frequently breached without consequence.

"For the amount of rent I’m paying, I shouldn't have to fix things myself or be treated as second-class." Queensland

"It feels like I'm transient all the time, just moving and moving, and nothing ever settles. It should be a home where we feel safe, secure, and at peace." - Queensland

Unsurprisingly, renters generally didn’t have much good to say about our rental system. Renters spoke frequently about the importance of community. Those who had managed to rent in the same home for a number of years spoke highly of being able to know their neighbours, settle in a community and feel more ‘at home’. A large number of renters pointed out that with frequent rent increases and unfair evictions, they were unable to settle and form community in this way. Discussions often covered how Australia’s conservative rental laws lagged behind those of countries like Germany, where long term leases, stability and limits on rent increase were normalised.

"We need to think beyond housing as an economic value. It's dehumanising to treat homes as commodities. What people need is connection, community, and stability." - Tasmania

"You really don't have security for more than 12 months. In a lot of countries, particularly in Europe, it's not unusual for people to have five or 10 year leases…there also needs to be rules around just how much a landlord can increase your rent within a certain period." - NSW

Comparing Australia’s rental laws to more progressive laws in other countries also provides some hope about what the state of renting could look like if the Australian Government legislated to limit rent increases, give renters options for more stability, and ban no-cause evictions. Renters attending Tenant Talks spoke at length about how all levels of Government could act on rental issues. We’ve incorporated many of these into our own recommendations for the Commonwealth and State/Territory governments.

These recommendations include:

• Putting limits on rent increases,
• Banning no cause evictions in all states and territories,
• Having better minimum standards around accessibility and energy efficiency (e.g. ceiling insulation), and
• Ending tax handouts to wealthy property investors, like negative gearing.

A number of Tenant Talks hosts ending up joining our Renter Bootcamp and Lobby day in Canberra where they could make these recommendations in person to federal politicians

We wanted to give a massive thank you and congratulations to all the renters who were involved in Tenant Talks, either as a host, or an attendee. Your discussions, community-building efforts, and policy recommendations have been essential in making our Renter Lobby Day a success, and in planning for future campaigns. 

What’s next?

With Tenant Talks wrapped up for 2024, we’ve been reflecting on the lessons from this campaign and how we can support renters to come together as a community to organise around our collective rights. With a Federal Election coming up next year, we’re also looking for new ways to push federal politicians to address serious rental issues.

As part of this work, and after speaking to a number of Tenant Talk hosts, we're looking at running Tenant Talks again for 2025. This time we’ll have a stronger focus on what we can do as a community to make 2025 'the Renters Election’. We’ll talk through what renters want to see change, how to get involved, and any new campaign ideas that folks may have! 

If you’re interested in being involved in Tenant Talks for 2025, or want to learn more, you can register your interest here.