Kanae and her young daughter live in Boronia, a brand-new “affordable” housing unit block. Their rental home is a spacious two-bedroom apartment on the fourth floor with a large south-facing window overlooking the area. However, as soon as summer comes, this brand-new unit turns into a heat box. Her landlord, City West Housing, says the apartment was not designed for air conditioning and has no provision for its future installation. But Kanae isn't giving up on her and her daughter’s right to a safe and comfortable living environment.

Rentvesting is an increasingly common solution for people who either can’t afford to buy a home big enough for their needs or can't afford to buy one where they need to live. For Lucy and David, that meant swapping a 2-bedder in Dulwich Hill for a slightly run-down 3-bedroom house in Ashfield. She’s not keen on having to finance her family’s housing needs by being a landlord, but feels the underregulated market has left them little choice to gain the extra space for their growing children.

Back in the day, Rebecca remembers, the area had been dangerous, with drug users’ and sellers’ dominating presence impacting the community's ability to enjoy their neighbourhood. These days, it’s more relaxed, neighbours flock to BBQs in the park and kid-friendly events. They keep an eye out for one another and try to help out where they can.

Duncan might have to consider moving back into a share house, something he hoped never to have to do again. Now that he’s in his forties, he wants to have his own space.

By the time Erina found her current Marrickville flat, she had moved seven times in as many years and spent countless hours applying for rooms in share houses.

Casey is pleased with the outcome of his Tribunal matter and now has Elsie by his side in the granny flat. His successful journey to this point was only possible thanks to the long-awaited law changes that many renters and renters’ rights advocates have fought for; law changes that help renters have a home that really feels like home.

After months of living in unbearable heat inside her rental home, Sarah had to move back in with her parents. She counts herself lucky to have this option, knowing how many women out there can’t afford to simply pack up and leave a place that’s not right for them.

Three years into her tenancy, Brianna's rental experience started to sour. First, a newly appointed real estate agent placed the household on a fixed-term lease and increased their rent by 19%. Then, in the spring of 2023, an eviction notice came, with no explanation or reason for the eviction provided.

Since the divorce, Dave and his kids have been forced to move many times—never by choice. Two of his most recent leases ended with a no-grounds termination.

Faizan and Emma received a notice of an increase in rent from $850 to $920 a week. Their response was to accept the increase under the condition that the repairs they had been asking for be finally done. When no work was carried out, Faizan filed a complaint with the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal. A week later, the couple received a no grounds eviction notice.

Nicole is an artist and a long-time resident of Sydney’s Inner West. Prior to getting a 'no grounds' eviction, Nicole and others in her building were asked to accept a $200 rent increase.

"All landlords have their standards and these are very competitive. When I saw houses, I didn’t have time to think. I had to immediately submit applications to see who would accept me."

"The problem with the renting system is the power imbalance between landlords and tenants, and this can only be solved by taking steps to decouple people's homes from other people's investments. We are sacrificing people's dignity in the name of returns."

Lauren and her partner Jason have been renting together in Sydney since 2016 and have been in their current rental since April 2023. This follows two no grounds eviction notices in two years.

"The landlord told me he was selling, he lied. If he had been honest then I would have had options. Being put in this situation dictates your life, you feel completely out of control. It’s not a good feeling."

"It’s very stressful. Every day we find ourselves discussing the budget, how we can manage to stay in the area. A lot of people are struggling right now but they’re not speaking – I want to speak on behalf of everyone in this situation."

"I spent most of the day crying. I felt confused because I wasn't given a reason for needing to move out. In the end, I found that it was so they could raise the rent by $80 a week. I’ve calculated that in the 12 months I lived in that apartment I paid $24,440 off the owner's mortgage."

"It's the first time that we have been able to make a home - with all the little bohemian and bespoke pieces we adore. Our home gives us the space and safety we need to create art and music."

"If we knew we didn’t have to worry about being chucked out just for asking, it’d be great to have things in our home working properly. Our landlord isn’t a bad guy, he’s just your average landlord, but the laws need to change. We need to end ‘no grounds’ evictions"

"Neither pet is destructive or disruptive, but if something happens they have a $3,500 bond, and I’d fix it. In over 20 years of renting I have NEVER had the problems encountered in the last 2 and a half years. You rent, you clean up, leave then get your bond back to use on the next place."

“The agent found it easier to go after her than the perpetrator because they saw her as more vulnerable, a softer target. She’s a 16-year-old doing the best she can in difficult circumstances."

"Renters are facing hardship and need help, individual renters can’t do it alone. It will take a village to win the changes we need so that everyone can have a safe and secure place to call home."

"I couldn’t afford the increase - but now I have nowhere else to go...I’m effectively being made homeless because of this."

"People from Sydney are escaping to regional NSW post Covid, so landlords are putting rent prices way up. I can’t afford the huge rental prices that are prevalent."

"We’re in total rental crisis, but it feels like nobody is taking responsibility. We all need to come together and make some noise, and hold decision-makers accountable."

Greer had been living in her Port Macquarie home with her daughter for three years when she got a ‘no grounds’ eviction after requesting repairs.

"The precarity of so many sharehouse arrangements gives agents and landlords so much scope to exploit tenants." 

Arjun has seen how the climate crisis is impacting communities, including his own family.

"When we went to Tribunal the landlord said "I'm selling the property." It was a lie, actions speak louder than words."

"When I spoke to the agent about the repairs, she said she'd talk to the owner. Instead I got an eviction notice."

"I got the 90 day eviction notice right before Christmas and my daughter's birthday."

"The biggest problem for me is the instability, feeling unable to make the property your own, your home."

"We stood up to the landlord. That's the real reason we were evicted."

"Anything else you're trying to do in your life – you just have to put it on hold."

"If I was to get kicked out, it's no longer just an inconvenience to move, it's a huge upheaval."

"I wasn't only losing my home, they were divorcing me from my community."