The Nature of Contemporary Landlordism in New South Wales : Implications for Tenants' Rights
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TextPublication details: Faculty of Architecture, University of Sydney, March 1996.Subject(s): Online resources: Summary: Abstract: Comprehensive residential tenancy law reform in New South Wales has not provided security of tenure for tenants. A critical review of the reform legislation concludes that tenants' ability to make full use of its provisions is undermined by this omission: indeed, the evidence points to landlords being the major beneficiaries of the legislation. This thesis seeks to explain the legislative limits of tenants' rights in New South Wales through a better understanding of contemporary landlords. A longitudinal study of a sample of properties in the private residential rental market was undertaken through collecting information from land-based data sources and landlords. It found that there are different types of landlords who behave differently in the market place. Between 40 and 50 per cent of all rental stock in New South Wales is held by landlords who own a single property. A sizeable proportion of these landlords are temporary landlords who control in excess of one third of the rental stock. Just over half of the rental stock is controlled by another type of landlord (a particular category of investor). Although their motivations are different, the common thread which binds these two types of landlords who dominate the market is the need to obtain vacant possession of their premises with a minimum of effort. This is because the private rental sector has become enmeshed in the predominantly owner-occupier market. Indeed, reference is made to commentators who argue that the resilience of the private rental market in Australia, compared to overseas countries, is largely due to a sympathetic taxation regime which has encouraged investment in housing stock. Accordingly, the granting of security of tenure would be a barrier to landlords recovering their premises for their own occupation or liquidating their investments in the market. Thus, it is argued that the nature of contemporary landlordism in New South Wales acts in general against the best interests of tenants and in particular against their need for security of tenure. An important implication which flows from this study is that any shift in government policy to reduce the role of public housing and place a greater reliance on the private rental market to house low-income people is misplaced.
| Item type | Current library | Call number | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thesis | tunsw | Policy cupboard (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | Available |
Keywords: housing law, landlords, private rental sector, tenants' rights
A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Faculty of Architecture, University of Sydney,
Mowbray, R.C., ‘The Nature of Contemporary Landlordism in New South Wales: Implications for Tenants' Rights’ . A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Faculty of Architecture, University of Sydney, March 1996.
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