If you are a tenant in public or community housing have your say about the Tenant Participation Program. The Department of Communities (Housing and Homelessness Services) is reviewing this program and has developed a consultation paper and online survey to gather tenant feedback.

The Tenants’ Union of Queensland is organising meetings with social housing tenants to inform our submission to the review of this important program.

The Tenants’ Union will be holding meetings in Chermside, Toowoomba, Roma, Deception Bay, Inala, Caboulture and the Sunshine Coast. We will also be talking with regional tenant groups.

If you are a public or community housing tenant and would like to be involved contact the Tenants’ Union on 07 3257 1411 or email socialhousing@tuq.org.au

For more information about the review of the Tenant Participation Program and the Tenants’ Union’s upcoming tenant consultation meetings click here.

Over 20 years the Tenant Participation has empowered  social housing tenants by providing tenants with an opportunity to have a say in decisions that affect their housing and local communities, run skill building workshops and much more.

Now is the time to have your say about the future of this important program.

Regional Tenant Group Consultation
Regional tenant groups are situated in Mackay, Townsville, Cairns, Central Qld, Bayside, Logan, Stones Corner, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane Central, Wide Bay Burnett and Ipswich and will be holding meetings with tenants to discuss the paper.  If you are a social housing tenant living in one of these areas and you would like to register for a meeting call the Tenant Participation Unit for details on 3227 6650.

Improved Rights may help to reduce homelessness

The report “A Better Lease on Life” was developed by the National Association of Tenant Organisations (NATO) and National Shelter in an effort to reduce homelessness through improvements to tenancy laws.

The report makes a number of key recommendations to government around the areas of unreasonable evictions, opportunities for tenants to rectify rent arrears, and providing tenancy law protections, which will enable more balanced processess in the rental markets.

Click here for a copy of the report A Better Lease on Life

International human rights law recognises everyone’s right to an adequate standard of living, including adequate housing.

Adequate housing was recognized as part of the right to an adequate standard of living in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

This joint OHCHR/UN Habitat Fact Sheet is the second in a series of joint publications by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights with other United Nations partners to focus on economic, social and cultural rights.

This Fact Sheet explains the right to adequate housing, what it means for individuals and groups and elaborates upon States’ related obligations.

Download a copy of this fact sheet here

Statewide Tenant Advice Service 1300 744 263

The Tenants’ Union 1300 advice number offers a single statewide phone number for tenants seeking advice from any of the three Tenants’ Union offices; the statewide office in Brisbane, the Fraser Coast office in Pialba, or the North Queensland office in Cairns.

The Tenants’ Union statewide advice service is available from 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday with extended hours to 7pm on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.

Advice is provided by the Tenants’ Union Fraser Coast office between 9am and 1pm Monday to Friday and the North Queensland office in Cairns provides advice from 2pm to 5pm Tuesday and Thursday.

Tenants  calling outside their regional advice hours, will automatically connect to the statewide advice service based in the Tenants’ Union statewide office in Brisbane.

Changes to Queensland tenancy laws took effect on 1st July 2009. Under the new Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 residential tenants must be given at least 2 months Notice to Leave if they are being asked to leave rental premises without grounds (without reason) .

Prior to the commencement of the new laws in July 2009 Queensland tenants could be given as little as 2 weeks notice to leave at the end of a fixed term tenancy agreement. This was clearly an unreasonable time frame for tenants to find new accommodation, move, and find money to pay a new bond.

‘Many of the changes to the Act are about bringing back a fair playing field between tenants and lessors, with the increased “without ground” notice period the most significant’, said Tenants’ Union of Queensland (TUQ) spokesperson Ms Penny Carr.

Changes to the laws are the culmination of processes commenced in 2005, which initially reviewed tenancy laws covering room-only accommodation and proceeded to review legislation covering general residential tenancies. The new  Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 was passed in late 2008 and when it commenced on 1st July 2009 it replaced the Residential Tenancies Act 1994 and the Residential Services (Accommodation) Act 2002 .

The TUQ invites any tenant or resident seeking information or advice to contact us on our free telephone advice service on 1300 744 263 between 9am- 4pm Mon-Fri and 7pm on Tues & Wed.

Download a summary of the changes here.