The Wire

Tenants advocates say that in New South Wales international students can be exploited by landlords who take advantage of their tenancy status.

Students and workers who arrive in cities like Sydney with little money often become lodgers in a share-house, a position that doesn’t hold the same legal rights as a tenant with an official lease. Having little legal protection allows some landlords to let their houses run to disrepair, raise rents without notice, and threaten swift eviction.All other states but Western Australia offer protection for lodgers, and the New South Wales ombudsman has been pushing for boarding house reform for over a decade.