A record 16,032 people including renters, property owners, and real estate agents have responded to the Rental Reform survey which will inform changes in the Residential Tenancies Act being considered by the NSW Government.

With one third of NSW residents renting their homes the NSW Government says it is committed to changing rental laws to give more stability to renters and certainty to owners on matters of lease termination, pets in rentals, personal information, and bonds.

The record responses revealed most renters are in favour of change, while most owners and real estate agents oppose reforms.

Owners, renters, and agents were generally supportive of rules for how the personal information of renters is used, shared, stored, and accessed.

But there was a difference on opinion when it came to pets.

Currently in NSW, a pet can be rejected by an owner without a reason unless it is an assistance animal.

When asked if laws should be changed to require a landlord to give a good reason to reject a pet or go to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal to refuse an animal, 93 per cent of renters supported the idea compared with 28 per cent of owners.

In total the survey received 16,032 responses including 405 written submissions.

Of these, 57 per-cent of respondents were renters, 34 per-cent owners and the survey was available in seven languages ensuring voices across the community were heard.

The feedback will inform proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act including to the termination of a lease, pets in rentals, the protection of renter information and a portable bond scheme.

The NSW Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading Anoulack Chanthivong acknowledged the strong level of engagement by the public but said there were differences of opinion on implementing a ban on no-grounds evictions.

“These reforms will be some of the biggest changes to the market in decades, and there hasn’t been a consistent approach across jurisdictions in Australia,” she said.

“We’ll take the time needed to make sure we forge a path forward that gets the balance right, without unduly slowing these important reforms.”

NSW Rental Commissioner Trina Jones said the responses will improve the rental market providing certainty and security to both renters and owners.

“We are also learning from the experience of other States and Territories and their respective rental reforms as we tailor a model for our unique rental market circumstances in NSW,” she said.

“We are progressing the reforms with a focus on getting the detail right and we will continue to work with our stakeholders to achieve this.”

The results of the ‘Improving NSW Rental laws’ public consultation survey is available online at www.haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au/improving-nsw-rental-laws