Why are statistics and data important and how can we best use them to Make Renting Fair?

Statistics is what it means to prove something with data. Statistics are a tool to group relevant information and help make sense of it. We use them to identify, analyse and affect ideas and behaviour. Statistics can play an important role in advocacy and campaigning for social change.

Using statistics alongside our knowledge of our own experiences can help strengthen our case, by illustrating the broad scope of the problem and the numbers and data underpinning our stories.

On the Tenants' Union of NSW's Putting Renters on the Map tool, you can navigate to your area of NSW to find your area's Campaign Toolkit. At the end of the Toolkit you will find printable versions of 'State of the Renters' data related to each electorate in your area. The State of the Renters summaries have been created based on data from the 2021 census. Each electorate’s State of the Renters sheet can help provide an overview of current rental housing in your electorate, as well as how things have changed for renters since the previous census in 2016.
 

Recent Stories

  • Dylan holding a sign saying make renting fair in front of a window.
    Dylan's story
    "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."


  • Jason and Lauren are standing close and smiling in front of a red brick wall and white window.
    Lauren's Story
    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.


  • Entry way of a house. Brown front door, with a hat stand with a hat on it to the left. To the right, a table with flowers in a vase.
    Sabine's story
    "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."


  • A woman smiles at the camera, standing in front of a desk and artwork on the walls. She is wearing a green dress, golden headscarf, with red lipstick and golden earrings.
    Maryam's story
    "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."


  • Brown and white cat sitting on a windowsill peers nervously around the edge of some curtains, looking into the camera.
    Kirby's story
    "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."


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