Inner Sydney Tenants’ Advice and Advocacy Service
We provide free legal advice and advocacy to renters in inner city Sydney, including parts of Sydney’s inner west and inner south.
About this service
RLC's Inner Sydney Tenants’ Advice and Advocacy Service (ISTAAS) provides free and confidential legal advice and advocacy to people living in public and private housing in inner-city Sydney, including parts of Sydney’s inner west and inner south.
This service is one of a number of Tenants' Advice & Advocacy Services throughout New South Wales. As a network, we respond to over 30,000 requests for tenancy advice a year and provide free legal advice and advocacy to nearly 10,000 tenants a year.
Our Tenants' Advocates can advise you about issues including:
- Eviction
- Rent issues
- Repairs
- Getting your bond back
- Share housing
- Boarding houses
- Public and Community Housing - including specialist advice for tenants being affected by public housing redevelopments and relocation.
- Going to the NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal (NCAT)
- Going to the Housing Appeals Committee
Who can access this service?
This service is for tenants in inner-city Sydney, including parts of Sydney’s inner west and inner south. To find your local tenants' advocacy service, go to www.tenants.org.au and enter the suburb you are renting in.
Please note: due to high demand, we are not able to advise on every tenancy matter. If we are not able to advise you, we will refer you to other resources and services. Learn more about accessing our services.
How to contact us
To request free legal advice about your tenancy or housing matter:
LEGAL ENQUIRY Form call 02 9698 5975
If you need an interpreter to speak to us, call the free Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450.
If we are able to advise you, we will arrange for a Tenants' Advocate to call you back. If your matter is urgent, we will arrange advice as quickly as possible.
If we are not able to assist you, we may refer you to other services and resources, including those listed below.
How we can help: Terrance's story
Other services that can help
- Tenants' Union of NSW. Information, resources and expert advice for tenants in NSW. Tenants Advice Line: 1800 251 101.
- Greater Sydney Aboriginal Tenants Service (GSATS). A Tenants' Union service providing expert advice to First Nations people. Phone: 02 9698 0873
- Seniors Rights Service. A free service for over 55-year-old residents of retirement villages, nursing homes and hostels. Phone: 1800 424 079.
- NSW Fair Trading. Information for tenants, landlords and agents on renting, including the lodgement and refund of bond money. Phone: 133 220.
- Law Access NSW. A free government telephone service that provides legal information, advice and referrals for people who have a legal problem. Phone: 1300 888 529.
Self-help information
Legal information for renters during COVID-19
A guide for people living in a share house in NSW.
A legal guide for people living in boarding houses in NSW.
A legal guide for people living in public housing in NSW.
Factsheets, resources and templates for a wide range of tenancy issues.
Information for international students looking to rent a house or unit in NSW.
Learn about your rights as a renter, evictions, and how to seek help.
Social housing tenants have the same rights to have their homes repaired as all other tenants in NSW.
What you need to do if you are a respondent in a New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) matter.
Law reform updates
