Penny McCall Howard with her son Benji at their new property, after being evicted from their previous home in Dulwich Hill. Credit:Steven Siewert Those emails had followed a history of back-and-forth between Ms McCall Howard and the agents in charge of the home she had lived in for the past five years with her partner Warren and, more recently, their young son, Benji. The agents for most of the time she lived there had been tardy in following up concerns about broken fittings and consistently leaky roofs, she said. When Richardson & Wrench were appointed earlier this year, they were more attentive to repairs. But this came with a proposed rent increase, and a dispute about who should take care of mowing the large garden - a service that had been provided previously. Ms McCall Howard had agreed to the rent increase, but was insisting that repairs take place first and that the lawn mowing service be maintained.

Less than 10 minutes after sending an email to this effect, she received a reply from the agent saying he had discussed the concerns with the landlord and "we feel that the tenancy has reached the end of its life". The eviction notice was posted that afternoon. "I was utterly stunned," Ms McCall Howard said. "I had a sense that [tenancy laws] were quite weak and that tenants are generally treated as disposable commodities, but I didn't realise how weak." The family are now living in a new property in the area. The principal of the Richardson & Wrench agency, Greg McKinley, said Ms McCall Howard and her family were not evicted in retaliation for disputes about maintenance or rent.

Mr McKinley said the agency received written advice from the landlords that they wanted to move into the property because they were soon to undertake substantial repairs at their own home. There was documentary evidence of this, Mr McKinley said. "The owner also has rights here and, if the owner decides they want to do something with the property, with the greatest of respect, they should be allowed to," Mr McKinley said. However, the owner did not move into the property and, after a few repairs were undertaken, it was re-let weeks after Ms McCall Howard and her family moved out. Mr McKinley said the owners' situation changed - the development application at their other property had stalled - and they changed their mind about moving into the home. However, for Ned Cutcher, the senior policy officer at the Tenants Union of NSW, this sort of dispute is not an uncommon one.

"It's the fundamental insecurity that's built into our rental law that a landlord can end a tenancy without needing to state a reason," Mr Cutcher said. The Tenants Union has proposed reforms to the Residential Tenancies Act that would still allow landlords to evict tenants in circumstances such as Ms McCall Howard's. But the landlords would have to put forward a reason for the eviction - for example, that they wanted to move in - which could be tested in a tribunal. They would not be allowed to issue an eviction notice on the "no grounds" basis. For Ms McCall Howard, the experience was a "brutal reminder" that, as a renter, she did not control her living situation. "It's like your whole life just freezes in place," she said of being evicted and being forced to pack, consider legal redress, and look for a new place to live, all at short notice. "It's incredibly unsettling."

However, Mr McKinley said the situation was a relative anomaly. "Commercial reality would say for an agency and an owner they would rather have a tenant than not have a tenant," he said. "It doesn't help anyone having the property empty," he said. NSW Fair Trading Minister Victor Dominello said he was aware of concerns raised by the Tenants Union regarding "no grounds" terminations. "We are exploring options with the Tenants Union to capture more data regarding the prevalence of 'no grounds' terminations," he said.

"Options include the introduction of an exit survey for tenants recouping their bond money via Fair Trading's Rental Bonds Online system." The government is intending to legislate other changes to the act next year.