Sweeping changes to rental laws in New South Wales will have little impact unless “no grounds” evictions are brought to a halt, experts warn.

Minister for Better Regulation Matt Kean is set to announce the changes in the coming months following the first comprehensive overhaul of rental legislation in more than 20 years.

The proposed changes come at a time when there are more tenants in Sydney than ever before – 34 per cent of the population rents, according to census data.

“[No grounds eviction] undermines all of the other legislated rights tenants have,” said Chris Martin,a research fellow at UNSW’s City Future Research Centre. “It hangs over people’s heads when they’re considering asserting their rights as tenants.”

Failing to remove “no grounds” evictions could negate any attempts at improving renters’ security, according to Dr Martin.

“It’s the single most important tenancy reform that the government should be pursuing,” he said.

A statutory review of the Residential Tenancy Act by NSW Fair Trading two years ago made 27 recommendations in a bid to “modernise” laws to strike an “appropriate balance between the interests of tenants and landlords”.

While some of the less contentious issues have already been amended such as the Rental Bonds Online register, other complex points – such as greater rental protections for domestic violence victims – are yet to be introduced.

The advocacy and research officer at Tenants’ Union of NSW Leo Patterson Ross said the suite of changes would have no impact unless the provision was addressed.

“It so fundamentally messes with the power balance. It’s so out of whack that renters accept things you wouldn’t accept from any other service provider.”

​Newtown MP and Greens spokeswoman for housing Jenny Leong outlined the party’s priorities in a speech in parliament yesterday with an end to unfair “no grounds” evictions at the top of the list.

She said renters made up the majority of her electorate, and those of the Premier and the housing minister, and needed to be afforded more assurances.

“This is a serious issue where now people are long-term renters they need to be provided with security and protection,” said Ms Leong.

“We need to recognise that there are reforms needed to tip the balance back so that renters have that security and have a right to call a place home.”

Ms Leong said limiting annual rent increases to CPI, establishing rental housing standards, improving flexibility for tenants in domestic violence cases and providing greater protections for people living in share houses were priorities.

Changes to ‘no grounds’ evictions wouldn’t be to the detriment of landlords, according to Dr Martin, if the government amended the act to give more specific grounds for termination such as the premises needing renovation or the landlord moving in themselves.

“Landlords could be accommodated and it would be no skin off their nose. It would be only a disadvantage to those who are lazy or incompetent and who use it as a trump card to get out of doing the right thing by tenants,” said Dr Martin.

Mr Patterson Ross said the review was a ‘big step forward’ by a coalition government that has acknowledged the problems associated with a shift to renting. But he said while Labor have backed removing ‘no grounds’ evictions from the legislation, it didn’t look like the government was willing to tackle this key issue.

Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation Matt Kean said the government needed to focus on ways to improve life for tenants.

“The government has committed to stronger protections for victims of domestic violence, fairer lease-break fees for tenants, and strengthening their rights to get repairs done,” he said.