thanks, Frayed, you're certainly onto it. my main peeve is & has been for ages now, that everyone born onto this earth has/should have a birthright to settle his/her roots somewhere.
instead more & more people around here live in their cars - & i know of places around the corner that sit empty for most of the time. squatting, i say!

@walklightly I don't know what your tenancy laws are like up in NSW but down here you could, and my knowledge is 4 or 5 years out of date, have eviction delayed for nearly ever if you challenged it in court and pointed out that you simply had nowhere else to go. My religious landlord tried to evict me 5 years ago so I went to court. The magistrate asked why did they wish to evict. They replied "he's standing up for his and his fellow residents (it was a sort of retirement complex of self contained units) rights". The magistrate threw them out thus making me a protected tenant.

@walklightly Stick a caveat on the place and claim share of capital gain. I've just read you have been there more than three years. Are there any tenants associations up there with legal assistance? Put my suggestion to them - you may make legal precedent! They like novelty - it relieves their boredom.

@FrayedBear, i'll take all your valuable advice to heart, & as i will attend council meeting tomorrow morn anyway, will make some enquiries. but...! yeah, sadly, there's this but. i live on a private owner/landlord/resident's acreage, & he possibly is within his rights to rent out or not. i know from germany, where my situation would be called sublet, if the primary resident wants to get rid of tenants he just has to claim the need for own use (family). whatever, i like to shake up the powers that be, so off into the battlefield

@walklightly Politicians have forgotten that a strong country requires citizens who are able to safely shelter themselves and their families in order to raise next generations able to, like themselves, contribute to the ongoing viability, growth and development of a country just as previous generations have brought it to where it is now.
I was fascinated to see in a recent South African film how black criminal gangs have squatted many high rise buildings owned by white or foreign landlords then claimed possession being right of ownership and progressing the country by enabling security (for a bodyguard fee) of tenure to black families housed in the buildings under their control.

@walklightly It looks to me as if you need to talk to these people who will advise you on best options from NSW Tenancy Tribunal to NSW Fair Trading
[tenants.org.au]

@FrayedBear, thank you. i'll look into it... when back from house hunting

@walklightly fight the bastard. How long before eviction have you? As I suggest caveat his property - it used to cost next to nothing.
Also look at prices in other states particularly country areas. Another option for you is sharing with an elderly person - google for agencies - you pay minimal rent for say a bit of house cleaning/ gardening perhaps taking a person shopping.

@FrayedBear, thank you for your suggestions; i like this angle of a possible solution to my housing dilemma. i'll certainly look into it.

well, it is a joke. not all jokes are funny, but neither is the law.

yep, too true. done with it, & orientating more towards ordinary, real-life communities now.