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Consultation a must on new residential tenancies regime
16 June 2010
REINSW has forced the NSW government to make considerable changes to the final Bill, including scrapping a plan which would give tenants the right to break fixed-term leases by paying a fee; and by making a number of other suggestions which have been incorporated into the final version of the Bill.
“We have achieved significant changes however there is still a lot of work ahead to ensure this legislation is properly introduced,” said REINSW President Wayne Stewart.
“REINSW continues to hold serious concerns about some elements of this legislation, not least of which is the timing of its commencement.
“The Government must now continue to listen to stakeholders as we move into the drafting phase of the regulations.
“The regulations will really deliver the devil in the detail and the Government must allow significant time for adequate consultation to ensure the regulations take into account the practical concerns of agents and property managers.
“Further, we want an assurance from the Government that they will allow sufficient time for education about the new Act to take place across the industry.
“Residential property managers, agency owners and tenants will all need sufficient time and information to adapt to the introduction of the new laws and this will need to be done in an orderly fashion.
“If the Government rushes this, then it will only threaten a major section of the Real Estate Sector which employs thousands and helps tens of thousands of tenants every year,” said Mr Stewart.
Key changes that REINSW pressured the government to make include:
- Abandoning a proposal to give tenants the right to break a fixed term tenancy agreement during the fixed term in return for payment of a ‘break fee’
- Scrapping the compulsory proposal to cap a landlord’s damages (including loss of rent) if a tenant abandoned rented premises, and maintaining the current obligation on a landlord to mitigate their loss in such circumstances
- Providing greater certainty for landlords when terminating periodic tenancies
- Further limiting the government’s proposals to allow tenants to make ‘minor’ changes to the landlord’s property (e.g. painting is not a ‘minor’ change) or to sub-let the property without the landlord’s consent (which are both proposals the Institute still opposes in principle and will continue to lobby against)
REINSW will continue to drive for workable changes as new regulations are drafted.
Please direct media enquiries to Julian Brophy on 0408 276 749
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