If you own or live in one of the 800,000 rental properties on the books in New South Wales, you will be interested in the NSW Governments review of the laws surrounding these homes, specifically the Residential Tenancies Act (2010).
History tells us that the legislation is usually reviewed every 5 years meaning any edits or changes could be significant. The industry body, Real Estate Institute of New South Wales (REINSW), has made a detailed submission as part of the governments review.
REINSW’s submission includes comments on bonds; holding fees; NCAT hearings; landlord and tenant awareness of their respective obligations in regards to safety; quiet enjoyment (a tenants right to reasonable peace, comfort and privacy of their rented property) and clarifying the landlord’s responsibilities in relation to neighbouring properties not owned by the landlord; carpet cleaning; smoking; surveillance cameras; mould; pest control; the safety and standard of the residential property; inspections; concerns regarding the requirements placed on property managers with regard to the safety and standards of residential property; termination of tenancies and eviction orders; issues arising in relation to the sale of a property; and the electronic service of notices.
Many people are dependent on the regulatory environment with around 800,000 tenancies in NSW. This is therefore a very important piece of legislation as it prescribes the way in which people living in tenancies will be governed.
In June, 2015, the REINSW Property Management Chapter Committee formed a dedicated sub-committee to identify those areas in the current legislation requiring reform. The outcomes of this sub-committee included a detailed report which was compiled to form the basis of REINSW’s submission.
It was also recommended by the committee that technology and modern forms of communication should be utilised, meaning that email could become a legislated method of service for agents, landlords and tenants.
The submission also recognises that there are areas in the Act and in the standard residential tenancy agreement which requires review in an effort to remove unfair consequences in the current Act and create a better residential tenancy system for all parties involved and for the economy in general.
Article developed from The Real Estate Conversation.