Residential Tenancies Act 2010

The Residential Tenancies Act 2010 has been passed by the NSW Parliament. The Act will come into effect later this year. Until then, existing laws continue to apply (see the NSW Fair Trading website).

The TU believes the Act will generally improve renting laws in New South Wales. Improvements include:

• effective regulation of tenant databases
• options for survivors of domestic violence to change their tenancy arrangements
• ‘fee-free’ methods for paying rent
• longer notice periods for ‘no-grounds’ termination notices.

Disappointingly, the Act will still allow landlords to give termination notices without grounds, and require the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal to terminate tenancies where landlords give these notices.

For commentary on the new law, visit the Tenants' Union of NSW blog, The Brown Couch.

Residential Tenancies Bill 2010

The long-awaited draft Residential Tenancies Bill 2009 was released by the NSW Government for public comment in October 2009.

The Bill is the result of a long-running review of the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 – the current law that sets out tenants’ rights and obligations. It is the first comprehensive overhaul of the state’s renting laws since the current Act commenced twenty years ago.

Under the proposed legislation, problems associated with tenancy databases, rent collection companies, domestic violence and co-tenancies would be dealt with by the State’s renting laws for the first time.

The proposed changes to rent arrears procedures, and to tenants’ liabilities when breaking a lease, will deliver greater certainty to all.

The Tenants’ Union of NSW is disappointed that the proposed legislation does not go further, by removing the ability of landlords to give termination notices without grounds. Additionally, under the proposals, boarders and lodgers would still not be covered by renting laws in NSW.

The Tenants’ Union of NSW has suggested a number of changes to the draft legislation, to improve its operation and remove possible unintended effects.

For more commentary on the proposed legislation, visit the Tenants' Union of NSW blog, The Brown Couch.

Submission

• Submission on the draft Residential Tenancies Bill 2009 [PDF]
• Submission on the draft Residential Tenancies Bill 2009 [plain text]

Media release

Tenants' Union welcomes new renting laws, 4 November 2009

Media coverage:

'Tenants vulnerable under planned law: union', Sydney Morning Herald, 7 May 2010

'Making the lot of tenants a happy one', Sydney Morning Herald, 6 May 2010

Position paper

Support better laws for the 1 in 4 people in NSW who rent

Background papers

• Residential tenancies legislation
• Profile of tenants in NSW
• Tenancy law and the disinvestment myth

(Photo by Yewenyi used under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 Generic licence)