wendy_temp – Page 5 – Tenants Queensland

Happy International Tenants Day celebrations and QSTARS second birthday Oct 2!

Calling all tenants and their friends to International Tenants’ Day celebrations in Mount Isa, Rockhampton, Cairns, Gold Coast (Labrador), Brisbane (West End)! NB Mount Isa event is on Oct 9

October 1 was also the second birthday of the Queensland Statewide Tenant Advice and Referral Service (QSTARS).

Since 1986, International Tenants Day (ITD) has been celebrated annually in the first week of October. Originating in France, the date was chosen to coincide with the United Nations World Habitat Day. ITD is used to promote and raise awareness of tenants’ right across the world. Tenants Queensland is committed to improving the conditions for renters in our state and to make renting a secure and respected tenure.

We warmly welcome you to our free ITD events on Tuesday October 2, 2018 to help us celebrate!! If you are a renter in Queensland you might also like to enter our photo competition.

Brisbane	Cairns	Gold Coast	Mt Isa	Rockhampton
Time: 10-2pm Bunyapa Park/ West End Urban Common 39 Thomas Street , West End FREE BBQ entertainment, tenancy information Ph: 3832 9447	Time: 2-4pm 208 McLeod St, Cairns (TQ Cairns office). FREE BBQ, tenancy information and fun! Ph: 4241 0016	Time: 11–2pm Harley Park, Labrador FREE BBQ entertainment, tenancy information Ph: 5525 6599	OCT 9 Time: 9 -11am Mount Isa Neighbourhood Centre, 72 Marian St, Mt Isa FREE tenants breakfast and sausage sizzle, tenancy information Ph: 4749 3081	Time: 11-1pm The office of Mr Barry O’Rourke Member for Rockhampton. 3/7 Denham Street Rockhampton FREE tenants breakfast and sausage sizzle, tenancy information Ph: 4816 9814

Renting in Qld – win $100 in our THIS PLACE, MY HOME photo comp!!

CONDITIONS OF ENTRY

To be eligible for this competition you need to be renting in Queensland. Please send us your photo, name and contact details and where you are renting. By sending your photo to Tenants Queensland, you are consenting to the photo being used publicly by Tenants Queensland, including on the Tenants Queensland website and social media. By sending this photo you confirm that you have consent of any person in the photo for their image to be shared in this way. Any enquiries please contact Cameron at Tenants Queensland – Phone: (07) 3832 9447 – Email: mail@tenantsqld.org.au

Crackdown on mishandling of tenants’ bonds

The Office of Fair Trading and the RTA have been looking into how real estate agents handle tenants’ bond. Earlier today the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, the Hon Yvette D’Ath, issued the following media release:

“A joint agency crackdown on real estate agents withholding tenants’ bonds in Queensland has led to investigations against 13 agents, with a further 20 agents targeted for follow up inquiries, in the name of consumer protection.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) partnered for a joint compliance operation from January-April this year.

Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Yvette D’Ath said the operation was established in response to concerns that tenants’ rights were being ignored by agents who weren’t lodging bonds with the RTA within required timeframes.

“Bond money does not belong to a real estate agent and must be transferred to the RTA correctly and within legislated timeframes,” Mrs D’Ath said.

“Most agents are doing the right thing; but it’s important that tenants are treated fairly and legally, and I’m pleased to see action taken against non-compliant agencies,” Mrs D’Ath said.

“This behaviour also impacts on the broader integrity of the industry and I know agents welcome such investigations so that all are not tarred with the same brush.”

The OFT issued statutory notices to 54 real estate agencies across the state, requesting agents provide their rent roll information to the OFT.

Queensland’s ageing population struggling to pay rent in regional areas – Media Release

Increasing numbers of elderly renters in regional areas are struggling to pay their rent particularly in areas around Bundaberg, Gympie, Moreton Bay and the Fraser Coast, according to the latest release of the Rental Vulnerability Index (RVI).

Tenants Queensland and City Futures Research Centre have released the Rental Vulnerability Index (RVI), as an indicator of rental vulnerability relative to social and economic pressures affecting Queensland renters.

This release highlights the availability of rental housing that is affordable on local incomes, social housing and marginal tenures such as boarding houses, as well as personal indicators including unemployment, low education, disability, single-parent households and both young and elderly renters.

The RVI identifies clusters of indicators to identify regions of ‘rental vulnerability’.

Updated figures released today incorporating the 2016 census data show areas of Somerset, Gladstone and Mackay making it into Queensland’s top 10 local government areas for rental vulnerability.

The data also shows that over the last five years, the proportion of older renters (over 65) has generally increased, with the highest proportions located in the regions.

Tenants Queensland CEO Penny Carr said some of the movement in rankings related to small fluctuations in populations and several postcode boundary changes.

She said the data highlighted that regional and remote parts of Queensland continue to indicate areas of highest rental vulnerability.

“This index is a timely reminder at the beginning of a new year that the elderly and low-income families in regional areas are struggling to pay their rent,” said Ms Carr who runs Queensland’s peak statewide tenant advisory service.

“The data is telling us that regional areas have a pressing need for services – such as tenant advice services – that give vulnerable households material assistance in dealing with housing problems.

“These places have high rates of unemployment, disability, low education and older people in rental housing.

“They also have high incidence of rental stress – even though median rents are low compared to Brisbane.”

Announcing the winner of our photo comp

It’s time to announce the winner of our “Home to me is” photo competition, which Tenants Queensland launched as part of our International Tenant’s Day celebrations in October.

We’d like to thank all entrants for sharing their beautiful images and loving messages of what makes home to you. The reoccurring theme was that home is a special place, to be shared with family, friends, loved ones (in one case a car) and our pets!

After much deliberation, we’re happy to announce the winner is Sarita Silva. This inspiring photo of feeding the cockatoos and galahs on the back deck won over the judges. It’s sense of serenity highlighted the importance of home being a place where people are secure enough to express themselves and do what makes them happy.

Congratulations Sarita, and thanks once again to all who took the time to send in their snaps. Picking a winner amongst the great photos was no easy task!

Make a Submission – Senate Enquiry

The Senate’s Community Affairs Legislation Committee is holding an inquiry into the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Housing Affordability) Bill 2017. According to one of the committee members, Senator Murray Watt,

“In summary, this Bill extends the existing, voluntary, Rent Deduction Scheme so that it can be applied more broadly by States and Territories, as well as community housing providers to withhold a portion of tenants’ income support and/or Family Tax Benefit payments and use these funds to directly pay rent and utilities costs on behalf of those tenants”.

The National Association of Tenants Organisations (NATO) has concerns about some aspects of the Bill and is circulating this DRAFT summary to assist other interested parties to make submissions by the due date of November 10. NATO is an affiliation of Tenants Queensland, Tenants Union of NSW, Tenants Union of ACT, Tenants Union of Tasmania, Tenants Union of Victoria and the Darwin Community Legal Centre.

Submissions can be uploaded here https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/OnlineSubmission

The Bill can be found here:

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r5974
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Moves for rental properties to meet new minimum standards welcomed

Tenants Queensland (TQ) has welcomed the Palaszczuk government’s new laws designed to introduce minimum standards in rental properties and provide greater consumer protections for manufactured homes owner-occupiers.

TQ CEO Penny Carr said that introducing a head of power to regulate minimum standards in rental properties was a very positive step forward.

“Minimum standards in rental properties are particularly important when you consider that half of the renting households are families with children,” Ms Carr said.

“The legislation will also address the very poor quality of some rental accommodation in the state.

“Minimum standards are good for tenants who often fear asking for repairs and maintenance.

“Equally, they’re good for real estate agents and industry, particularly when dealing with unscrupulous lessors. Those lessors with properties which meet community standards have nothing to be concerned about.”

Tenants Queensland welcomes continued funding for the QSTARS program!

Queensland’s renting households will maintain access to free tenancy advice. Today Minister for Housing and Public Works and Minister for Sport, the Hon Mick de Brenni, pledged $37.597 million for five years from June 2018 for the Queensland Statewide Tenant Advice and Referral Service (QSTARS).

QSTARS has helped tens of thousands of Queensland renting households since the program commenced on 1 October 2015 but until today the future of the program was unclear with the current contract ending in June 2018.

As managers and deliverers of the program, Tenants Queensland welcomes the announcement saying it will provide comfort to half a million renters throughout Queensland to know that the growing service would continue.

“Renters in all regions of the state contact QSTARS for advice and support to meet their tenancy responsibilities and exercise their rights,” said TQ CEO Ms Carr.

“Home to me is…….” Send your photos by October 31!

Queensland renters!
Please send your photos by the end of the month to enter our competition.

SUPPORT MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR RENTAL PROPERTIES

The condition of rental properties in Queensland can often be very poor – especially those that are ‘affordable’ . Although the law says properties must be “in good repair” and “fit to live in” it is not always clear what that means. There are many reasons why tenants might be reluctant to ask an agent for repairs – especially if they have a short lease or are worried about being unfairly evicted. Often a tenant will not pursue repairs because they don’t want to ‘rock the boat’, resulting in problems being inherited by consecutive tenants.

The state government is proposing to make changes to the Residential Tenancy and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (RTRAA) so that, in the future, rental properties will have to meet defined minimum standards before being listed for rent. Minimum standards will make it easier for tenants and lessors to know what is expected.