News – Page 3 – Tenants Queensland

Beware! Scams come in many ways

Everyone will be aware there have been many scams around for a long time. They all involve trying to relieve us of our money to make the scammers rich. At present the most infamous two doing the rounds is the Optus and the Medibank scams but there are hundreds on the go at any one time.

They will eventually release the information on the dark web where it will be purchased by other criminals and used to target the vulnerable.

Think twice before you spend this Christmas

Despite the massive blow out to the cost of living in Australia we are, according to some web-based sites like Statista and Roy Morgan, set to spend approximately $64 billion. With Queenslanders set to spend $13 billion of that alone. That is a rise of 4.6% compared to the same time last year.
We all love to give gifts to family and friends especially for Christmas. However, there may be a price to pay for the privilege.

Click this link to read more about practical steps you can follow to have a great Christmas

Queensland Housing Summit

Tenants Queensland will join other key community and government stakeholders at the Queensland Housing Summit this Thursday 20 October 2022. In the lead up to the summit we have submitted a paper outlining our recommendations for consideration.

It’s time to announce the winner of our Connect to Home competition, which Tenants Queensland launched as part of our International Tenant’s Day celebrations in October. Thank you to all the fantastic entrants who shared their images, poems and messages.

After much deliberation, we’re happy to announce the winning entry is a poem sent to us by Tracy. Congratulations Tracy and thanks once again to all who took the time to participate and share with us.

Law Reform changes effective from 1 October 2022

1 October 2022 tenancy law changes – What you need to know

Recent changes will impact your tenancy agreements from 1 October 2022 under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (‘the Act’). Here is a quick snapshot of the key changes.

Photo Comp

Monday 3 October 2022 is International Tenants’ Day (ITD). International Tenants’ Day has been celebrated annually on the first Monday in October since 1986 as a day to promote and raise awareness of tenants’ rights across the world.

Tenants Queensland invites all tenants across Queensland to participate in our competition. Share with us and tell us with your entry why it is so important for you to “CONNECT TO HOME”

This can be done with a photo, a poem, a painting or drawing.

Government changes to Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA)

On 24 May 2022, a law to secure the rental bonds of Queensland tenants passed Parliament which makes the Residential Tenancies Authority self-funding model no longer. Following on from our submission to the committee, we wrote to the Treasurer on 12 May 2022 to seek changes, but we were unsuccessful.

You can read the full media statement here.

TQ signs joint letters to Federal election candidates

As the election nears, the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) have asked organizations to sign on to two joint letters from the community sector to Federal Election candidates calling on them to commit to two game-changer policies to reduce poverty and inequality.

These policies are:

Lift income support payments to above the poverty line so everyone can cover the basics
Invest in 25,000 social housing units each year as part of a National Housing Plan.

Tenants Queensland have joined with the many organisations to be a signatory to the two letters.

One to independent and minor party candidates asking them to make these policies part of negotiations to form government should there be a hung parliament. The same letter will go to all other candidates (without reference to negotiating to form government).

You can access a copy of the letter with the full list of signatories here.

Government proposes changes to RTA – Update

On March 17 2022, changes to how the RTA manages bond money and the interest it earns on it were tabled in parliament as part of the State Penalties Enforcement (Modernisation) Amendment Bill 2022.

In response, we have made a submission to the Economics and Governance Committee stating that we strongly oppose the proposed amendments to the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008. The proposed amendments will result in undermining a legacy that should be provided to tenants, they remove the autonomy of the industry regulator and a self-funded model which makes financial sense. As a result of this submission, we have been asked to appear as a witness at the Public Hearing of the Bill on Tuesday 19 April 2022.

You can read the full submission here

Government Proposes Significant Change to the RTA

On March 17, 2022 changes to how the RTA manages bond money and the interest it earns on it were tabled in parliament. This was a surprise to us – we were neither aware nor consulted on them. The changes were tucked away on page 7-13 of this omnibus bill. We will review the proposals over coming days and seek further information.

Key concerns for us are – ensuring we can continue to track what happens to the significant interest, resources and investments generated over many years from tenants’ bonds and that tenants continue to benefit directly from it. Our organisation formed around the centralised collection of tenants’ bonds. This successful campaign has meant the RTA has been able to provide free services to the entire rental sector – lessors, agents and tenants. There was also an agreed principle that tenants would benefit collectively from specialist services through individual tenants giving up the interest on their own money. Remember, bonds are tenants’ money held in trust until the end of a tenancy! These are significant changes which seem to greatly reduce the autonomy of the RTA. We’ll come back to you when we understand more.