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.
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.
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:
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.
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
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.
One of our regional offices recently supported a tenant who had vacated their property two months early due to the real estate agent increasing the rent. Originally the agent sought ‘break lease’ costs (one week’s rent plus GST, advertising fees, rent until new tenants entered the property), cleaning fees, repairs and the cost of painting the walls. This all added up to the bond plus another $800. During conciliation, the agent dropped their claim for painting, claiming the bond in full, and leaving the matter to proceed to the Tribunal for decision.
If you are being inundated with water or suffering damage from storms or cyclones, your tenancy may be affected. THIS FACT SHEET is for residential tenancies, however most of this information also applies to rooming accommodation such as boarding houses.
If you wish to request a rent decrease with your lessor due to flooding, here for a draft letter that you can use. Please click here for a Word version (you may need to check your downloads folder) or click here for a PDF version.
Tenants Queensland have produced a mould fact sheet for renters: please click here .
If you are a private renter experiencing financial hardship, our confidential and free financial counselling service may be able to help you. This free service includes assistance with any matter in relation to debt such as:
We can also assist with:
If you would like to know more, contact us:
New tenancy laws were passed on 14 October in the Queensland Parliament.
Changes include:
To find out more detail go to the overview on the Make Renting Fair website.
Happy International Tenants Day – that’s today – the first Monday in October!
The International Union of Tenants (IUT) based in Sweden announced this year’s ITD theme as ‘Covid recovery, climate, and construction’. The IUT is calling for Security of Tenure, Rent Stabilisation and Rent Controls. “The focus should be on the needs of citizens for more affordable housing rather than letting short term speculative practices dominate the property market”. See their YouTube video here.
You might also want to check out how you can support improvements to Queensland tenancy laws by heading to the Make Renting Fair website or joining the Make Renting Fair in Qld online Rally on Thursday on Facebook.