News – Page 7 – Tenants Queensland

Minimum standards and the Minister

Sunday’s media release from Minister for Housing and Public Works, the Hon Mick de Brenni cited the heart wrenching case of baby Isabella Diefenbach in outlining his support for the introduction of minimum standards in residential tenancies.

The introduction of minimum standards is not a cause for concern for reasonable investors but a safeguard for renters against those lessors unwilling to ensure their property is fit to live in for their tenants. A key to ensuring minimum standards are effective is taking away the responsibility from individual tenants to enforcing the law. Minimum standards should be enforced by a third party empowered to investigate alleged breaches, order rectifications, deliver sanctions, and provide public access to important records.

Join the campaign to Make Renting Fair in Qld

Today a broad group of community-based organisations launched the Make Renting Fair in Queensland campaign for progressive tenancy law reforms. They’re calling for you to support their seven point plan. Follow Make Renting Fair in Qld Facebook and Twitter

Give people the right to stay in their rental homes and prevent unfair evictions by

Removing ‘no reason’ evictions
Enforcing ‘just cause’ reasons to support eviction notices

Keep rents fair to keep people in their homes by

– Limiting rent increases to once a year
– Justifying rent increases more than 20% above CPI

Make it easier for people who rent to get their bond money back when moving by

Automatically returning bonds to the tenants unless disputed by the lessor

Make sure that people who rent their homes are treated fairly and with honesty by

Providing full disclosure to renters of material that might affect a tenancy before they enter into an agreement and allowing renters to terminate in cases of material misrepresentation

Keep people together with their pets in their rental homes by

Allowing tenants pets in rental properties unless the lessor proves a good reason not to.

Enforce basic standards for rental homes by

Undertaking periodic third party inspections
Introducing transparency between tenancies regarding repair, maintenance and orders of the tribunal.

Protect people’s privacy by making sure that they have fair warning before someone enters their home by

Increasing all 24-hour entry notice periods to 48 hours.

The State Government’s Open Doors to Rent Reform public consultation continues until November 30. We encourage you to make use of the The Make Renting Fair in Qld website for inspiration in making your comments and submissions to government. The Make Renting Fair campaign aims to build momentum through the government’s current consultation process and into next year whilst deliberations are underway on changes to the law.

Entry notice time – snap poll!

Our last post told you what Tenants Queensland thinks about entry notice times – see below. Now the snap poll on the Queensland government’s Open Doors to Renting Reform is asking that question. Please jump on and answer the question – how long should the notice period you get for non–urgent entries.

Here’s what we said previously
Protect people’s privacy by making sure that they have fair warning before someone enters their home
For many entries to tenants’ homes the law only provides that 24 hours’ notice is required. With such short notice, sometimes tenants don’t even know that an entry is going to be made to their home until it has already occurred.

Entries can be made at any time with the agreement of the tenant, but when it is done by serving a notice, tenants should be given more time.
To Make Renting Fair in Queensland increase all 24 hour entry notice periods to 48 hours.

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

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!

“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 Changes to the Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Act

In August the Hon Michael de Brenni MP, introduced the Housing Legislation (Building Better Futures) Amendment Bill 2017 into the Queensland Parliament. The bill includes detailed amendments to the Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Act 2003 to increase transparency in the relationships between park owners, staff and home owners and to strengthen consumer protections and provide more security to home owners.

Key changes include:

improved pre-contractual disclosure processes
limiting rent increases under the site agreement to one per year, and increase the transparency of market rent review calculations;
providing a process for in-park dispute resolution before matters are escalated to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT).
prohibiting administrative fees for provision of utilities, including meter reading; and
prescribing clear, enforceable behaviour and management standards for park owners and home owners; and
ensuring emergency services and health workers have access to residential parks and emergency management plans are in place.

Tenants Queensland supports the changes being proposed and wants to see the changes become law. Before the bill can be passed by parliament it must be considered by the Public Works and Utilities Committee. This parliamentary committee is currently taking submissions from the public until 28 August. They will report on their findings by 28 September.

TQ encourages you to make a submission to the parliamentary committee to help support the changes and ensure they become law. Just a few short comments about how you think the changes will impact on residents will help.

You can find out more about the proposed changes and how to make a submission here: https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/work-of-committees/committees/TUC/inquiries/current-inquiries/I48HsngBetterFutures

In addition to supporting the proposed changes TQ will be advocating for additional protections for residents of manufactured home parks, in particular introducing a licensing system and standards for operators of park sites.

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.

MINIMUM HOUSING STANDARDS FOR RENTAL PROPERTIES!

TQ welcomes today’s introduction of the Housing Legislation (Building Better Futures) Bill 2017 into the Queensland parliament by Housing Minister, the Hon Mick de Brenni. The Bill will amend the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 to allow for the introduction of minimum housing standards in rental properties. The standards will be set out in Regulation and developed through a process of consultation.

The poor quality of some properties is an on-going issue for Queensland renters. The changes will help protect the most vulnerable, often pushed into the margins of the market and reluctant to seek repairs for fear of losing their tenure, from living in substandard and unsafe housing.
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The Bill’s introduction is a big step forward but there is still a lot of work to be done. TQ looks forward to participating in the consultation to develop the standards. TQ will also lobby for additional reforms, in particular to address the lack of tenure security.