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News
Making a Place Your Home – TQ calls for a shake up of laws!
Listen to the Minister for Housing (Hon Mick de Brenni), the REIQ and Tenants Queensland discuss tenancy law reform issues with ABC’s Emma Griffith. Property standards, rent increases and rent limitations, pets, and property inspections are all covered on Tuesday morning’s FOCUS program.
Listen here
Close of OPEN DOORS consultation and launch of DISRUPTED
After a 9-week consultation into the current rental laws in Queensland, the Palaszczuk Government has received 130,000 responses… read more here
The launch of Disrupted – 2018 Report by CHOICE, National Shelter and NATO attracted a range of publicity.
Listen and read more through the links below:
https://www.abc.net.au/…/tenants-at-the-mercy-of-n…/10583758
https://www.news.com.au/…/…/972476b9d3990e444a96e388481d08ed
https://www.news.com.au/…/…/6e28f41aab4b84afe90d6e2c1c6ca65e
https://thenewdaily.com.au/…/…/12/05/tenants-horror-stories/
Disrupted – the consumer experience of renting in Australia
Today’s launch of Disrupted- the consumer experience of renting in Australia by Choice, NATO and NShelter emphasises the need for significant modernization of Queensland tenancy laws. The Queensland government’s current review of tenancy law provides the perfect opportunity to get rid of unfair evictions (by requiring a reasonable ground in law for all tenancy terminations); protect against excessive rent increases and make it fairer and easier for tenants to get their bond back. The time is now!
#rentinoz
Click here to read the full report.
Use our link to give gov’t your views on renting laws (closing soon!!)
Are you a renter looking to improve tenancy rights? Your submissions to government’s Open Doors to Renting Reform close on November 30!! And we’ve just made it easy for you through this link – it will take you 2 minutes!
Simply enter your name, email address and postcode to support the MAKE RENTING FAIR seven point plan.
Alternatively, go to the Open Doors site and make your own submission.
Have your say about BETTER PROTECTIONS for renters
The Governments OPEN DOORS TO RENTAL REFORM continues to seek your feedback on renting. The current theme – BETTER PROTECTIONS seeks your views on how tenancy legislation could better protect more vulnerable tenants such as those experiencing domestic violence, seniors and people with a disability. It is also seeking your feedback on tenancy databases. Have your say here.
Let the government know what you think about ending a tenancy on short notice in situations where there is domestic and family violence by answering the SNAP POLL question here.
Don’t forget to support the Make Renting Fair in Queensland Alliance seven point plan for tenancy law reform and follow Make Renting Fair in Qld Facebook and Twitter.
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 |