The government will legislate two key changes to tenancy laws, which it said would improve the lives of both property investors and landlords.
First, residential property managers will now have to be registered, trained and licensed, and complaints and disciplinary matters will be dealt with through a new regulatory framework.
“This means that like many other professions, such as real estate agents, builders and lawyers, they will have conduct and competency standards to abide by and, if they don’t, they can be held to account,” Housing Minister Megan Woods.
“Having safeguards to ensure they meet minimum conduct and competency standards is in the best interests of both property owners and tenants.”
Government provides certainty on meth
Second, after consulting with the public, the government will introduce binding rules on the maximum allowable level of methamphetamine residue inside a rental property.
That will make it clear at what levels those homes need to be decontaminated to, and when tenancies can be terminated due to high levels of residue.
“Currently there are two levels used – neither of which are legally binding – which create uncertainty for landlords and tenants,” Dr Woods said.
“We have proposals that are informed by science, on screening, testing and decontamination, with clear obligations for landlords.”
Once relevant regulations are in place, landlords will not be able to knowingly rent out premises that are contaminated above the prescribed levels, without decontaminating in accordance with the regulations. Otherwise, they will be liable for a financial penalty of up to $4,000.
Healthy homes deadline gets extended
Meanwhile, the government is giving property investors more time to comply with the healthy homes standards – which create minimum standards for heating, insulation, ventilation, draught stopping, moisture ingress and drainage in rental properties.
The change means private rentals must now comply by 1 July 2025, instead of 1 July 2024.
Also, the timeframe for compliance for new or renewed tenancies has been increased from 90 to 120 days.
“We recognise the impact that COVID-19 has had on getting this work done because of global supply-chain and delivery challenges, including limited workforce challenges,” Dr Woods said.
“It makes sense to be pragmatic as most landlords are genuinely trying to comply with their obligations but are at risk of breaching them because of issues outside of their control.”
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