Released 05/06/2018
The Government has moved to protect tenants and consumers while it continues to consider commercial alternatives to the traditional bond.
People renting in Canberra will also have a more suitable option manage overdue payments under new laws passed in the Legislative Assembly today.
Attorney-General Gordon Ramsay said the amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 made these two very important changes to the residential tenancy legislation.
“We have reinstated the delay on the use of commercial guarantees as an alternative to a rental bond to give the Government more time to consider the implications for Canberra renters,” Minister Ramsay said.
“We need to make sure that tenants and consumers continue to be protected under the legislation.”
The legislation also replaces conditional termination and possession orders with a new type of order called a payment order to manage overdue rent.
“Conditional termination and possession orders were causing a lot of concern for vulnerable tenants, and uncertainty in the law was making the process difficult and potentially costly for both landlords and tenants,” Minister Ramsay said.
“These changes make the process for managing payment plans much clearer, which benefits vulnerable tenants by ensuring that they have certainty and have the ability to make a case to the ACAT about hardship. It also benefits landlords by setting out a very clear process with set timeframes for taking action in response to a breach.
“What this means is that in those cases where the ACAT orders a payment plan for overdue rent, the process for dealing with breaches of that plan by either a tenant or landlord will be certain,” Minister Ramsay said.
- Statement ends -
Gordon Ramsay, MLA | Media Releases