News Monday, 28 October 2024

FAIRER DEAL FOR RENTERS

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Updated 28 Oct 2024

Govt passes new suite of protective laws
THE NSW Government is delivering on its election commitment to improve rental laws and help make renting fairer for 10,570 tenants in Campbelltown.

The Government recently passed a suite of new laws in the NSW Parliament

However, the current rental market in NSW is the toughest that renters have seen for decades with historically low vacancy rates, median rent prices increasing by around seven per cent over the last 12 months, and a system that leaves them vulnerable to eviction at any time.

The Government’s rental package includes:

No grounds evictions will be banned - The banning of no grounds evictions will give renters and owners more clarity by requiring property owners to have valid reasons to end a fixed term or periodic lease.

Rent increases now limited to one per year – This will include a limit of one rent increase per year across all lease types – including fixed-term and periodic leases.

It will be easier to have pets in rentals - The changes to make it easier to have pets in rentals will mean a tenant can apply to keep a pet, with landlords only able to decline on certain grounds.

Ensuring tenants have a free way to pay rent – Tenants will now have easy and free ways to pay their rent by requiring property owners and agents to offer zero-fee ways to pay such as bank transfer and Commonwealth Centrepay.

Banning fees for background checks – Renters will no longer be being charged for background checks when they’re applying for a rental property.

These important changes come alongside other key initiatives including:

Portable bond scheme – Investing $6.6M to develop and deliver the nation’s first Portable Rental Bonds Scheme. This means eligible renters can move homes and digitally transfer their existing bond with them.

Establishing Rent Check – A new, free tool renters can use to help check whether the rent they’re being asked to pay is fair.

Rental Taskforce within NSW Fair Trading – The Government will invest $8.4M for a taskforce with investigators, inspectors and support teams to help renters and act on serious breaches of rental laws.

The passing of these laws follows extensive and detailed discussions with renter advocates, industry stakeholders and tenancy experts, as well as a ‘Have Your Say’ public consultation process which received more than 16,000 submissions and survey responses.

Member for Campbelltown Greg Warren said: “These new laws will mean you won’t have more than one rental increase per year, your landlord can’t evict you for no reason, it will be easier to have pets in rentals, you won’t be hit with fees when you pay your rent, and you won’t have to pay for background checks when applying for a new property.“We understand that renting can be challenging, so these reforms will go a long way to easing the burden for renters in Campbelltown.”