THE MESSAGE. BRINGING INTO FOCUS FILIPINO PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA
www.kalatas.com.au | Volume 6 Number 5 | FEBRUARY 2016
PROPERTY MARKET
Future of rental properties
in the hands of NSW Govt
THE way forward for NSW state’s 800,000 rental properties
will be determined by the NSW Government following
consultation with key stakeholders, according to Real Estate
Institute of NSW (REINSW).
THE institute's CEO Tim
McKibbin said the industry
body has made a detailed submission as part of the Statutory
Review of the Residential Tenancies Act 2010.
“This legislation is only
reviewed every five years
and it is important that NSW
Fair Trading gets it right,” Mr
McKibbin said.
“A lot of people are dependent on the regulatory environment with around 800,000 tenancies in NSW. This is therefore a very important piece of
legislation as it prescribes the
way in which people living in
tenancies will be governed,”
he said.
In anticipation of the review, the REINSW Property Management Chapter Committee formed a dedicated subcommittee in June 2015 to
identify those areas in the current legislation requiring reform.
“The sub-committee
sought input from members
and considered that input as
part of their overall review of
the legislation. Once the sub-
committee completed their assessment, a comprehensive
report was compiled to form
the basis of REINSW’s submission,” Mr McKibbin said.
The Submission to NSW
Fair Trading makes detailed
comment on the following topics:
Bonds; holding fees;
NCAT hearings; bringing awareness of the landlord’s and tenant’s obligations in relation to their respective safety obligations;
quiet enjoyment and clarifying the landlord’s responsibilities in relation to neighbouring properties not owned by
the landlord; carpet cleaning,
smoking;surveillance cameras; mould; pest control; the
safety and standard of the residential property; inspections;
concerns regarding the requirements placed on property managers with regard to the
safety and standards of residential property; termination
of tenancies and eviction orders; issues arising in relation
to the sale of a property; and
the electronic service of no-
tices.
Mr McKibbin said modern forms of communication
should be utilised.
“REINSW cannot see any
reason why email should not
be a legislated method of service for agents, landlords and
tenants,” Mr McKibbin said.
The submission also recognises that there are areas in the Act and in the standard residential tenancy agreement which require review and
amendment in order to:
• Address frequently encountered residential tenancy
issues for the parties.
• Remedy the imbalance of
outcomes achieved via the application of the legislation.
• Remove some of the unintended unfair consequences
in the current Act.
• create a better residential
tenancy system for all parties
involved and for the economy
generally.
17
New era of social
housing
NSW is embarking on a new
era of social housing with a
large scale building program
which will generate $22 billion in
construction activity in NSW and
produce better social outcomes
for the community.
Minister for Social Housing Brad Hazzard said the program, ‘Future Directions in
NSW Social Housing,’ was a
ten year reform that will deliver more housing, better op