This Act will provide greater protection for boarders and lodgers in premises with five or more beds. Boarders & lodgers will now be covered by an occupancy agreement, which outlines their basic rights and responsibilities.
RLC is pleased that after submissions by us and other services, the Bill was amended to now include that residents can take a bond dispute to the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal. RLC also recommended that there be a minimum period of seven days for termination notices. Unfortunately, the Act only provides that residents have to be given ‘reasonable’ notice.
Bond disputes, immediate evictions and uncollected goods are the main issues raised by boarders and lodgers seeking advice from Inner Sydney Tenants Advice & Advocacy Service (ISTAAS) at Redfern Legal Centre.
As the occupancy agreements only cover lodgers in premises with five or more beds, and sub-tenants without written agreements are excluded the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (s10), this still leaves many people in share housing in legal limbo, facing costly court action if there is a dispute (usually about bond). ISTAAS strongly advocates that section 10 of the Residential Tenancies Act will be amended to protect those tenants who are neither covered by the occupancy principles of the Boarding Houses Act 2012, nor by the RTA 2010.
Read RLC's Submission: In response to the draft Boarding Houses Bill 2012.
