Termination
The timeframe whereby a landlord has to wait for 14 days to elapse before serving a termination notice for non-payment of rent is excessive. By the time a hearing at NCAT is heard, the tenant is in significant arrears which can result in hardship for the landlord.
Recommended: As the tenant protections under the Act allow them the opportunity to rectify non-payment of rent, REINSW believes the landlord should be able to serve a termination notice for non-payment of rent after seven days, rather than waiting 14 days. This will create a more equitable balance.
Late fees
Unfortunately there are tenants who routinely manipulate the system by being 13 days in arrears, and a late fee may encourage these tenants to pay on time.
Recommended: The introduction of late fees for rental arrears should be considered.
#5 Balancing the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants
There are a number of areas in the current legislation that would benefit from further clarification in order to produce a fairer outcome for landlords and tenants.
Tenant’s right to quiet enjoyment
The current section 50(3) requires a landlord to take all reasonable steps to ensure the tenants of neighbouring properties do not interfere with the quiet enjoyment of the tenant. It is unreasonable to expect a landlord to influence and change events, environmental conditions and behaviours over which they have no control and then penalise them for failing to do so. REINSW believes that further clarification is required.
Recommended: An additional sub-section be added to the effect that the landlord is not responsible for their tenants’ quiet enjoyment being impacted from neighbouring properties where the landlord does not own the neighbouring properties.
Safety obligations
The obligations of tenants with regard to safety need to be clarified.
Recommended: Additional clauses should be added to the standard tenancy agreement to clarify tenants’ obligations in relation to vital safety issues such as smoke alarms, swimming pools, window safety locks etc. These additional clauses should require the tenant not to interfere with any safety installations on the premises and require them to advise the landlord if there is an issue with a safety matter on the premises. REINSW has provided draft clauses for consideration in its submission.