The politicians can dress up these new rental laws any way they like. They will still mark a loss of property ownership rights for landlords. And likely rent hikes for tenants.
Landlords will be unable to ask your tenants to move out of your property unless you follow very tight criteria – get it wrong and you might be accused of retaliation and have a tribunal overturn your decision. You won’t be able to refuse a pet without an approved reason. You must maintain your property to new minimum standards, and your tenant can spend up to 4 weeks rent on an emergency repair (up from the current 2). There’s a raft of new rights for tenants.
A person’s home is a sacred place and the vast majority of landlords know they need to look after their tenants and respect their home. Provide them a maintained property and quiet enjoyment. But these new legislated limitations on investors will undoubtedly drive some of them away from property and reduce our rental supply. There is nothing in them for landlords – only further protections for tenants.
Rents can only rise as a result.
The Queensland government last Friday introduced their Housing Legislation Amendment Bill 2021, bringing a long period of consultation and proposals to a head, with the bill now before the parliament. For clarity – this bill has gone into the committee process and could take 6 or more months to be law. But it’s the ALP’s bill so it’s going to pass.
In late 2019 the former Housing Minister proposed some of our state’s most extreme and controversial rental reforms and some say we should celebrate them being dumped. But this current bill still has plenty of concern for landlords, and is just Stage One of the reforms.
Here’s some of the current bill’s details:
1. Asking your tenant to move out: If they have a fixed term lease (the usual 6 or 12 month agreement) you can give them a notice to leave (NTL) before its expiry. We argue property owners deserve the right to choose who lives in their property. But if their lease has rolled into a ‘periodic tenancy’, with no fixed term, you’ll no longer be able to issue that notice to leave without grounds. You’ll have limited, tightly controlled grounds to ask them to vacate.
You can give them notice to leave if you’re putting the place up for sale and would like it vacant, or have a contract subject to vacant possession. But don’t try using this as a ‘work-around’ – if you aren’t genuine and re-rent it within 6 months you could face a fine of $6,700!
There’s also NTL provisions for major renovation (where it can’t be safely occupied), demolition and for immediate family to occupy. NB immediate family is not your niece or best mate.
2. Tenants will be able to keep a pet unless you have a valid reason, and you’ll have only 14 days to decline or it’s a deemed acceptance.
You can say no if it’s likely to cause more damage than the bond would cover. Or if the property doesn’t provide what’s “necessary to humanely accommodate the pet”, such as fencing or open space. You can decline if your body corp by-laws don’t allow pets, or if there’s a health and safety risk.
Landlords can put “reasonable” conditions on a pet approval, making reference to the type of pet and nature of the premises. For example, a pet normally living outdoors could be required to stay outdoors. Fumigation and professional carpet cleaning can be required.
Importantly pet damage won’t be considered fair wear and tear – any and all damage will be the tenants’ responsibility, but you can’t ask more rent or for a larger bond to manage that risk.
3. There’s new minimum standards for a property before it can be offered for rent, to be introduced from September 2023. To be fair, none of these so far raise major concerns for any reasonable landlord, although the devil will be in the detail and we’d expect the legislated list to grow.
The property must be weatherproof, structurally sound and “in good repair” (let’s see the arguments over that wording!). All windows and doors must have functioning locks or latches (unless you’d need a ladder to reach) and there must be curtains or other privacy coverings in all rooms where tenants are “reasonably likely to expect privacy”.
You must keep your investment property free of vermin, damp and mould, unless the tenant is responsible for it. And if you have a kitchen, it must have a cooktop.
4. Beware “retaliation“! If your tenants ask you to fix things, to reimburse them for emergency repairs or they make a claim to tribunal or a complaint about you to the RTA, be careful. If you then give them a breach notice, increase their rent or refuse to offer them a new lease you may be accused of acting in retaliation. The tenant can ask a tribunal to set aside your notice to leave, for example, forcing you to keep them in your property indefinitely.
There is often a power imbalance in the rental market: a tenant is fighting for quiet enjoyment and a right to stay in their home – we believe they deserve recognition of this. But this section of the bill screams of potential for conflict where a tenant plays this to their (unfair) advantage.
Interestingly the government believes retaliation only occurs when a landlord seeks some kind of retribution against a tenant. There’s nothing in the bill protecting landlords from the reverse.
The summary? New Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch clearly does see some need for balance. She says, “At a time when more Queenslanders are renting, and renting for longer, we need to encourage market growth to help increase the number of rental properties in Queensland, while also protecting the rights of tenants.” This bill stops a long way short of the disaster that was the 2019 proposal.
But you just need to see the reactions of landlords in 2019 to know these new laws will still induce some investors to leave the market. Sell up their rental properties to invest in shares or other places with far fewer risks.
Because this legislation is a part of an ongoing erosion of landlords’ rights. Deputy Premier Steven Miles, writing in October 2020: “Stage 2 of our Roadmap will look at issues relating to lease terms, bonds and rents, entry practices and accountability.”
We can only wonder what more is yet to come…
The Bill is now open for public submissions before July 13th so click through to make your voice heard! And please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Like more detail on the draft legislation? Spend 15 minutes with our team discussing the key issues in this video:
I still can’t believe the size of dogs being allowed into apartments – why hasn’t a stop been put on that – it’s cruelty to animals and to what about the rights of humans that get stuck in the lifts with them or have allergies to them and to the cleaners that have to clean up their mess and to the nearest neighbours with grass that get stuck with all of their urine & faeces ?
Does this take place from now we have an owner who won’t approve screens on Windows, fix broken air conditioning or doing other basic repairs.. also an emergency repair is being put on us with more inconvenience regarding our garage and we have gotten no compensation yet the real estate and owner claim they are being more then above with a $50 a week reduction we are not seeing. *
I have 3 rental properties and my tenants are the most important people in my life at the moment to allow me to meet my financial commitments
This lose of control of my houses scares the hell out of me
I have great tenants currently but I will find the wrong tenant at some stage
The best option I see is to get out of rental properties asap
I am both a ‘landlord’ and a tenant (with pets). I welcome the changes and it will have minimal impact as landlord as I look after my long term tenants.
The ‘in good repair’ issue suggests that Queensland will follow Victoria to require annual or bi-annual smoke detector, gas etc. checks @ owners cost. Owners must in Victoria employ professionals to do this work. It makes more sense that in Queensland tenants and owners work together and that the owner arrange for review/repair if/as required rather than ‘mandated work’ that the Victorians have introduced.
It seems that this is a transparent attempt to limit property owner’s rights to compensate for the fact that the Government has not provided sufficient public housing stock. It is transferring the Government’s obligations to the private sector. The restraints on owners’ abilities to terminate fixed term tenancies that have reached term is an unreasonable interference with property rights. Socialists traditionally have issues with private property ownership.
Thanks BeesNees for the helpful analysis. I’m comfy with the proposed new laws and interested to give them a go. For tenants the proposed changes can only be helpful. And I don’t see anything to worry about for landlords who do the right thing. For landlords who choose not do the right thing… well, maybe it’ll be a gentle encouragement to step away and direct their energies elsewhere.
Since this legislation was first proposed in 2019 I have removed three rental properties from the rental pool in Queensland, and two in Victoria, the other socialist state. There is no longer the protection needed for informed landlords to invest their life savings in the property market. Between land tax, CGT, and normal taxation, as well as the watering down of landlord rights to protect their investment, it is no longer worth it for me to stay in this mugs game. My advice is to sell soon, take advantage of the record prices being achieved, and unfortunately further exacerbate the rental crisis, and highlight the governments lack of planning for social housing and their vindictive assault on landlords.
Been renting same property for 7 years rent on time every time. Been given notice to leave with No Grounds, … were In middle of pandemic plus now lockdown in Qld. Is this legal.
As a landlord of 30 years I might just sell up and the leave government deal with its own rubbish, there’s a good reason why they sold off public housing in Qld.
I’m another long-term Landlord, with both shares and property… I can get better returns with no stress without tenants… So I’ll handball the rental issue back to the ALP and invest elsewhere… Goodluck Landlords your going to need it without a change of Govt…
It means nothing. As long as a potential tenant has to disclose on the application for the tenancy that they will have a pet or pets staying at the property, their application can still be refused and no reason given for refusal.
All that appears to have changed is, it put a stop to the “no pets allowed” to appear on the advertisement or conditions of tenancy.
The only outcome I see here is. Tenants looking to rent are now further disadvantaged by the inability to filter searches for housing that do not allow pets. The end result being a lot of wasted time and effort searching and booking inspections when the outcome will not be in their favour anyway.
Nothing to see here.!🥴
We are currently in a property that is reasonably old. It does not have legal
Height standards downstairs. It does not have any drain the in the laundry or downstairs bathroom area. It has a wall that is barely hanging on by a thread over hanging the only side access to the building. We are not allowed to hang pictures on the walls. There is no cooling for the main area of the house. Limited storage in the kitchen the wall and floors don’t even meet in some area allowing in draft in winter and insects in summer. Our screens are not connected in the frame. The front door doesn’t lock
Properly.
We are not allowed a dog but we ate allowed as many cats and birds in the house as we like. But no outside dog. It is ridiculous. And unfair And no matter how much we ask
For things to be fixed and bought up
To
StandRd the answer is always. Well it wasn’t stNdaed when the house was built. It isn’t even Comiantbqith smoke alarms.
What the Qld government has done is remove the number of possible contracting possibilities that were available and replace them with their one size fits all approach. Inevitable result will be higher rents for all tenants. This erosion of private property rights is a very bad thing for everyone. I will be selling my rental or converting to air bnb.
I’ve been a landlord since 1977 , I’m sad that I am selling out . I’ve always had good tenants , but the new laws makes me bow down to tenants , not for me , pleased the property market is looking good , let the. Dog owning , tenants buy their own property , and let their little darling pee on their own carpet ., in a body corporate bye law in one of my properties dogs have to be carried in the lifts , you dont have to be very bright to work out tenants are not going to do that , so body corporate troubles as well . what a nonsense law, and it’s the tenant who will be hurt .
It is completely inhumane to not allow a single pet, I welcome these changes.
I’m an excellent tenant of 8 years, I should have ALWAYS been allowed a small dog or cat.
The one thing no State has done is consult with property managers. These are the people who really know the facts about renting. It is so obvious the Govt. works solely on the principal that all tenants are great people who do the right thing. I wish this were true but because of this deeply flawed belief some landlords suffer immense injustice with tenants from hell. There is almost no protection for landlords now and it will only get worse. Of course landlords will sell up, the profit from rentals just ain’t that great. Labour has always held the view landlords are the spoilt rich. They lost the last Federal election because they wanted to end negative gearing yet one of my landlords with two rentals is a handyman. Many tradespeople are landlords. Very few are the spoilt rich as Labour would have you believe. It is the one investment normal working people can aspire too that also helps others in society, namely those that can’t or don’t wish to own their own home. This is pure politics from Champagne socialists looking for the tenant vote.
Be warned, many would be labour voters are also landlords and will not take kindly to this complete erosion of their rights as landlords.
This is very scary for landlords. Ive been one since 1990 but now seriously thinking of getting out. I have had very good tenants who have become friends but there are more costs every year. Rates of $4000 per annum and yet I have no vote on council, water bills, gas checks, smoke detector laws..spent1000 per property putting these in. Ive lived 30 years in my house and never had the gas checked or fire alarms checked. Now we have to pay for pest control, possibly putting aircond and annual cleaning of these.. shall we pay fir food and electricity as well? Im getting out, will be making 9 people homeless, some after 25 years. This government did not ask the people at the coalface… this will worsen the rental crisis.
I experienced significant loss of personal items due to flooding and leaking ceiling in the garage of my rental. I am very understanding of the financial impact it could have to the owner and suggested the bare minimum be done for safety (fixing the doors for safety) and fixing the hole in the ceiling from leaking to stop vermin etc). His answer after only 6 weeks into a 12month lease is to now list it for sale. He wants $100k more than I can offer (or that it’s worth) yet My family have to live through home opens. I know our rights and we will exert them, but honestly – the anxiety of living through home opens with young children and being a solo parent after such a short time is so overwhelming. There should be at least some repercussion to a landlord to do this within 6 months of a lease with no prior warning. The agent said he has had it on the market before so it makes me furious to think we were all part of his plan. It’s heartbreaking after the expense of moving (I have injuries so needed to invest in packers and removalists so to do all of that again is horrible). I know most landlords would do the right thing but some should have the book thrown at them (as goes for tenants doing the wrong thing).
I’m also a landlord, 4 properties, 20 years plus and I dont care what RTA laws the QLD goverment passes I can still choose the tenants I want and theres nothing anyone can do about it. These laws protect the low level tenants that should be in public housing that the state governments failed to build. I dont have them in my properties and one step out of line I terminate the lease and say buy buy. These laws just make me go harder on tenants that step out of line and I love how the QLD thinks its knows how I run my properties ,like hell. The current QLD government wont let you take your children to school just for being cloudy ahahaha half wits.
Your article offends me and I’m sure many other renters. Some people rent because they don’t want to own a home, however, most people who rent is because they cannot afford to buy a home. Please don’t propagate nonsensical views of how it will be difficult for landlords with the new laws, and that the renting market may crash. The market for investors NEEDS to crash so everyday people can f******* afford a house of their own and not have to face the uncertainty of renting. I will never use your service and I’ll be sure to pass this on to my friends and family so that when they can afford a house, they will not use yours.
These changes in the QLD law only add weight to my existing concerns, concerns were I had a tenant in the property for a 2 years lease and the last year of the lease never paid any rent, even though still earning income, and collecting rent subsidy,Even after going through the process and the existing laws that govern QLD residential tenancy laws, 3 attempts we made to remove the tenant through the Courts, all failed and the tenant was granted permission to remain until the end of the lease with no obligation to pay any outstanding arears. When the tenant vacated eventually vacated and continued to Breach the rules and laws within the ACT, the QLD RTA were notified as asked to investigate, they turned a “Blind” eye. Upon entering our property to undertake final inspection we have discovered that the property has been not only destroyed, but let in a condition not even fit for living. Is it any wonder why landlords are leaving and selling up. Even after contacting the QLD and forwarding photos and a Plethora of documents, all was ignored, and the only advice received from any QLD Government department was, sorry we are not in a position to assist , please seek LEGAL ADVICE. So never again will the property be rented out, One individual done so much damage and showed no respect what so ever and then used the system for protection and personal gain against another’s property and years of hard work blood sweat and tears to be able to purchase and, help own grandchildren set up in life for later.Now the QLD wants to screw the landlord / owners even more is there any wonder why there is a Housing Crisis. Like I said NEVER AGAIN