Vulnerable tenants let down by major parties

Hon Lynn MacLaren MLC, the Greens spokesperson for housing has welcomed the passage of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill 2011 (RTA Bill) this week, but believes the Bill has been marred by the addition of an ‘objectionable behaviour’ clause. The Greens were the only party to oppose the clause and moved several other amendments, achieving the timely refund of option fees.

“On the whole, the RTA Bill makes an important step forward in protecting the rights of tenants by prescribing the form of tenancy agreements, regulating residential tenancy databases, and a raft of other measures. However, new laws to enable lessors to evict tenants for ‘objectionable behaviour’ were introduced into the Bill without consultation with the community sector, which is united in its opposition to this provision,” said Ms MacLaren.

"Together with the ALP, we sought to improve the rights of children, people with mental illnesses, and victims of family and domestic violence, but the government opposed all but one of our proposed amendments (the 7-day refund of option fees),” added Ms MacLaren.

In August this year the Western Australian Council of Social Service, the Tenants Advice Service WA, the Community Housing Coalition of WA, Shelter WA, the Western Australian Association for Mental Health, the Community Legal Centres Association (WA) and the Street Law Centre WA wrote to all MPs asking them to oppose the disruptive behaviour eviction clauses.

Ms MacLaren said the Government’s plan to have the courts rule on ‘objectionable behaviour’ is “heavy-handed, untested, and may lead to higher rates of homelessness in an extremely tight rental housing market.”

Two Greens-initiated amendments to the Bill won the support of Government: option fees paid by prospective tenants must be returned within 7 days if their application is rejected, and minor’s records will be cleared from tenancy databases when they become 18 years old.

Option fees are commonly charged by real estate agents and are intended to cover the cost of finding another tenant if a prospective tenant subsequently turns down the property.

“Many tenants can’t afford to apply for another property until their outstanding option fees have been refunded. This amendment will ease the financial burden on prospective tenants and help them to secure a place more quickly,” added Ms MacLaren.

Ms MacLaren also moved to amend the Bill to scrap option fees altogether, arguing, “in a tight rental market there is no shortage of prospective tenants, so an option fee in WA, already prohibited in the ACT and the NT, seems unnecessary.” Although the amendment was lost, in debate the Government indicated option fees would be set in regulations at around $50-$100.