Fair Trading Minister Virginia Judge today announced that new laws to modernise and update the residential tenancy market in NSW will take effect from 31 January next year.

Ms Judge said both the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 and the Residential Tenancies Regulation 2010 would commence from that date.

“This is the biggest change to the State’s residential tenancy laws in more than 20 years,” she said.

“The new laws are the result of a thorough review process involving no less than four rounds of public consultation with landlords, tenants, the real estate industry and the community.”

Ms Judge said the new laws fairly balance the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants.

Under the new laws:

• Tenants have least one fee-free way to pay their rent
• The time to evict a tenant who has stopped paying rent is cut by up to 18 days
• Domestic violence victims have more protection
• Red tape is cut for landlords dealing with goods left behind by tenants
• Tenants are able to make reasonable requests to make minor changes to premises, such as additional security or to sub-lease a spare room
• Landlords are encouraged to make premises ‘water efficient’
• If the lease has ended, tenants have 90 days ‘no grounds’ notice to move instead of 60 days
• Landlords gain the clear right to show premises to prospective tenants or buyers at least twice a week
• Landlords and their agents are prohibited from knowingly concealing certain important information from tenants, such as where a serious violent crime has been committed in the property, and
• Tenants are no longer forced to have carpets professionally steam-cleaned when vacating premises.

“Currently, a landlord can refuse even the most minor or reasonable request by the tenant to make an alteration, such as where the tenant wants to hang a picture or install a child safety lock,” she said.

“Under the new laws, landlords will need to be reasonable. The tenant will still need the landlord’s consent or an order from the Tribunal before making any changes.

“There are approximately 800,000 rental properties in NSW and the tenancy laws touch almost everyone at some point in their lives, whether as a tenant or a property investor,” Ms Judge said.

The State Government rolled out a program of information sessions for landlords, agents and tenants in the lead up to commencement of the new laws. Community information sessions will also continue to be held regularly after the new laws commence.

Information about the new rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants can be downloaded from the Fair Trading website.

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