 Good morning. Hello. Thank you for joining us today for the RTA's webinar on tenancy law changes for minimum housing standards and also rent increase frequency changes. Before we do start, we'd like to acknowledge the traditional owners on the land on which we are meeting today and where you are joining us as well and pay our respects to owners, elders, past, present and emerging. My name is Lynne Smith. I'm a senior community education officer with the RTA and with me today to help out with this session, I have my colleague Sam Gailer. Morning. And also out behind the scenes, we have Mark Fiddler. Morning all. Thanks Lynne. For today's session, I will recap the rental reforms and the existing tenancy laws that support minimum housing standards so they're already in place. I will also advise what the regulations state regarding minimum housing standards and we'll answer the commonly asked questions that we have been receiving. We'll also touch on the rent increase frequency changes that came into effect as of 1 July. So remember the role of the RTA is to administer the Queensland tenancy laws, which is the residential tenancies and room accommodation act 2008. Well, we don't make the rules. Our role is to help you and everyone involved in the rental sector understand their rights and obligations under the tenancy laws. Now, do acknowledge that our audience today is a mix of landlords, agents, property managers, community groups and tenants. And I thank you for your time to attend. But we do have a considerable amount of people that have registered for today. So our aim is to cover off on the information and questions around these two topics. If you do want to ask a question, please use the chat function in the Zoom on your toolbar. For the Q&A session, I am conscious of your time and again, with the high volume of attendees that we have now, not to run over time. So, Sam and Mark will be monitoring the questions and look out for any duplications or themed questions that we get through. So we will also cover common questions that we receive. When we do cover the common questions that we are receiving, you may find that your answer to your question might be covered in that section. So we'll also be putting some links for some information into the chat. So please keep an eye out for that as well. And for information delivered today, it's current at this point in time. And for general guidance only, we cannot provide you with legal advice. And for more information, you should always refer to the Act. So just a bit of a quick history on the rental reforms and how we got here. So this kicked off as part of a consultation back in 2018-19, which was the Queensland Government's open doors to renting reforms consultation. So the Queensland Government received over 137,000 responses from tenants, owners, property managers and other people in the rental sector that was part of that consultation stage. The Housing Legislation Amendment Act 2021 was passed in October 21 and was implemented in a staged approach. So the first of the stages was the domestic and family violence provisions. So it came into effect October 21. Then last year in October 22, the Framework for Negotiating Renty with Pets changes for the reasons to ending a tenancy, repair orders and some other amendments were introduced. Now a lot of information is available on the RTA's website and a whole pile of resources as well in relation to those changes last year. The final part of stage one is what we're dealing with today and that's the minimum housing standards. So as of 1 September 23, minimum housing standard starts for new tenancies and for all tenancies the following year. So I'm just going to quickly go over some of the amendments that started in October 2022 and are already in place to support the minimum housing standards. So more in-depth information on these points you'll find on our website. So for emergency repairs, this is where a tenant can organise an emergency repair if they are unable to contact the owner or the agent or their nominator repairer. This was changed to be up to four weeks rent equivalent whereas previously it was two weeks rent equivalent. Property managers can authorise emergency repairs on behalf of their owner-client up to four weeks rent and take that from the rent collected before they disperse the funds. A nominator repairer must be listed on the tenancy agreement whereas before it said it may be listed. So let's face it, emergencies usually occur after hours not during hours so it's really important that a tenant knows who to contact if there is an emergency repair. There's also a requirement for landlords or agents to disclose any outstanding repair orders to prospective tenants on the tenancy agreement. Repair orders came into effect last year and do have a fact sheet and video resource on that particular topic. So what is an emergency repair is outlined under section 214 of the legislation. An additional section has been added to include works that's required to comply with prescribed minimum housing standards which I'll talk about that shortly. A tenant can also end a tenancy within seven days of occupancy if the premises are not in good condition and as of one September if the premises don't meet minimum housing standards. Tenants would need to give 14 days notice to the landlord or the agent but if there is a dispute over the condition either party can lodge a dispute resolution request with the RTA and our conciliators can assist. I mentioned in the previous slide repair orders so repair orders add an additional pathway for tenants to have repairs carried out and a tenant can apply to the tribunal for an order on urgent or non-urgent repairs and a copy of that order is sent to the RTA. It's really important to note that a repair order is attached to the rental property and should there be a change of owners or a change of the property managers then the order will continue until it is complied with. So when the tribunal makes an order considers the conduct of the owner and the agent risk of injury loss of amenity so the repair order directions may include what is to be repaired and by when. It could also be a reduction in rent or amount of compensation until the repair is done or that the agreement will end if the repairs are not done by a certain date. So it also can be that the property is not to be relit until the property until those repairs have been done as well. So if you are an owner or a managing agent and you do require more time to get a repair order done you can seek an extension of time but you need to do that prior to the QCAT order expiring. There are penalty provisions under the Tents Law to contraven a repair order. So let's have a look at why we're here today and that is about the minimum housing standards as well as the changes to the rent increases. So let's start with minimum housing standards first. These will start from 1 September 2023 for new tenancies. So this is where you have a new tenancy agreement or rooming agreement that's being signed or a renewal agreement being signed and for all tenancies it will commence next year from 1 September 2024. So rental properties need to be safe, they need to be secure and have reasonable functionality. So let's step through what safe and secure means first. Firstly it is about the weatherproof and structurally sound. The roof and windows to prevent water entering, the floors, walls, ceiling, roof, deck stairs are not likely to collapse due to rot or a defect and as well you've got the supporting structure is not affected by significant dampness and the property condition is not likely to cause damage to the occupant's personal property. Fixtures and fittings need to be in good repair and not likely to cause injury. This does include if there's any electrical appliances that's included in the property so whether the property might be furnished or maybe semi-furnished. The property needs to be free of vermin, damp and mould. This obligation does not apply if the vermin, damp or mould is caused by the tenant. Now I know that we do have quite a lot of questions about mould and there is information on our website in relation to that topic because remember it's about it's important to know how the mould got there and that can actually help guide on who is actually responsible for that. In relation to locks on windows and doors, it's very clear that the legislation states a functioning lock or latch is fitted to all external windows and doors to secure the premises against unauthorized entry. This applies to windows and doors that do not require a ladder to access and clearly the purpose here is to ensure the premises are secure so every property does need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis so not every property is going to be the same and remember this is the minimum standard so what we're looking at here is minimum is a functioning lock or minimum a functioning latch is fitted to all those external windows and doors. We will talk about some of the common questions that we are receiving. We'll get to those shortly which probably will answer a lot of the questions that are coming through now through the chat. In relation to privacy coverings, windows in all rooms which the tenant reasonably expects privacy so this we are talking about like bedrooms we're talking about bathrooms this would require the privacy coverings could be a curtain, blind, tinting or glass frosting and this doesn't apply if the window is obstructed by a fence, a hedge tree or any other feature. Now the premises when we talk about reasonable functionality the premises must have adequate plumbing and drainage for the number of persons occupying the premises and be connected to a water supply service or infrastructure supplying hot and cold water suitable for drinking. The bathroom and toilet facilities must provide privacy and function as design. They must be connected to a sewer septic or other waste disposal system and if included the kitchen must include a functioning cooktop and the laundry must include fixtures required to provide a functional laundry. Now I just want to also touch base here in relation to properties that are within a body corporate. So this is where we are talking about the units, your townhouses, your apartment complexes so just keep in mind some of the complexes are going to have bylaws around the colour or type of window coverings so as an example it might be that the curtains of blinds have to have a white backing or something like that. For repairs again checking whether or not it's the owner's responsibility or whether it could potentially fall to the body corporate. So some examples might be that roof and external walls and even some internal piping might fall to the body corporate for repair rather than the owner. So you need to look at the timeframes that a body corporate or the committee members may need to action those repairs and maintenance and whether or not the repair actually falls within their cost limits at the time or whether they may need to take further action. So the RTA has collaborated with the body corporate commissioner's office and we have done a short webinar that is available on our website on this particular topic. So if you happen to rent, manage or own a unit in a townhouse or a townhouse then I'd recommend watching that short video. Now Sam I'm going to get you to come online and we are going to go through the very common questions that we have been getting asked particularly over the last couple of months. So Sam do I have to do deadlocks and window locks? No problem. So the legislation doesn't stipulate deadlocks does say that there needs to be a lock and on the window there needs to be a functioning lock or a latch that may be property specific. If you want to put a deadlock on you can but there's nothing requiring you to. Yeah and again it's about that case by case situation and again reasonable security for that individual property. If I have security screens do I still need to add a lock or latch? So the legislation still does stipulate lock or a latch depending on the security screen it may not be too big an issue from a security perspective but the window does still need to be locked or latched and so does the door. Now what happens if the tenant has their own curtains? Yeah so the tenant can have their own curtains they can put their own curtains up if there was any sort of window covering there before then when the tenant leaves they need to return it in as close to the original condition as possible when they first moved in I'd recommend probably getting any kind of agreement there in writing. And do I have to engage a third party professional to ensure my property complies with the standards? Yeah so there's a few questions coming through around this so this hopefully will will help cover that. There's nothing in the legislation that says a third party professional needs to be engaged it just says what the standards are not how you get it there. Obviously if it's a lock on the door it's probably not going to need anything particularly complex there but if you have any concerns or you think there might be concerns with rot or defects in the roof then obviously we recommend getting someone who knows about those things same for electrical. Yeah what happens if I do not comply with a repair order or I need more time? Yeah so there's a range of things that can happen if you don't comply with the repair order ranging from the property not being able to be relet, tenant potentially leaving possible penalties. If you do need more time you can apply for more time but you should do so before the order expires so apply to QCAT. And also if my lease is periodic when does this start? Yeah it's a good one so this is for minimum housing standards is for new or renewed agreements at this stage and then for all agreements from September 1st 2024. Great now I know that I have quickly just glance at the chat as well there is questions about mould so I'll just quickly touch on that and going that you really need to come down to looking at how the mould got there. So if we are talking about a roof that is leaking and there's mould on the ceiling well then clearly that would be going back to the owner to rectify. If we are talking about mould in the bathroom because the tent might not have used the exhaust fan or open up the window for ventilation and things like that well then that may then obviously fall to the tenant to rectify. We know that some areas that are a bit gray sometimes can fall into when it's the environmental concerns you know with wet weather and things like that so it's no one's fault no tenant no owner fault and in those situations we recommend both the owner and the tenant working together to try and get the matter resolved. So there is more information on our website on mould but we'll just keep moving on because I'm just again conscious of time here with everyone asking a lot of questions which we will get to at the end and hopefully Mark can actually de-jupe some of the same questions that's coming through as well. Let's have a talk about rent increases from that change so this is the frequency part that's changing from six months to 12 months and came into effect as of one July. So in April Queensland Parliament passed legislation to limit the rent increase frequency to be no more than once every 12 months. So this amendment was part of the local government electoral and other legislation amendment bill so these amendments do bring Queensland into line with other Australian jurisdictions so it doesn't limit the rent increase amount and previously the Act stated rent increases was not less than six months so from one July that rent increase frequency is now to be not less than 12 months. So it does apply to existing and new tenancies from one July. The changes are retrospective meaning that if you have an existing lease with an increase coming up and it says it's six months then that will not be lawful. The increase will need to be 12 months. The 12 months minimum period applies where at least one tenant's right to occupy the property continues and whether or not there has been a change of property owner or property manager. So again reminded that the 12 months does not always equal 52 weeks so if you get your calendar out you will find 52 weeks is 52 weeks and 12 months we talk to the Acts Interpretation Act in that and then a month is actually a calendar month so be very mindful of that when you are looking at your increases. Those periods still do apply when you are looking to rent increase the rent as well. So to get a better understanding of the increase I put two scenarios here. If you've got an agreement that started in March 23 the rent is scheduled to increase with a renewal agreement in September 23 and all the tenants are continuing then the rent increase would be ineffective. You could not increase the rent until March 2024. If you have a 12 month agreement that started say in April this year has a special term with a rent increase that was due in October. Again this increase would be ineffective and could not increase the rent until April 2024. So the legislation remains the same when it comes to a tenant wishing to dispute a proposed rent increase if they feel it is excessive. So a tenant can make an application to the Tribunal which is the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal for an order. There is a process to follow and some time frames so a tenant would need to go through the RTA's free dispute resolution service first and must make the application within 30 days of receiving the increased notification. So if it does progress to QCAT an adjudicator can consider a whole range of areas and that may be the range of market rents usually charged for this type of property, state of the property or the repair, the term of the tenancy, the proposed increase amount and it could be anything else that the Tribunal considers at the time. So we do publish median rent data and I might get Mark just to put a link in our chat. If you ever want to know what your median rent is for like one, two or three bedroom units or two, three bedroom houses in your individual postcode in your area then you we do publish this every quarter so you'll be able to find that on the RTA's website. Okay so just going over some questions Sam I'll get you to come back online and these are sort of the types of questions that we have been getting asked throughout our face-to-face sessions and also in our call centre as well. So first one, Sam what happens if I've already signed a new lease and it's now not compliant? Yep no worries so we would suggest that the agreement be redone, agents and owners obviously to talk with tenants and inform them of that. The rent amount will not be able to be the increased amount because it's not compliant. If there's an issue where the tenant doesn't re-sign it or something it's probably just as simple as a letter or an email stating that the rent amount will not be coming into effect. Okay why haven't the tenant doesn't sign the amended lease? Yeah so that's basically the scenario that we talked about you know if they don't sign it it doesn't mean that the lease isn't valid but it's just about making sure you've got clear communication so it can just be an email to the tenant advising that that rent amount won't won't apply but the lease is still valid. And what happens if I have a special term in the lease already signed but now that's not going to be compliant? Yep again if that term is not going to be valid I recommend writing to the tenants just to make sure that it's clear and that you've got a record of that. Now can I swap around tenants names or approved occupants and so that I can increase the rent under the 12 months so this is one thing that we are seeing people try to do. So as an example if you've got like a husband and wife only the husband's name on the lease and they go oh we'll just change it over to be the wife on the lease or we change it over and put the children's names on the lease rather than the parents' names. Yeah so I mean it's not unusual when legislation is changed for people to try and work it so that they can you know have it to their best situation but if you're swapping around the tenants names in in that kind of way then you're probably being seen to be evading the act and so the short answer to that is no no you can't do that. So there's penalty provisions isn't it for evading? It is an offence it can be investigated. We would recommend obviously welcome to call through to our contact centre and have a discussion but the short answer with that is don't do that. In the lease break situation can I increase the rent and advertise it higher if it's still under the 12 months? So as of right now yes you can. You need to be very mindful in a lease break situation that if you're increasing the rent that it's still likely to be seen as reasonable. You've got a duty to mitigate loss which is a requirement to keep your financial losses as small as possible so you don't want to be seen as trying to put off perspective tenants you're just looking at trying to get market value for instance. That situation is one of the ones that potentially changes with the proposed changes to the renting prices. Which I'll get to that shortly and look we know too that we have some community providers in our audience today and they do reviews on like Centrelink or pension payments and things like that to have their rent increases amended accordingly and most likely they do that every six months. So just to put it out there too that we know that some of the community housing providers or NRAS providers are subject to these changes and they were not excluded. However if you had an exemption under section 93.6 then those exemptions would still continue but we do know that some of the community housing providers are also captured with this 12 months so just something to be mindful of there. Okay as you mentioned before CM2 just an update for everyone as of the 12th of July the Queensland Government announced a consultation on the rent increase frequency on the objective of the reform and to ensure the annual rent increase limit operates effectively and helps stabilise the rent in the private rental market. Now the Queensland Government is seeking your feedback so feedback from tenants agents landlords the community sector regarding the proposal is to attach the rent increase frequency to the property rather than individual tendencies. So there is a discussion paper available and I'll get Mark to also probably put the link in our chat as well. This has been released by the government and again this is your opportunity to have your say. The consultation is open between now and the 11th of August. While there has been reports of landlords doing multiple different things in relation to the 12 monthly frequency the housing minister which is Minister Megan Scanlon has said that you know she's met with stakeholders and proposed tying the rent increases to the properties rather than the tendencies and she just wants to ensure that the original intent of the laws are being respected. So this is your opportunity to have your say as part of this consultation. So again it's open between now and the 11th of August. So just before we get to all the questions which I know we have a lot of questions coming through just touch on the previous changes that are in effect as of now. So the 1 October 2021 provisions the Domestic and Family Violence provisions there's many steps and forms and timeframes evolved in this particular process. So we do have an easy to follow flow chart that's available for both tenants and landlords and agents that's on our website and we welcome you to download that and keep that as a tool if you need if you are in that situation to know what to do. From 1 October 2022 that was last year the main changes were coming through for ending tenancies this is the removal of the without grounds provision and new reasons to end a tenancy were introduced. The framework for negotiating renting with a pet so all the forms the request of the forms and the response forms are available on our website repair orders which I touched on earlier and some other amendments. So again our website does have a lot of information on the past changes as well as our upcoming changes. So we've got webinars videos podcast fact sheets frequently asked questions and a lot more and please go to our website for that information. So before we go to your questions just the other announcement that was made by the Queensland Government. So many of you would be aware of the announcement of stage two of the rental reforms. The government produced an options paper and did seek feedback from the rental sector that consultation closed on the 29th of May 2023. There were five key legislative reform priorities that was listed in that options paper and they include installing modifications making personalization changes balancing privacy and access improving the rental bond process and fairer fees and charges. So remember this is not law as we have it as of today. This was a consultation and it's only just closed. So this is now back to the Department of Housing to review the feedback it's received from everybody in the rental sector. So hopefully once we know more we will be letting you know more. So hopefully you've had your opportunity to have your say and as I said it's not law now and we can't answer any questions on this but once we do know more we can let you know. Okay Mark over to you and Sam to pop in for me and just have a look through. I know that there's a lot of questions that's come through so I'll leave it to you and Sam just to go through them. Thanks Lynn and thanks very much for the questions that have come through. We have addressed a number of them community housing rent increases some of the body corporate issues. There is one question here in relation to vermin does this rule out that the tenants are required to keep the property pest free? Okay look good question. So the legislation doesn't say specifically that the tenants required to keep the property pest free. I mean you can say obviously they're not they're able to cause vermin. The tenant is required to keep the property clean and ultimately if there's pests or if the property is not being kept clean then that is a breach. Fantastic Lynn touched on the community housing rent. I've got a scenario here if a lease has been renewed in May 23 for six months does this mean on the renewal there's no rent increase allowed until May 2024 or can I increase in November 2023 at the six month mark? So as the legislation stands currently it would need to be 12 months until that rent amount could be increased so that would be May 2024. And on a just on the same vein there's a question around if a tenancy ends less than you know six months or around that six month mark what's the situation with rent increase if I'm starting a new lease at that point? Yeah so as again we can only really talk to what the legislation is at the moment. We know there's some proposed changes but as the as the legislation is at the moment if it's a brand new tenancy and all of the previous tenants have moved out then in that case there can be an agreement for an increase in the rent at that point but it has to be all brand new tenants none left from the previous one. Fantastic now I know we did touch on this and one of the frequently asked questions around this but just to confirm around latches I've been asked what the definition of a latch is we've been asked if it already has security screens is a lot required what about if there's fly screens only so just if we can just reconfirm some of the information. Yeah no worries so this is this is minimum housing standards and minimum is obviously the keyword there. Security screens, fly screens are not mentioned in the legislation although they may very well be a really good idea they may be very useful but there's not a requirement under the legislation to meet these minimum housing standards to have a fly screen. As for definitions of locks or latches the regulation just says a functioning lock or latch and it all ties into the property needs to be reasonably safe and secure which it's always needed to this is just specifying a little bit more on how you go about that so it doesn't say that you know you don't need a lock or a latch on the window if you've got a fly screen potentially depends on the type of fly screen but ultimately the legislation says a functioning lock or latch. Fantastic specific question here suggested we wouldn't get into specific questions but if a toilet's not working but the tenant has a second toilet I think this is around probably the emergency repair aspect of things yeah and what constitutes an emergency as opposed to a routine repair. Sure so a toilet's broken a toilet a broken toilet is is defined as an emergency repair under the act it doesn't say that you know it doesn't stipulate that it's only an emergency if it's the only toilet that you've got so it still counts as an emergency repair under our act but potentially the the impact is lessened if they have another toilet but it is still an emergency repair. Fantastic there are a number of questions around body corporate we just reconfirmed I did drop the link into the chat so around the body corporate webinar that we did but obviously there can be some concerns around where repairs sit and who's responsibility. Yeah so ultimately we can talk to the tenancy legislation there is a requirement to have a copy of body corporate bylaws it can get a little bit murky at times as to whose responsibility it is but as a tenant you follow your tenancy process it may be issuing a breach notice potentially to the agent or the owner and there may be other scenarios if it's a bit complex I'd probably recommend giving us a call. Fantastic all right I think from a series of questions I think we've covered the main topics that we've got in here I'll let you finish off Lynn. Thanks mate I'm just conscious everyone there's a lot of questions there I know that while we have covered a lot if we haven't got to yours specifically keep in mind that a couple things just to summarize here Sam has said quite often in the question side it's about its minimum standards right so you need to look at each property needs to be addressed on a case-by-case basis and if again the main purpose here is security reasonably safe and functionality so they're the main key areas the other part in relation to rent increases I see that there's a lot of questions around that can I suggest going to our website we have some frequently asked questions and we also have some further information a copy of this webinar if you did look at taking notes and you missed a few things a copy of our webinar will be available on our website by next week so please keep an eye out for that if you do need to just run past things again there will be information there now before I finish up I just want to let you know there is a quick survey that's going to pop up after the webinar finishes we'd love you to take that short moment to complete that two short questions and we'd like to know what sort of topics you would like to know more about remember our website has a lot of information and resources available to help you and particularly to navigating not just the start and the end of a tenancy but what things that might actually occur during a tenancy as well and what processes you need to follow our contact center our fabulous friendly staff in our call center is available Monday to Friday 8 3 to 5 excluding public holidays on 1300 3 double 6 3 double 1 so feel free to reach out to them as well thank you Sam thank you Mark and again everybody thank you for attending today's webinar and on behalf of the outreach and the education team we look forward to you joining us again for another webinar or see you in person at one of our face-to-face events thanks everybody and the webinar will now end