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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
Queensland
Residential Tenancies and
Rooming Accommodation
Amendment Bill 2014
Queensland
Residential Tenancies and Rooming
Accommodation Amendment Bill 2014
Contents
Page
1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2 Commencement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3 Act amended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4 Insertion of new ch 1, pt 3, div 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Division 4 Prescribed minimum housing standards
17A Prescribed minimum housing standards . . . . . . . . . . 4
5 Amendment of s 67 (Information statement) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
6 Insertion of new ch 3, pt 2A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Part 2A Minimum housing standards--residential
premises
191A Operation of pt 2A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
191B Premises to comply with prescribed minimum housing
standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
191C Authority may investigate without application . . . . . . . 6
191D Application to authority to investigate whether premises
meet standards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
191E Application to tribunal in relation to minimum housing
standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
191F Orders of tribunal relating to application. . . . . . . . . . . 8
191G If the tenant has not entered into occupation . . . . . . . 8
191H If the tenant has entered into occupation before lessor is
given notice or report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
191I Special residential tenancy rent account . . . . . . . . . . 10
7 Insertion of new ch 4, pt 1A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Part 1A Minimum housing standards--rental premises
256A Operation of pt 1A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
256B Rental premises to comply with prescribed minimum
housing standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Amendment Bill 2014
Contents
256C Authority may investigate without application . . . . . . . 11
256D Application to authority to investigate whether premises
meet standards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
256E Application to tribunal in relation to minimum housing
standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
256F Orders of tribunal relating to application. . . . . . . . . . . 13
256G If the resident has not entered into occupation . . . . . 13
256H If the resident has entered into occupation before provider
is given notice or report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
256I Special rooming accommodation rent account . . . . . 15
8 Amendment of s 415 (Meaning of urgent application) . . . . . . . . . 15
9 Amendment of s 468 (Authority's functions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
10 Insertion of new ch 14, pt 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Part 4 Transitional provision for Residential
Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation
Amendment Act 2014
557 Transitional regulation-making power . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
11 Amendment of sch 2 (Dictionary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Page 2
2014
A Bill
for
An Act to amend the Residential Tenancies and Rooming
Accommodation Act 2008 for particular purposes
Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Amendment Bill 2014
[s 1]
The Parliament of Queensland enacts-- 1
Clause 1 Short title 2
This Act may be cited as the Residential Tenancies and 3
Rooming Accommodation Amendment Act 2014. 4
Clause 2 Commencement 5
This Act commences on a day to be fixed by proclamation. 6
Clause 3 Act amended 7
This Act amends the Residential Tenancies and Rooming 8
Accommodation Act 2008. 9
Clause 4 Insertion of new ch 1, pt 3, div 4 10
Chapter 1, part 3-- 11
insert-- 12
Division 4 Prescribed minimum 13
housing standards 14
17A Prescribed minimum housing standards 15
(1) A prescribed minimum housing standard means 16
a standard prescribed by a regulation. 17
(2) A regulation may prescribe minimum housing 18
standards for residential premises or rental 19
premises in relation to matters including, for 20
example, the following-- 21
(a) sanitation, drainage, cleanliness and repair 22
of premises; 23
(b) ventilation and insulation; 24
(c) protection from damp and its effects; 25
Page 4
Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Amendment Bill 2014
[s 5]
(d) construction, condition, structures, safety 1
and situation of premises; 2
(e) the dimensions, cubical extent and height of 3
rooms in the premises; 4
(f) privacy and security; 5
(g) provision of water supply, storage and 6
sanitary facilities; 7
(h) laundry and cooking facilities; 8
(i) lighting; 9
(j) freedom from vermin infestation; 10
(k) energy efficiency. 11
(3) If a regulation made under this section makes 12
provision in relation to a matter and provision is 13
also made in relation to that matter by, or under, 14
any other Act or regulation, the regulation made 15
under this section-- 16
(a) if not inconsistent with that other Act or 17
regulation, must be observed in addition to 18
that other Act or regulation; and 19
(b) if inconsistent with that other Act or 20
regulation, is, to the extent of the 21
inconsistency, of no force or effect and that 22
other Act or regulation prevails. 23
Clause 5 Amendment of s 67 (Information statement) 24
Section 67(2)-- 25
insert-- 26
(d) the prescribed minimum housing standards 27
and associated rights and responsibilities. 28
Clause 6 Insertion of new ch 3, pt 2A 29
Chapter 3-- 30
Page 5
Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Amendment Bill 2014
[s 6]
insert-- 1
Part 2A Minimum housing 2
standards--residential 3
premises 4
191A Operation of pt 2A 5
This part operates in addition to, and does not 6
limit, the obligations of a lessor under section 7
185. 8
191B Premises to comply with prescribed 9
minimum housing standards 10
(1) A lessor must ensure that, before residential 11
premises are let under a residential tenancy 12
agreement, the premises comply with the 13
prescribed minimum housing standards. 14
(2) A tenant may give a written notice to a lessor 15
stating that the residential premises do not 16
comply with a prescribed minimum housing 17
standard. 18
191C Authority may investigate without application 19
(1) The authority may, without application by a 20
tenant, investigate whether a lessor has failed to 21
ensure that residential premises comply with a 22
prescribed minimum housing standard. 23
(2) If the authority is satisfied that the residential 24
premises do not comply with the standard, the 25
authority must-- 26
(a) give a written report of the investigation to 27
the tenant and lessor; and 28
(b) inform the tenant that the tenant may make 29
an application to the tribunal under section 30
191E. 31
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Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Amendment Bill 2014
[s 6]
191D Application to authority to investigate 1
whether premises meet standards 2
(1) A tenant may apply in writing to the authority to 3
investigate whether the lessor has failed to ensure 4
that the residential premises comply with a 5
prescribed minimum housing standard if-- 6
(a) the tenant has given the lessor a written 7
notice under section 191B(2); and 8
(b) the lessor has failed to ensure that the 9
residential premises comply with the 10
relevant prescribed minimum housing 11
standard within 28 days after being given 12
the notice. 13
(2) On an application under subsection (1), the 14
authority-- 15
(a) must investigate; and 16
(b) may negotiate arrangements for ensuring 17
that the residential premises comply with 18
the prescribed minimum housing standard, 19
if the authority is satisfied that the premises 20
do not comply with the standard; and 21
(c) must give a written report to the tenant 22
within 28 days. 23
191E Application to tribunal in relation to minimum 24
housing standards 25
(1) Subsection (2) applies if a tenant-- 26
(a) receives a report of the authority under 27
section 191C or 191D; and 28
(b) considers that the lessor has not made 29
satisfactory arrangements for complying 30
with the standard. 31
(2) Within 60 days after receiving the report, the 32
tenant may apply to the tribunal for an order 33
requiring the lessor to ensure that the residential 34
Page 7
Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Amendment Bill 2014
[s 6]
premises comply with a specific prescribed 1
minimum housing standard. 2
(3) Subsection (4) applies if a tenant-- 3
(a) has made an application under section 4
191D(1); and 5
(b) has not received a report of the authority 6
under section 191D within 90 days after 7
making the application. 8
(4) The tenant may, without the report of the 9
authority, apply to the tribunal for an order 10
requiring the lessor to ensure that the residential 11
premises comply with a specified prescribed 12
minimum housing standard. 13
191F Orders of tribunal relating to application 14
(1) On an application under section 191E, the 15
tribunal may make an order requiring the lessor 16
to ensure that the residential premises comply 17
with a specified prescribed minimum housing 18
standard. 19
(2) An order under subsection (1) must specify the 20
prescribed minimum housing standard and the 21
time within which it must be complied with. 22
(3) A lessor to whom an order under subsection (1) 23
applies must comply with the order. 24
Maximum penalty--20 penalty units. 25
191G If the tenant has not entered into occupation 26
(1) This section applies if-- 27
(a) the tenant has not entered into occupation of 28
the residential premises; and 29
(b) the premises do not comply with a 30
prescribed minimum housing standard; and 31
Page 8
Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Amendment Bill 2014
[s 6]
(c) a tenant has given the lessor a notice under 1
section 191B(2) or the authority has given 2
the lessor a report under section 191C. 3
(2) If this section applies, a tenant is not required-- 4
(a) to enter into occupation of the residential 5
premises; and 6
(b) to pay rent for the premises despite the 7
residential tenancy agreement in respect of 8
the period beginning on the agreed day on 9
which the tenant would otherwise have 10
entered into occupation of the premises and 11
ending on the day on which the tenant 12
actually enters into occupation. 13
191H If the tenant has entered into occupation 14
before lessor is given notice or report 15
(1) A tenant may apply to the tribunal for an order 16
authorising the tenant to pay the rent under the 17
residential tenancy agreement into the special 18
rent account if the tenant has entered into 19
occupation of the residential premises and-- 20
(a) the tenant has given a notice to the lessor 21
under section 191B(2); or 22
(b) the authority has given a report to the lessor 23
under section 191C. 24
(2) The tribunal may make an order authorising the 25
tenant to pay the rent into the special rent account 26
if it is satisfied that-- 27
(a) the tenant gave the lessor a notice under 28
section 191B(2) or the authority gave a 29
report to the lessor under section 191C; and 30
(b) the lessor has not ensured that the residential 31
premises comply with the prescribed 32
minimum housing standards within 28 days 33
after being given the notice or the report. 34
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Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Amendment Bill 2014
[s 7]
(3) Subsection (4) applies if the tribunal-- 1
(a) makes an order under subsection (2); and 2
(b) is satisfied that the lessor has ensured, or is 3
ensuring, that the residential premises 4
comply with the relevant prescribed 5
minimum housing standard. 6
(4) The tribunal may order that the whole of the rent, 7
or such part of the rent as the tribunal may 8
determine, be paid to the lessor. 9
191I Special residential tenancy rent account 10
(1) The authority must keep a special residential 11
tenancy rent account. 12
(2) The account is in addition to other accounts the 13
authority is required or permitted to keep under 14
this or another Act. 15
(3) The authority may pay only an amount payable 16
under section 191H from the special residential 17
tenancy rent account. 18
Clause 7 Insertion of new ch 4, pt 1A 19
Chapter 4-- 20
insert-- 21
Part 1A Minimum housing 22
standards--rental 23
premises 24
256A Operation of pt 1A 25
This part operates in addition to, and does not 26
limit, the obligations of a provider under section 27
247. 28
Page 10
Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Amendment Bill 2014
[s 7]
256B Rental premises to comply with prescribed 1
minimum housing standards 2
(1) A provider must ensure that, before rental 3
premises are provided under a rooming 4
accommodation agreement, the premises comply 5
with the prescribed minimum housing standards. 6
(2) A resident may give a written notice to a provider 7
stating that the rental premises do not comply 8
with a prescribed minimum housing standard. 9
256C Authority may investigate without application 10
(1) The authority may, without application by a 11
resident, investigate whether a provider has failed 12
to ensure that rental premises comply with a 13
prescribed minimum housing standard. 14
(2) If the authority is satisfied that the rental 15
premises do not comply with the standard, the 16
authority must-- 17
(a) give a written report of the investigation to 18
the resident and provider; and 19
(b) inform the resident that the resident may 20
make an application to the tribunal under 21
section 256E. 22
256D Application to authority to investigate 23
whether premises meet standards 24
(1) A resident may apply in writing to the authority 25
to investigate whether the provider has failed to 26
ensure that the rental premises comply with a 27
prescribed minimum housing standard if-- 28
(a) the resident has given the provider a written 29
notice under section 256B(2); and 30
(b) the provider has failed to ensure that the 31
rental premises comply with the relevant 32
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Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Amendment Bill 2014
[s 7]
prescribed minimum housing standard 1
within 28 days after being given the notice. 2
(2) On an application under subsection (1), the 3
authority-- 4
(a) must investigate; and 5
(b) may negotiate arrangements for ensuring 6
that the rental premises comply with the 7
prescribed minimum housing standard, if 8
the authority is satisfied that the premises do 9
not comply with the standard; and 10
(c) must give a written report to the resident 11
within 28 days. 12
256E Application to tribunal in relation to minimum 13
housing standards 14
(1) Subsection (2) applies if a resident-- 15
(a) receives a report of the authority under 16
section 256C or 256D; and 17
(b) considers that the provider has not made 18
satisfactory arrangements for complying 19
with the standard. 20
(2) Within 60 days after receiving the report, the 21
resident may apply to the tribunal for an order 22
requiring the provider to ensure that the rental 23
premises comply with a specific prescribed 24
minimum housing standard. 25
(3) Subsection (4) applies if a resident-- 26
(a) has made an application under section 27
256D(1); and 28
(b) has not received a report of the authority 29
under section 256D within 90 days after 30
making the application. 31
(4) The resident may, without the report of the 32
authority, apply to the tribunal for an order 33
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Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Amendment Bill 2014
[s 7]
requiring the provider to ensure that the rental 1
premises comply with a specified prescribed 2
minimum housing standard. 3
256F Orders of tribunal relating to application 4
(1) On an application under section 256E, the 5
tribunal may make an order requiring the 6
provider to ensure that the rental premises 7
comply with a specified prescribed minimum 8
housing standard. 9
(2) An order under subsection (1) must specify the 10
prescribed minimum housing standard and the 11
time within which it must be complied with. 12
(3) A provider to whom an order under subsection 13
(1) applies must comply with the order. 14
Maximum penalty--20 penalty units. 15
256G If the resident has not entered into 16
occupation 17
(1) This section applies if-- 18
(a) the resident has not entered into occupation 19
of the residential premises; and 20
(b) the premises do not comply with a 21
prescribed minimum housing standard; and 22
(c) a resident has given the provider a notice 23
under section 256B(2) or the authority has 24
given the provider a report under section 25
256C. 26
(2) If this section applies, a resident is not required-- 27
(a) to enter into occupation of the residential 28
premises; and 29
(b) to pay rent for the premises despite the 30
rooming accommodation agreement in 31
respect of the period beginning on the 32
Page 13
Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Amendment Bill 2014
[s 7]
agreed day on which the resident would 1
otherwise have entered into occupation of 2
the premises and ending on the day on 3
which the resident actually enters into 4
occupation. 5
256H If the resident has entered into occupation 6
before provider is given notice or report 7
(1) A resident may apply to the tribunal for an order 8
authorising the resident to pay the rent under the 9
rooming accommodation agreement into the 10
special rent account if the resident has entered 11
into occupation of the residential premises and-- 12
(a) the resident has given a notice to the 13
provider under section 256B(2); or 14
(b) the authority has given a report to the 15
provider under section 256C. 16
(2) The tribunal may make an order authorising the 17
resident to pay the rent into the special rent 18
account if it is satisfied that-- 19
(a) the resident gave the provider a notice under 20
section 256B(2) or the authority gave a 21
report to the provider under section 256C; 22
and 23
(b) the provider has not ensured that the 24
residential premises comply with the 25
prescribed minimum housing standards 26
within 28 days after being given the notice 27
or the report. 28
(3) Subsection (4) applies if the tribunal-- 29
(a) makes an order under subsection (2); and 30
(b) is satisfied that the provider has ensured, or 31
is ensuring, that the rental premises comply 32
with the relevant prescribed minimum 33
housing standard. 34
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Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Amendment Bill 2014
[s 8]
(4) The tribunal may order that the whole of the rent, 1
or such part of the rent as the tribunal may 2
determine, be paid to the provider. 3
256I Special rooming accommodation rent account 4
(1) The authority must keep a special rooming 5
accommodation rent account. 6
(2) The account is in addition to other accounts the 7
authority is required or permitted to keep under 8
this or another Act. 9
(3) The authority may pay only an amount payable 10
under section 256H from the special rooming 11
accommodation rent account. 12
Clause 8 Amendment of s 415 (Meaning of urgent application) 13
(1) Section 415(5)-- 14
insert-- 15
(ba) section 191E (Application to tribunal in 16
relation to minimum housing standards); 17
(2) Section 415(5)-- 18
insert-- 19
(ha) section 256E (Application to tribunal in 20
relation to minimum housing standards); 21
Clause 9 Amendment of s 468 (Authority's functions) 22
Section 468-- 23
insert-- 24
(ba) to receive, hold and pay monies from the 25
special rent account; and 26
Clause 10 Insertion of new ch 14, pt 4 27
After section 556-- 28
Page 15
Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Amendment Bill 2014
[s 11]
insert-- 1
Part 4 Transitional provision 2
for Residential 3
Tenancies and 4
Rooming 5
Accommodation 6
Amendment Act 2014 7
557 Transitional regulation-making power 8
(1) A regulation (a transitional regulation) may 9
make provision of a saving or transitional nature 10
for which it is necessary to make provision to 11
allow or facilitate the change from the operation 12
of the Act as in force immediately before the 13
commencement of this section to the operation of 14
this Act on or after the commencement. 15
(2) A transitional regulation may have retrospective 16
operation to a day not earlier than the day of the 17
commencement. 18
(3) A transitional regulation must declare it is a 19
transitional regulation. 20
(4) This section and any transitional regulation 21
expire 1 year after the day of the commencement. 22
(5) In this section-- 23
commencement means the commencement of 24
this part. 25
Clause 11 Amendment of sch 2 (Dictionary) 26
Schedule 2-- 27
insert-- 28
prescribed minimum housing standard see 29
section 17A. 30
Page 16
Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Amendment Bill 2014
[s 11]
special residential tenancy rent account, for a 1
residential tenancy, means the account kept under 2
section 191I. 3
special rooming accommodation rent account, 4
for rooming accommodation, means the account 5
kept under section 256I. 6
Authorised by the Parliamentary Counsel
Page 17
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