ANDREW Barr says the Legislative Assembly has passed a Bill which will enable the ACT Government to provide further support to homeowners affected by Mr Fluffy.

The Dangerous Substances (Loose Fill Asbestos Eradication) Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 provides support for affected homeowners as well as administrative and regulatory amendments to enable the continued rollout of the Buyback and Demolition Program.

“The passing of this Bill allows eligible homeowners with solar panel arrays which were part of an ACT Government legislated feed-in tariff scheme to transfer tariff arrangements when moving to a new home,” Andrew said.

“This means they will not be disadvantaged through having to leave their generator on the premises on surrendering the premises to the Territory. They will be able to retain their 20 year contracts for the ‘premium feed-in rate’ if they have a generator affixed to their new property.

“This is an issue which affects a small number of homeowners, but one which is very important to those owners and we are pleased to provide this additional support during the difficult time.

“This Bill also provides for a register of affected residential premises to be published. To date, the ACT Government has respected the wishes of homeowners for privacy and not released a list of affected addresses.

“I know this will be confronting for many homeowners, but there needs to be a register in place to assist in the full administration and processes of the Buyback Program. It will also facilitate the longer term management of properties where owners choose not to participate in the Buyback Program.

Finally, the Bill passed today also:

• strengthens the information for prospective buyers so they are notified on title of the presence of loose fill asbestos in a property or at a site. This administrative interest will only exist until a house is demolished and the land remediated;
• introduces special provisions to enable tenants and landlords to terminate a tenancy in order to move to new accommodation, or surrender an affected property while continuing to provide significant safeguards and relocation assistance for tenants; and
• removes the need for owners of affected units to provide building and pest inspection and energy efficiency rating reports prior as part of the contract of sale, as these create an additional burden on the seller and cost on the Territory.

The Buyback Program continues to progress with 911 of 1021 homeowners having opted in to get valuations of their properties undertaken through the Program, 796 offers have now been made and 605 homeowners have accepted an offer. The ACT Government currently owns and is maintaining 225 properties.