THE ACT Council of Social Servicee (ACTCOSS) says Housing ACT must be held to the same standard as private landlords following the release of a draft Bill that aims to ban the eviction of tenants without cause.
Attorney General Shane Rattenbury released the draft Residential Tenancies Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 yesterday (July 27), which aims to increase protections for tenants living in privately owned rental properties by removing the “without cause” tenancy termination provision.
But according to ACTCOSS, the Bill also creates a separate regime for public housing tenants through the introduction of new termination provisions to allow the Commissioner for Social Housing to evict tenants.
ACTCOSS CEO Dr Emma Campbell says that under the Bill, public housing tenants will be “significantly worse off than at present with fewer rights and protections than private tenants.”
“Through the Growing and Renewing Program, Housing ACT has shown that it is willing to ride roughshod over the rights of vulnerable tenants,” said Campbell.
“This is a further worrying development with the ACT government proposing legislation to make it easier for Housing ACT to evict vulnerable Canberrans.
“In the initial consultations for this legislation, the housing and community sector highlighted concerns about the potential for weakening the rights of public housing tenants.
“We urge the Attorney General and the ACT government to listen to the experts and to ensure that public housing tenants are afforded the same protections and respect as private rental tenants.”
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