Draft Bill released to ban no-cause evictions

A NEW report shows a mixed response from Canberrans on the ACT government’s proposal to remove no-cause evictions from residential tenancy agreements.

The report, published today (April 27), gathered feedback from renters, tenancy advocates, landlords and real estate agents regarding a series of proposed changes to tenancy laws in the territory.

The ACT currently allows a landlord to terminate a tenancy without giving the tenant any reason for the termination, however must give the tenant at least 26 weeks notice before they are forced to vacate.

The Labor-Greens government pledged to outlaw the practice as one of the key reforms in the Parliamentary and Governing Agreement for the 10th Legislative Assembly.

The report found that tenants “warmly welcomed” the removal of no-cause evictions where as landlords and real estate agents were more opposed.

Tenants noted the removal of no-cause evictions would improve security of tenure, strengthen the right to privacy, and would alleviate fears about their tenancy being terminated without a justifiable reason.

Those opposed to the removal of no-cause evictions indicated that 26-weeks’ notice is a reasonable time period for a tenant to find another property. They also said that the no-cause evictions provide an important protection for landlords in circumstances where other termination provisions are difficult to use because they are procedurally complicated or are difficult to substantiate from an evidentiary perspective.

A majority of respondents to the survey agreed that if no-cause evictions were to be removed, new termination clauses would be needed to support landlords to manage their properties.

New termination grounds could include where the property is being used for a non-residential purpose, where a property is required for the management of social housing stock and where the tenancy is being offered in connection with an accommodation assistance program but the tenant no longer meets the eligibility criteria for the program.

The report also gathered feedback on three other proposed changes to ACT tenancy laws including rent bidding, right to grow food and minimum standards.

Regarding rent bidding, most respondents, including landlords, agents and tenants, agreed that landlords or agents should be prevented from asking a prospective tenant to pay more than the advertised price for a rental property. However, views on whether tenants should be prevented from offering to pay more than the advertised price for a property were more mixed.

There was also strong support for reforms which would make it easier for tenants to grow food at their rental property with 62.5 per cent of the total survey responses either agreeing or strongly agreeing the reforms should go ahead.

The consultation also sought views on which minimum standards should be prioritised for implementation, including amenity, safety and security, physical accessibility, and sanitation. Minimum standards for safety and security were identified as highest priority, followed closely by minimum standards for sanitation.

The ACT Government will draft a bill for public exposure and introduce the bill into the ACT Legislative Assembly in late 2022.

Read the full report here.