Tenants' rights are Human Rights - Let's Reform the Rental System
Tenants' rights are Human Rights - Let's Reform the Rental System
The issue
Current protections for those renting do not adequately protect tenants.
Owners and agencies cannot be relied on to uphold the human rights and dignity of tenants.
We propose a new clause to be inserted into standard tenancy agreements.
Draft “Well being clause”:
The actions of lessors or agencies may not:
1. place their tenant/s at reasonable risk of homelessness;
2. disrupt the employment opportunities of the tenant/s;
3. impose unreasonable and/or avoidable moving costs on their tenant/s;
4. negatively impact on any carer responsibilities that a tenant may have; or
5. unreasonably disrupt the education of dependent children
Without:
1. Providing compensation to the tenant/s equal to four weeks’ rent for heightened risk of homelessness due to lessor actions;
2. Providing compensation to the tenant/s equal to two weeks’ rent for disruption of employment (or income) due to lessor actions;
3. Providing compensation to the tenant/s equal to two week’s rent for tenant/s reasonable moving costs;
4. Providing compensation to the tenant/s equal to four week’s rent if carer responsibilities, and/or, the education of dependent children, are unreasonably impacted by lessor actions.
ALL THESE RIGHTS CAN BE INCLUDED IN STANDARD TENANCY AGREEMENTS
ALL THESE RIGHTS CAN BE FURTHER SAFEGUARDED BY ANY NECESSARY HUMAN RIGHTS LEGISLATION
BACKGROUND OF THIS PETITION
My family had to move by 2 December 2021 (Myself, my wife/partner, our two children, and my elderly mother).
Without even a warning of this being a possibility, we received a notice to vacate our rental property shortly after leaving the COVID-19 lock down. Being rendered homeless within one of Australia’s tightest rental markets soon became a real possibility.
This placed the welfare of our whole family at risk.
We could not afford accommodation, movers, and storage for our belongings. If we did secure a new lease, and moving dates did not align, we would also have to factor in a new bond and two weeks rent.
If we could not secure a new lease, we were clearly unable to afford temporary accommodation. In a worst case scenario, our children faced a wide range of adverse impacts and my elderly mother faced serious uncertainties as her health and assistance requirements had been significantly increasing.
The estate agency was fully informed about our growing threat of homelessness.
By luck we secured a private rental, and a relative near Sydney was able to look after my mother for short period during our time of moving.
My family was devastated by this experience emotionally and financially.
The whole move took 3 very long days, and we made every reasonable effort to clean and prepare the property for a final inspection. Assured it was fine if we were unable to attend the final inspection (which took place on 2nd December), we indicated by phone or email etc. we were ready to redo any cleaning at the property if required.
We were told by text message on the day of the final inspection we would be informed about any issues to remedy.
We never received any text message, phone call, or email. After the owner had in fact already moved back to the property we were emailed the final inspection report at 10:45pm (6 December).
The agency then informed us they were arranging for professional services.
Denied any procedural fairness to remedy issues ourselves, the owners/agency indicated intentions to claim the entire bond ($2400).
In the time that we lived in this property, we paid between $80 to $90k in rent. We were good tenants.
We made three voluntary offers to settle the issue quickly.
We informed the agency we wanted the bond expedited quickly to use at Christmas for our children.
However, the owners/agency were determined to take as much as possible.
They made a "generous" offer of 50%.
In making this offer, the agency threatened that should we reject a 50/50 split, the owner was entitled to claim $3400, that is, $1000 more than the bond amount!
To put this bullying into perspective:
- Our lease ended 2 December 2021. But no invoices were provided to us until 20th December 2021;
- One of these invoices was dated 4 December (a time when we were still available to remedy any issues);
- Another was dated 14 December, twelve days after our lease ended (2nd) and eight days after the owners moved back in (6th);
- An itemized list of work hours equally $3400 was provided. Yet apart from invoices for cleaning and gardening, there were no other professional invoices, no indication that the work had been carried out, or if it had, by whom or when.
We sought assistance from Legal Aid and were advised to make one final offer to the owners ($750). Which was made 23 December 2021.
With a date already booked in at the ACT Rental Tribunal, this was another good will offer.
We still hoped to have some of our bond back for Christmas.
Further, if rejected, our case would only be strengthened before the Rental Tribunal.
We received no acknowledgement of the offer made 23rd December.
On 7th January 2022 and out of the blue, we received a bond form from the agency accepting our offer of $750.
To put this into perspective, even without anywhere to actually live, we still would have needed to clean and move our belongings from our former property. Our family would have been homeless.
It was only pure good fortune we found a place to live.
We faced homelessness, potential fragmentation of our family, a diminished ability to provide carer responsibilities for my mother and our children, disruption to our children's education, and the choice of having to sell or store all our belongings.
When such facts were outlined to the agency in a phone call about the disputed bond, the response was instructive. The agent said, 'How is that our problem?'
Despite our ordeal, the owner/agency tried to get the whole bond, then half of the bond, and threatened if this offer was rejected they would again claim the whole bond ($2400) plus an additional $1000 in so called costs!
The crux of this is that neither the owner or agency cared, or had to take into consideration, the consequences of their actions on the tenants.
The only concern was to extract as much money from us as they could.
The owners/agents even rejected a reasonable request to lower the rent during the final period of our lease.
Our savings were completely decimated by this experience.
Without the care and support of friends and family, we would have been lost.
We support the right of any person to rent out a property they own, we also support the right of an owner to legitimately return to live in their property.
However, property rights should not crush the dignity of tenants, diminish their life opportunities, or undermine parental/carer responsibilities.
The 'Well being Clause' is overdue.
Please support this petition.
AdamHH
11,421
The issue
Current protections for those renting do not adequately protect tenants.
Owners and agencies cannot be relied on to uphold the human rights and dignity of tenants.
We propose a new clause to be inserted into standard tenancy agreements.
Draft “Well being clause”:
The actions of lessors or agencies may not:
1. place their tenant/s at reasonable risk of homelessness;
2. disrupt the employment opportunities of the tenant/s;
3. impose unreasonable and/or avoidable moving costs on their tenant/s;
4. negatively impact on any carer responsibilities that a tenant may have; or
5. unreasonably disrupt the education of dependent children
Without:
1. Providing compensation to the tenant/s equal to four weeks’ rent for heightened risk of homelessness due to lessor actions;
2. Providing compensation to the tenant/s equal to two weeks’ rent for disruption of employment (or income) due to lessor actions;
3. Providing compensation to the tenant/s equal to two week’s rent for tenant/s reasonable moving costs;
4. Providing compensation to the tenant/s equal to four week’s rent if carer responsibilities, and/or, the education of dependent children, are unreasonably impacted by lessor actions.
ALL THESE RIGHTS CAN BE INCLUDED IN STANDARD TENANCY AGREEMENTS
ALL THESE RIGHTS CAN BE FURTHER SAFEGUARDED BY ANY NECESSARY HUMAN RIGHTS LEGISLATION
BACKGROUND OF THIS PETITION
My family had to move by 2 December 2021 (Myself, my wife/partner, our two children, and my elderly mother).
Without even a warning of this being a possibility, we received a notice to vacate our rental property shortly after leaving the COVID-19 lock down. Being rendered homeless within one of Australia’s tightest rental markets soon became a real possibility.
This placed the welfare of our whole family at risk.
We could not afford accommodation, movers, and storage for our belongings. If we did secure a new lease, and moving dates did not align, we would also have to factor in a new bond and two weeks rent.
If we could not secure a new lease, we were clearly unable to afford temporary accommodation. In a worst case scenario, our children faced a wide range of adverse impacts and my elderly mother faced serious uncertainties as her health and assistance requirements had been significantly increasing.
The estate agency was fully informed about our growing threat of homelessness.
By luck we secured a private rental, and a relative near Sydney was able to look after my mother for short period during our time of moving.
My family was devastated by this experience emotionally and financially.
The whole move took 3 very long days, and we made every reasonable effort to clean and prepare the property for a final inspection. Assured it was fine if we were unable to attend the final inspection (which took place on 2nd December), we indicated by phone or email etc. we were ready to redo any cleaning at the property if required.
We were told by text message on the day of the final inspection we would be informed about any issues to remedy.
We never received any text message, phone call, or email. After the owner had in fact already moved back to the property we were emailed the final inspection report at 10:45pm (6 December).
The agency then informed us they were arranging for professional services.
Denied any procedural fairness to remedy issues ourselves, the owners/agency indicated intentions to claim the entire bond ($2400).
In the time that we lived in this property, we paid between $80 to $90k in rent. We were good tenants.
We made three voluntary offers to settle the issue quickly.
We informed the agency we wanted the bond expedited quickly to use at Christmas for our children.
However, the owners/agency were determined to take as much as possible.
They made a "generous" offer of 50%.
In making this offer, the agency threatened that should we reject a 50/50 split, the owner was entitled to claim $3400, that is, $1000 more than the bond amount!
To put this bullying into perspective:
- Our lease ended 2 December 2021. But no invoices were provided to us until 20th December 2021;
- One of these invoices was dated 4 December (a time when we were still available to remedy any issues);
- Another was dated 14 December, twelve days after our lease ended (2nd) and eight days after the owners moved back in (6th);
- An itemized list of work hours equally $3400 was provided. Yet apart from invoices for cleaning and gardening, there were no other professional invoices, no indication that the work had been carried out, or if it had, by whom or when.
We sought assistance from Legal Aid and were advised to make one final offer to the owners ($750). Which was made 23 December 2021.
With a date already booked in at the ACT Rental Tribunal, this was another good will offer.
We still hoped to have some of our bond back for Christmas.
Further, if rejected, our case would only be strengthened before the Rental Tribunal.
We received no acknowledgement of the offer made 23rd December.
On 7th January 2022 and out of the blue, we received a bond form from the agency accepting our offer of $750.
To put this into perspective, even without anywhere to actually live, we still would have needed to clean and move our belongings from our former property. Our family would have been homeless.
It was only pure good fortune we found a place to live.
We faced homelessness, potential fragmentation of our family, a diminished ability to provide carer responsibilities for my mother and our children, disruption to our children's education, and the choice of having to sell or store all our belongings.
When such facts were outlined to the agency in a phone call about the disputed bond, the response was instructive. The agent said, 'How is that our problem?'
Despite our ordeal, the owner/agency tried to get the whole bond, then half of the bond, and threatened if this offer was rejected they would again claim the whole bond ($2400) plus an additional $1000 in so called costs!
The crux of this is that neither the owner or agency cared, or had to take into consideration, the consequences of their actions on the tenants.
The only concern was to extract as much money from us as they could.
The owners/agents even rejected a reasonable request to lower the rent during the final period of our lease.
Our savings were completely decimated by this experience.
Without the care and support of friends and family, we would have been lost.
We support the right of any person to rent out a property they own, we also support the right of an owner to legitimately return to live in their property.
However, property rights should not crush the dignity of tenants, diminish their life opportunities, or undermine parental/carer responsibilities.
The 'Well being Clause' is overdue.
Please support this petition.
AdamHH
11,421
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on 16 December 2021