Page 5479 - Week 17 - Wednesday, 4 December 1991
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Other areas of concern in the past, such as the requirement for key money to obtain a lease or a lease renewal, are outlawed by this legislation. All parties are required to pay their costs. The only exception is the requirement for the tenant to pay any reasonable costs incurred by a tenant who requires the assignment of a lease. Provision for a disclosure statement is very important, particularly for retail tenants, and we have included as a schedule the format used in Victoria.
This brings me to the final and very important section of the Bill, which deals with the settlement of disputes. It is not a large section, but I think it is a very important one. We have taken the course, which is becoming much more popular, is less confrontationist, and is used for settling residential tenancy disputes, of mediation in the first instance. The Minister or his delegate will be required to approve the appointment of mediators, and the Conflict Resolution Service that already operates in a number of areas, including the residential rental bond area, will be the obvious one in the ACT.
If the mediator cannot resolve a dispute, then the next stage is for the issue to be resolved under the provisions of the Commercial Arbitration Act of 1986, the parties paying any costs. The use of independent valuers is still required for any disputes on market rentals, and once again both parties will be required to pay their own costs, as is the case at the moment.
My closing remarks refer to the fact that the Bill does not create any retrospectivity by applying to any act or omission before the commencement of the Act, but the Act will apply to leases entered into before or after the commencement of this Act. The removal of certain practices that have been in place for some time is seen as an important protection for long-suffering small business people and will take effect from the day this Bill becomes law.
This Bill goes a long way towards helping to resolve some of the long-standing problems in this industry. We believe that it is a more effective way to resolve the issue than the continuance of the unequal process where the landlord sector holds all the aces and the tenant is required to comply. A code of conduct does not seem possible in the current climate, or even in the foreseeable future. There are many tenants out there who are hurting now and cannot wait for what seems to us to be a continued prolonging of the debate in an attempt to reach agreement on this important area.
I commend the Bill to the house and the community, and will be looking forward to comments from all sectors of the industry. I am sure that some parties will not necessarily agree with all of the proposals, but the time for proper regulation is long overdue.
Debate (on motion by Mr Connolly) adjourned.
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