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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 11 Hansard (10 December) . . Page.. 3576 ..

. more comprehensive provision with respect to bonds, including the manner of holding bond moneys and deductions which can be made from such moneys; and

. provision for the publication of a handbook to be approved by the Director of Consumer Affairs to assist lessors and tenants in their understanding of the legislation.

The draft Bill also confirms the requirement that, unless independently advised by a legal practitioner, tenants must be offered a lease for a minimum period of five years. A lease for less than five years may be extended by the tenant as a matter of right in certain circumstances and, in such cases, provision is now made for the terms of such extended leases to be ascertained.

Dispute resolution

Part XI of the draft Bill provides a streamlined process for mediation of disputes, and for hearings of unresolved disputes to be heard in the Magistrates Court. Provision is made for an informal hearing process except in cases involving complex issues of fact or law where it is in the interests of both parties that a more formal hearing take place. The remedies available to the Court have also been specified and, as recommended by the
Working Party, it is provided that, subject to the overriding

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