Page 4742 - Week 13 - Thursday, 28 November 2019
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it has become clear that part 5A requires adjustment for it to appropriately meet the growing demand and needs across the range of accommodation sectors.
The exposure draft reflects the government’s commitment to clarify the nature of occupancies, to improve the processes that relate to owner-renters within caravan and manufactured home parks, and to provide clearer and fairer share housing processes in the ACT. The exposure draft also reflects our commitment to ensuring meaningful, informed discussion on legislative reforms with a wide range of stakeholders. It is anticipated that the exposure draft of the bill, together with the draft explanatory statement, will facilitate a detailed discussion about the issues that affect the lives of those who are subject to occupancy agreements or share housing arrangements, including Canberrans who may be particularly vulnerable.
I emphasise that the text for the bill is a draft. We will draw on feedback to adjust provisions to ensure that we appropriately minimise any adverse consequences and optimise the efficient, fair and effective outcomes.
Turning to some of the specifics of the proposed reforms, firstly the exposure draft to the bill proposes a new definition of an occupancy agreement to clarify the difference between an occupancy agreement and a residential tenancy agreement. This will allow the users of the Residential Tenancies Act to properly identify which rights and obligations apply to them without having to undertake complex legal analysis to determine if an agreement is an occupancy or a tenancy agreement. As a result, occupants and grantors will be able to make more informed decisions about their residential agreements as well as expect clearer legal advice and decisions from legal professionals and decision-making bodies.
Secondly, the draft proposes to mandate that certain occupancy principles will form part of an occupancy agreement. While part 5A of the Residential Tenancies Act currently contains occupancy principles which a person must have regard to, mandating compliance with these principles will assist to ensure that there are essential, basic, minimum protections provided to all occupants. To strengthen minimum protections for occupants, the draft bill also proposes to introduce a number of new occupancy principles. The occupancy principles are nevertheless drafted to be adaptable to a range of occupancy accommodation contexts. Grantors will be provided with clear guidance regarding their obligations towards occupants, and occupants will be able to seek the enforcement of a more robust set of rights.
One of the new occupancy principles included within these minimum protections is a new requirement that grantors provide occupants with information about dispute resolution processes. This must include information about how an occupant can access internal dispute processes, a community dispute resolution provider, the ACTÂ Civil and Administrative Tribunal, and the ACT Human Rights Commission. This step, which increases the information available to an occupant when seeking to enforce their rights, is a simple example of how Canberra is progressing towards being a restorative city.
Building on this new principle, the draft also proposes to provide occupants with access to an enforceable conciliation process facilitated by the ACT Human Rights
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