Page 1566 - Week 06 - Thursday, 2 July 2020
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roundabout way of making this change, then, is to repeal the declaration and cut and paste it in its entirety into the body of the RTA. Nothing gets lost and there is still a provision for the minister to make a regulation relating to the RTA as part of the government’s response to COVID-19.
This is clearly not the ideal way of doing it but, given the tools that I have available to me, it appeared to be the only way to do it. Because of the cut and paste nature of the amendment, it is long but it only makes two changes. Both of these relate only to COVID impacted rental households, and it is important to note that the provisions are set to expire on the first day that no COVID-19 emergency is in force. So they are definitely time limited.
The first amendment, proposed new section 166, allows COVID impacted households to terminate a fixed-term tenancy in much the same way as a periodic tenancy could be terminated—that is, by giving three weeks’ notice. I think it would have been useful if that had been done earlier but, even so, there is still some point in it. Basically, it allows the landlord and the tenant to try and do something that works out, given changed circumstances, so that if a tenant realises they can no longer afford to pay the rent because of COVID-19, instead of having to go to ACAT—they have enough problems, given where they are—they can actually impact it. It is worth noting that this change was recommended by the COVID committee, as well as by Legal Aid as proposal No 3 in their submission. I was heartened to hear Ms Cheyne, earlier today, say that she hoped that all of the recommendations of the committee would be put into operation. I am very hopeful of her support for this amendment.
In the declaration, the second change I am seeking to effect is one that, to my surprise, neither of the other parties—with the exception of Ms Cheyne—have indicated they will support. Like the amendment that I have just detailed, this one is supported by Legal Aid, which called for this to be done in a letter to the COVID committee, which was published today in the COVID committee’s latest report. The COVID committee also recommended this in its first report, and the Tenants’ Union and ACT Shelter are supportive as well.
The second amendment, proposed in new section 162, applies if a moratorium on eviction has ended and a tenant of a household who is impacted by COVID-19 is in arrears for rent payable during a moratorium period. It does not apply to anyone else. It provides that a termination notice may only be given if the lessor has participated, in good faith, in a formal rent negotiation process with the tenant.
I note that this is the same form of words used in the New South Wales COVID related rental regulation. In New South Wales, however, formal rent negotiation is done by New South Wales Fair Trading. For the purpose of this amendment, formal rent negotiation is taken to be participation in mediation with a third-party mediation service. Conveniently, and after the Greens called for this, the government has already funded the Conflict Resolution Service to provide mediation between tenants and landlords. My office has been assured that the service has been funded so that it has sufficient capacity to provide services to landlords and tenants.
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