Page 4741 - Week 13 - Thursday, 28 November 2019
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for Business and Regulatory Services and Minister for Seniors and Veterans) (11.46): I present the following papers:
Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill 2019 (No 2)—
Exposure draft.
Explanatory statement to the exposure draft.
I seek leave to make a statement in relation to the papers.
Leave granted.
MR RAMSAY: I rise to speak on the tabling of a public exposure draft of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill 2019 (No 2). Tabling this exposure draft in the Assembly is testament to this government’s commitment to hearing from relevant stakeholders and members of the public about reforms to two complex areas of residential tenancy law: occupancy law and the share housing framework. We anticipate that the proposed text of the amendments, together with a draft explanatory statement, will provide a basis for more detailed, thorough discussion about the reforms.
Although the focus of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 is the relationship between landlord and tenant under a residential tenancy agreement, part 5A of the act turns to the relationship between grantor and occupant under an occupancy agreement.
Occupancy agreements are a form of statutory licence. They have fewer protections, processes and requirements than residential tenancy agreements. This makes occupancy agreements highly adaptable for a diverse range of purposes where the more rigid provisions of a residential tenancy agreement may be inappropriate. Occupancy agreements are regularly used in the crisis accommodation sector, in which some of the most vulnerable Canberrans are supported through difficult periods and provided with the opportunity to move into more long term housing options. The student accommodation sector is also a significant user of occupancy agreements in the ACT. Other users of occupancy agreements include boarders and lodgers, people in supported housing programs, and people residing in residential parks or caravan parks.
When the territory first began modernising its residential tenancy legislation back in the 1990s, the ACT Community Law Reform Committee observed that some principles should apply equally regardless of the legal type of residential agreement. For example, both tenants and occupants need accommodation without arbitrary interference with their privacy.
In 2004, the territory took its first major step towards providing basic protections for occupants by introducing part 5A of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997. Although the flexibility of an occupancy agreement has meant that they are available for a variety of purposes, these past 15 years have shown that flexibility also means a lack of certainty about how and when an occupancy agreement should be used. Over time,
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