Pets In Rental Properties - A Trickle Or Flood Of Requests?

October 3, 2022 Edward Dever

1 October 2022 marked the commencement of a number of residential tenancy changes in Queensland, including those relating to tenant requests to keep pets.

It is not clear whether the change will lead to a trickle or flood of pet requests and how resistant landlords will be to these changes.

In Victoria, there did not seem to be a dramatic rise in VCAT cases when similar pet laws were introduced.

Time will tell how landlords in Queensland deal with these requests.

RTA - Changes that commenced from 1 October 2022

October 2022

The content of this publication is intended to provide a general overview on matters which may be of interest. It is not intended to be comprehensive. It does not constitute advice in relation to particular circumstances nor does it constitute the provision of legal services, legal advice or financial product advice.

Will Landlords Need To Provide References To Tenants?

March 23, 2022 Edward Dever

There is a motion before the ACT Legislative Assembly on 23 March 2022 which "calls on the ACT Government to consider whether prospective tenants should be given the right to receive references from landlords’ previous tenants."

The motion is broadly framed and does not outline what might be required.

In practice, allowing prospective tenants to request references from previous tenants may not be particularly helpful if those tenants do not wish to, or cannot, provide references in a timely manner. A better approach may be to provide details of the ACAT (or QCAT in Qld's case) matters involving the landlord in the past three years.

The ABC reports that "If the motion is passed, prospective renters in Canberra would have the right to request a landlord reference from a previous tenant, detailing their treatment by the landlord."

Not exactly. The motion calls on the ACT Government to consider the issue and "report back to the Assembly on this matter during the November 2022 sitting period."

Any change in ACT would seem a long way off.

In any event, landlords who treat their tenants fairly and make necessary repairs in a timely manner should have little to fear.

New ACT Legislative Assembly motion seeks to allow prospective renters to request a landlord reference

Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory - Notice Paper - No 40 - Wednesday, 23 March 2022

March 2022

VCAT's Treatment of Pets - A Warning for Queensland Landlords

April 5, 2021 Edward Dever

Once Covid-19 starts to disappear from the Qld government's radar, expect the government to return its attention to tenancy reform.

Part of the proposed reforms would allow tenants to keep pets as of right in residential tenancies, with landlords being able to challenge the issue at QCAT.

Media reports indicate that, of 18 VCAT application involving pets which have proceeded to final determination, only one landlord has been successful.

Since the Victorian tenancy reforms, apparently 340 applications relating to pets have been submitted with 139 matters withdrawn or settled.

It seems inevitable that some type of reform will occur. Adopting Victoria's broad reforms may overwhelm QCAT in the short term until landlords realise the likely futility of contesting the issue.

Hopefully, there is guidance on what constitutes reasonable grounds for refusing consent for a pet. There are residential properties which are clearly not suitable for certain pets.

As an example, keeping large dogs locked up in small apartments with no outdoor fenced areas while owners are at work is not appropriate for the pet and the likely noise will lead to higher tenant churn rates in nearby apartments.

At the time of submissions on the proposed Qld reforms, the estimated timeframe for QCAT hearing an animal related order (a non-urgent tenancy related matter) following the conciliation process was twenty weeks from lodgement to hearing. Without some form of streamlined process, it is unlikely that a matter would be resolved until most of a six-month tenancy has expired.

Also, without modification, adoption of the Victorian model would put landlords in breach of certain local government requirements regarding the maximum permitted number of dogs on premises. It is not clear whether landlords would be required to make excess pet applications and whether such an application would need to be completed on a continual basis as tenants move in and out with animals such as dogs. Perhaps this will constitute reasonable grounds for refusing consent.

Few landlords succeed in pet challenges under Victorian rental laws

April 2021