New Tenancy Regulations came into effect in NSW as of 20 March 2020.
As part of this, the Government has issued a Landlord Information Statement which must be provided to all our Landlords. It is important that you read and understand this statement as there are several changes that impact you as a Landlord.
To summarise, the key changes to be aware of for new Tenancy Agreements entered into from March 2020 are:
- Property must be fit to live in
- Greater onus is on Landlords to ensure that certain minimum standards are met.
- Disclosure of material fact
- Broader set of criteria that must be disclosed to a tenant, e.g. certain crimes, safety issues, building rectification.
- Disclosure of Landlord information to Tenant
- Landlord’s name and a method of contact (i.e. email, telephone) must be given to the Tenant even if an Agent is managing the property.
- Smoke alarms
- Must be repaired/replaced within two days of being informed they are not working.
- Minor changes to the property made by the Tenant
- The Landlord cannot unreasonably refuse a Tenant’s request to make minor changes (eg installing picture hooks). The Tenant would be responsible for the cost of changes and rectifying any damage caused to the property.
- Domestic violence exceptions
- Tenants subject to domestic violence can terminate tenancies without penalty.
- Mandatory break fees
- Breaks fees when a Tenant wishes to terminate a lease agreement early are now fixed based on a percentage of the term expired under the Tenancy term (ie 1, 2, 3 or 4 weeks maximum). Break fees do not apply if the Tenant breaks the agreement early for a reason allowed under the Act.
- Acknowledgment
- When we sign new lease agreements on your behalf, we must sign an acknowledgment on the residential tenancy agreement that you have read and understood this information.
Please take time to read the attached Landlord Information Statement. You can find it here
You can also refer to the NSW Fair Trading website on the matter – https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/housing-and-property/renting/new-residential-tenancy-laws
If anything is not clear, do not hesitate to contact us to discuss.
Keeping you informed.