Residential Tenancies (Protection of Prospective Tenants) Amendment Bill – Second Reading speech
Tuesday 2 May 2023
S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (11:01): I rise to speak on the Residential Tenancies (Protection of Prospective Tenants) Amendment Bill 2023. We all know that housing is currently at a premium, with mortgages ever increasing and a significant shortage of rental properties. The current cost-of-living crisis created by the former federal government and the war in Ukraine is crippling our community, with people prioritising their rent or mortgage payments over essentials such as food, medicines and bills.
Our government is fully aware of the pressures facing South Australians, which is why we are acting to reform the Residential Tenancies Act 1995 to better meet the needs of today's rental housing market, improve protections for renters and ensure landlords can continue to manage properties effectively. Rental reforms have been initiated in all Australian jurisdictions, and the Malinauskas Labor government will ensure that South Australian tenants are not left behind, by implementing regulatory safeguards that protect households.
As part of the reform to the RTA last year, the Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs announced a review of the RTA, with the release of a discussion paper marking the start of the most comprehensive review of the RTA since 2014—also initiated by Labor. The Malinauskas government has identified immediate priorities to be introduced now to assist renters with affordability, protect tenants' rights and privacy and improve the housing outcomes for people in South Australia through our recently announced housing package, A Better Housing Future.
The shortage of rental properties has led to rent bidding and a request for tenancy information that exceeds what a tenant would reasonably be expected to provide. These practices are unacceptable and must stop if South Australians are going to have a fairer chance of securing a rental property. This bill addresses the issue of rent bidding and other priorities identified as part of the government's plan for a better housing future. It will also take the first step towards standardising rental application forms and protecting tenant information.
Last year, a young woman I know was required to refill and resubmit an application form for each rental property she sought to secure, despite it being with the same rental agency. This happened time and time again over the 18 months that she was looking for rental accommodation; given the number of properties prospective tenants have to apply for, this is an unnecessary burden. Yet, to really challenge this young woman's privacy, one application required she video herself at her current address—you can hear the alarm bells ringing. This is a shocking breach of privacy and would likely lead to discriminatory behaviour and possibly worse. Others requested a reference from the applicant's employers, handing the power of accessing shelter to their boss.
This bill is one part of the Malinauskas government's plan for a better housing future that provides an immediate response to the challenges being experienced by many South Australian renters. The amendment bill provides for information to be prescribed in the regulations that must not be requested of a prospective tenant. There will be further targeted consultation on the information prescribed, which may potentially include the applicant's rental bond history, a statement from a credit or bank account containing daily transactions and any information about the applicant that relates to a protected attribute under equal opportunity legislation.
We must remember that these people are renting a house and supplying this information to a stranger, not to a government department or other trusted agency. It is therefore appropriate that protections are in place, especially for parents, women, multicultural groups, our queer community and people living with a disability. Imagine: you might be a woman who has escaped a domestic violence situation and is seeking rental property, and you must provide information that may disclose details you would prefer not to disclose in order to maintain your safety. Additionally, remember that you are handing them to a stranger. It would make you feel unsafe.
The Malinauskas government wants to protect tenants but also not disadvantage some of our most vulnerable community members. Following consultation with key stakeholders on the draft bill, based on feedback the state government has received we have included a technical amendment to ensure the exemption under section 47B(2) is intended to apply only to a landlord or agent who is also a housing assistance provider to ensure the prohibition does not interfere with the housing assistance provider requesting information required to determine a tenant's eligibility.
Our government takes discrimination seriously, with the amendment bill proposing that an expiation fee of $1,200 or a maximum penalty of $20,000 apply for these offences. As I mentioned, we need to protect renters' personal information, especially given the cybersecurity incidents we have seen with Optus, Latitude Financial and so many other cases where individuals' personal information has been accessed. The amendment bill contains measures to protect tenant information by prohibiting tenant information from being disclosed without their consent or as required by law, the tenancy agreement, a court or a tribunal.
Tenant information for a successful tenant is required to be destroyed after three years and within 30 days of a tenancy agreement being executed for unsuccessful tenants. However, prospective tenants can consent to their information being held for up to six months to support looking for another tenancy. The amendment bill also regulates the disclosure and destruction of prospective tenant information provided for the purposes of applying for a tenancy. A maximum penalty of $20,000 is proposed to apply, with an expiation fee of $1,200.
Rent bidding is a reprehensible, unfair and dishonest practice that no reputable landlord or real estate agent should be engaged in, but sadly we do know it is regularly reported in South Australia. This amendment bill prohibits rental properties being advertised at a price range and prevents landlords or agents inviting higher rent offers. In addition, third parties, which often include websites facilitating tenant application forms, are prevented from engaging in rent bidding. Provisions relating to third parties are intended to address conduct involving prospective tenants being charged fees for background checks and an assessment or rating of their suitability being provided to the landlord or agent.
There are reports that in some instances prospective tenants paying for the background check and offering higher rent have been afforded a higher rating. This is unfair. The amendment bill prohibits rent bidding by the landlord or agent, prevents a person in trade or commerce from providing an assessment or rating of a prospective tenant that is based on an offer of higher rent and disallows a person from receiving or requiring a prospective tenant to pay for an assessment or rating of their suitability for a tenancy.
The fourth immediate priority announced as part of the Malinauskas plan for a better housing future relates to more affordable residential tenancy bonds, which has been progressed through amendments to the Residential Tenancies Regulations 2010. Due to rent price increases, renters of even moderately priced housing are currently required to provide a six-week rental bond, a significant challenge for those looking for affordable housing.
Currently, landlords can claim residential bonds equivalent to a maximum six weeks' rent when the weekly rent is $250 or greater, with only a four-week bond entitled to be claimed for properties falling below that threshold. However, increasingly fewer properties fall below this threshold, particularly in my electorate of Gibson where the cheapest weekly rent for a three-bedroom family home starts at around $450 a week. During a recent search, I could not find a three-bedroom rental property below $250 per week anywhere in metropolitan Adelaide.
For these reasons the bond threshold will now be raised to $800 to ensure that, for the majority of rental properties in South Australia, only a four-week bond will be required. This change will reduce the amount of up-front costs for tenants by between $500 and $1,600, depending on the amount of rent they are paying. For example, based on the lowest rental price for a house in the Gibson electorate, the current bond amount would be $2,700 and with the changes we have made to the residential bond amount this would be $1,800, a saving for tenants of $900.
The consultation on the RTA review has concluded and Consumer and Business Services is currently preparing a report based on the 5,000 responses and 150 submissions to the government that were received from the YourSAy consultation. The reforms in this bill are the government's immediate priorities, with further consideration and consultation on the broader review of the Residential Tenancies Act 1995 to take place before being introduced to parliament later this year.
I know from the constituents contacting my office that the housing situation is critical in our state, with the number of people calling my office seeking assistance due to financial pressures increasing. These are people who are working but cannot find a suitable rental property, people whose children are having to sleep on the floor and the increasing amount of people living rough. I know, as do my colleagues, that this cannot continue, which is why we have provided practical assistance to South Australians having re-funded services that assist those who are homeless or victims of domestic and family violence that were cruelly cut by those opposite.
We have unveiled a once-in-a-generation housing policy, including the Premier, Treasurer and Minister Champion announcing the single largest release of residential land in the state's history at Concordia, Dry Creek and Sellicks Beach and further announcements made in the last few days. Additionally, we are delivering the first substantial increase to public housing in a generation, including 946 new public homes, the upgrade of 350 and extra maintenance for a further 3,000 properties, while stopping the planned Liberal sell-off of 580 homes.
Labor is about making the lives of South Australians better, investing in the future, undertaking sensible legislative reform and working to ease the pressure on South Australian families. I commend the bill to the house.
