Australian Property News
Tenants body seeks minimum accommodation standards
Posted on Wednesday, March 17 2010 at 4:14 PM
The Tenants' Union is calling for the Tasmanian Government to introduce minimum accommodation standards for rental accommodation.
The Tasmanian Government released a discussion paper on residential tenancy issues late last year and is currently seeking input into its policy-making process.
In its submission, the Tenants' Union says Tasmania has the lowest standards of any state or territory in Australia, simply requiring landlords to maintain the property as near as possible to the condition at the beginning of the lease, apart from wear and tear.
All other jurisdictions require premises to be maintained in a reasonable or good state of repair, the union says.
"At the moment in Tasmania a house can be let with mould throughout and the Residential Tenancy Act condones it," says Tenants' Union principal solicitor Sandy Duncanson.
"With low vacancy rates in all Tasmanian cities, desperate tenants have to take substandard properties as is."
The union's submission also called for mid-lease rent increases to be capped at the inflation rate and recommended the end to arbitrary evictions, instead requiring landlords to have valid reasons for ending a tenancy.
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