Under new rental reforms tenants will have more security and prohibit landlords from asking for or encouraging rent bids.
21 March 2023
The ACT Government is leading the way in strengthening renters’ rights by becoming the first Australian state or territory to remove all forms of tenancy termination without a legitimate cause.
New rental reforms passed by the ACT Legislative Assembly will give tenants security as they will no longer fear being evicted without reason.
Under these reforms, no cause evictions will be removed from the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 from 1 April 2023.
No cause evictions have a profoundly negative impact on renters, either because of the eviction itself, or because it stops renters being able to raise other legitimate concerns out of fear of eviction.
These laws remain balanced by still recognising that landlords will at times need to end tenancies for genuine reasons, such as selling the property, or when a tenant breaches the agreement.
In addition to the removal of ‘no cause’ evictions, several other rental reforms will come into effect, including:
- Prohibiting landlords and agents from asking for or encouraging rent bids
- Allowing tenants greater freedom to grow their own food and to compost, and
- Creating a framework to support the future introduction of minimum housing standards for rental properties.
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