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Other Parliamentary SpeechesThis page is dedicated to Peter's speeches during parliament that do not fall under Questions or Questions without notice. They range from debating legislation, reporting on events or issues in his seat of Southport and his Ministerial Statements.
Residential Tenancies Authority and Other Legislation Amendment Bill |
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| Posted by Administrator (admin) on May 27 2003 |
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Mr LAWLOR (Southport-ALP) (6.08 p.m.): I rise in support of this bill, and I particularly direct my remarks to the provisions which are aimed at the regulation of information on tenants on databases and that provide a mechanism for handling disputes about listings.
The issue of the abuse of tenancy databases has been a concern for some years and the source of many complaints to each member of this House. We all hear horror stories of unfair and inaccurate listings, some of which can only be described as sheer blackmail. With this legislation, databases will only be able to be used for the purpose for which were they intended-risk management and debt reduction tools.
There has been an increasing number of tenants adversely affected by databases, and a listing has severe consequences and therefore severely undermines the tenancy law. A listing takes no account of the fact that a tenant may have lost a job, had a relationship breakdown or suffered a serious health problem. It is during such a life crisis that a tenant is most likely to default on an agreement, but having moved on from that crisis they may no longer be a risk to an investor, but under the existing system the listing could last forever.
Tenancy databases are run by private companies which generally market themselves to potential members based on the number of tenants listed. It is in their interest to promote negative stereotypes of tenants to exaggerate the problems faced by lessors. They have a vested interest in having as many tenants listed as possible.
Listings to date have often been for very subjective issues such as unkempt lawns and poor periodic inspections. Listings are sometimes vexatious and result from a clash of personalities and are essentially unappealable because there was no requirement to advise a tenant that he or she had been listed. They would simply find that they could no longer gain access to rented accommodation. Under this act that will no longer occur, because listings will only result from a serious breach. I mentioned previously that the threat of a database listing was often used by agents and property owners to blackmail a tenant into caving in to what were sometimes unreasonable demands. For example, the following was included in an open letter to tenants in a large residential complex-
Additionally if we evict or have habitually bad behaviour or constant rent arrears, we have no hesitation in listing the tenant with TICA. TICA is the most popular data bank of bad tenants. Please believe us when we say listing with TICA will make it extremely difficult to rent again, especially in South East Queensland.
TICA, the Tenancy Information Centre of Australia, is one of the database companies and was the one which attracted most complaints to the special government backbench committee which inquired into the operation of tenancy databases of which I was a member and which was so ably and effectively chaired by the member for Kurwongbah, Linda Lavarch. Another example of a threat to list a tenant exposes another rort of the system. It is contained in a letter to a tenant and states, amongst other things-
We trust you will appreciate the importance of this notice and the value in a tenant protecting their tenancy history. Should any tenant wish to discuss this matter further, you can contact us or TICA direct on 1900 222 0346 (calls charged at $5.45 per minute inclusive of GST).
So if one is lucky enough to find out that they are listed with TICA and wanted to discuss the matter, they could ring it on that number and pay $5.45 per minute for the privilege. There were many examples of tenants having to wait on the line for up to 20 minutes-a cost of over $100 to correct what was an incorrect or unfair listing. Another example states-
Having a debt lodged with TICA also gives you a bad credit rating. If you were, for example, to apply for a loan or buy a car you would be denied because of this outstanding debt.
So this agent has taken the threat further to include loans and the purchase of a car, and the debt which was disputed by the tenant amounted to a couple of hundred dollars.
The bill provides for the Small Claims Tribunal to adjudicate on disputes about prospective and actual listings. This will enable tenants to appeal listings and, effectively, to clear their names. Most importantly, the bill requires a person who proposes to list information to advise a tenant and give them a reasonable opportunity to review the information to be listed. Any inaccuracies or misunderstandings can therefore be addressed and rectified at an early stage. I commend the member for Kurwongbah and the members of her committee who were so vitally involved in the investigative work that went into the preparation of this bill. I particularly commend the minister and his staff and his departmental officers on this most important piece of legislation. I commend the bill to the House. Last changed: [PUBLISHED_DATE] at 9:00 AM
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