ACT Greens Member for Brindabella Johnathan Davis MLA will this week call on the ACT Government to establish a rental ombudsman, to ensure the ACT's nation-leading rental laws deliver real outcomes for all Canberran renters.
Mr Davis will move a motion in the ACT Legislative Assembly on Wednesday 10th May, calling on the ACT Government to:
- Acknowledge the potential barriers for renters relying on ACAT to correct breaches of rental laws and resolve disputes with their landlord or real estate agent
- The ACT's strong renters' rights are most effective if those rights can be applied in practice and without barriers, such as through monitoring, enforcement and accessible dispute resolution
- Calls on the ACT Government to consider establishing a rental ombudsman with powers such as:
- Ability to investigate breaches of rental law
- Free mediation or conciliation to resolve disputes
- Issue infringement notices
- Advise government to improve renters' rights
"The ACT Greens have secured some of the strongest renters' rights in the country, but there is still more work to do to make sure renters experience the realities of those rights," said Johnathan Davis MLA.
"A rental ombudsman would make sure that renters in Canberra experience the real life benefits of our nation-leading rental laws. Greens leadership in the Assembly has secured a ban on no cause evictions, delivered minimum standards and put some restrictions on rent increases. But many Canberrans are still stuck with rental situations that don't meet expectations.
"I've heard countless horror stories in my consultation with renters in this city - of landlords failing to fix broken toilets, return bond money or even allowing structures to collapse due to delay and inaction.
"Our rental laws should prevent these things from happening. I want to make sure these rental horror stories are a thing of the past, and that renters can resolve these breaches without having to go to ACAT.
"We need to make sure that landlords, real estate agencies, and renters, understand their responsibilities under the Residential Tenancies Act, and that breaches of rental laws can be dealt with easily and quickly. A rental ombudsman will make sure rental laws are implemented across the board and help ensure rental horror stores never happen again," said Mr Davis.
