The Gunner Government has thrown the cat amongst the pigeons by introducing changes to the Residential Tenancies Act, according to REINT CEO Quentin Kilian.
Northern Territory property investors were handed a heavy blow yesterday when the State Government ruled in favour of Fido and Sooty.
The Northern Territory’s peak real estate body, the Real Estate Institute of the Northern Territory (REINT), released a statement saying it was shocked by the Northern Territory Government’s decision to overrule the findings of its own Legislative Scrutiny Committee.
The new amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act will have massively detrimental effects on the rental market, according to Quentin Kilian, CEO of the REINT.
At a Glance:
“What has occurred in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly today is nothing short of one of the most abysmal decisions made by any Government and shows the short sightedness of the Attorney General and Gunner Government”, said Mr Kilian.
“They pushed through an amendment to the Residential Tenancies Act, which a Government led Legislation Scrutiny Committee strongly recommended against.”
"The Government did not put forward a single valid argument as to why they are ignoring their own Legislative Scrutiny Committee, nor did they allow the Chair of the Committee – Ms Ngaree Ah Kit MLA – to speak on the matter in the debate”.
The new amendment by the Gunner Government effectively means a tenant will be entitled to have a pet of their choice in any private rental property, with the exception of those covered by Strata Title laws, even against the wishes and instruction of the owner of that property.
“The Attorney General argued in Parliament today that renters want to have the same rights as people who own homes," said Mr Kilian.
"This is a nonsensical attitude to have. A person renting a property does not have the same rights as the person who has invested their money and owns the house. If you want the rights of a homeowner, then become one.
“With the Territory economy already on its knees and the property market having wiped 10 years of capital growth off the books due to decisions of this Government, they now seek to drive away investors from a property market that is just starting to show signs of recovery.”
The Legislation Scrutiny Committee received the Residential Tenancies Legislation Amendment Bill 2019 in October 2019 and responded with their recommendations in December.
"The Committee queries the necessity for these amendments as the evidence received suggests that the proportion of rental properties they are likely to make available to tenants who wish to keep pets will be quite small," said the report.
"After considering the evidence, the Committee is of the view that these amendments pose an unreasonable burden on the landlord and will only benefit a small proportion of tenants in private rental housing. The Committee does not support this amendment."
This recommendation came from Ms Ngaree Ah Kit, Member for Karama (Labor); Ms Sandra Nelson, Member for Katherine (Labor); Mr Tony Sievers, Member for Brennan (Labor) ; Mrs Lia Finocchiaro, Member for Spillett (CLP); and Mrs Robyn Lambley, Member for Araluen (Ind).
“This is only the first tranche of changes to the Residential Tenancies Act and it signals that this Government is willing to take away all rights of landlords and owners by ignoring all evidence presented to it by stakeholders and its Legislative Scrutiny Committee," said Mr Kilian.
“Decisions such as this will drive investors from the Territory property market which will result in less rental properties in the future and that will push up rental prices.
"So the end result of this short-sighted decision will mean renters will have less choice and will be paying a lot more.”
More information on the amendments to the bill and discussions can be found here.
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