Download - SHELTER - Protection for Boarders and Lodgers

Leasing

-Protection for tenants, landlords, boarders and lodgers

BOARDERS AND

LODGERS

OCCUPANCY AGREEMENT

‘GUEST’Has a non-exclusive right to occupy according

to a regular COMMON LAW contract

BoardersLodgers

In REGISTERED boarding houses

Occupy a room + meals and services

COMMON LAW + Consumer Claims Act 1998+ the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) 2010

Boarding Houses Act 2012Boarding Houses Act 2012

CONTRACTUAL LICENCE

‘RESIDENT’Has basic rights according to the ‘occupancy

principles’ and has an occupancy agreement

BoardersLodgers

Occupy a room

In hotels, motels, private homes, share houses, student accommodation, and

refuges and crisis accommodation

Leasing


‘Boarders’ and ‘Lodgers’ are like tenants (in that they have a contract with a landlord for the right to occupy premises), BUT their legal position is

different.

Some of these renters are amongst the most vulnerable people in our community.

Boarders and Lodgers

Leasing


PREVIOUS SYSTEM:

Until 2013, boarders and lodgers relied on regular common law contracts (they didn’t have any special rights like tenants who rent – it was more like the protection you’d get when you buy something from a shop).

A lodger had a legal right to occupy premises, but not a right to exclusive possession (the landlord kept control of the premises). The landlord or a caretaker is usually physically present at the premises, so they could set rules of conduct for anyone staying there.

‘Marginal Tenures’ in AustraliaParity Magazine, 2011


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PREVIOUS SYSTEM:

Boarders and lodgers weren’t covered by the RTA (or any special law relating to boarders and lodgers).

They were only covered by regular common law and the Consumer Claims Act 1998 and the Australian Consumer Law 2010).

They faced:- eviction with little or no notice;- rent increases with little or no notice;- no effective way of resolving disputes


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PREVIOUS SYSTEM:


‘Three reports from the NSW Ombudsman have highlighted the extent to which boarding house residents have been exploited by dodgy operators and forced to live in filthy conditions.’

Crackdown on dodgy boarding houses, ABC News (2012)

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LAW REFORM:

FINALLY, the NSW government saw that this situation was unfair and they passed the Boarding Houses Act 2012

It includes new occupancy rights for residents (but only for people in registered boarding houses).


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Boarders and lodgers (in registered boarding houses) now have special rights, like the rights to:- live in reasonably clean and secure accommodation- know the rules of the boarding house before moving in- 4 weeks' written notice of any rent increase- KNOW: 1) why an occupancy may be terminated; and 2)

how much notice will be given before termination- be given reasonable written notice of eviction

AND they’ll be able to enforce these rights at the CTTT to enforce their housing rights (not like before, where they could only go to the CTTT for breach of a contract).


More Protection for Boarding House Residents (SMH 2012)

Leasing

-Protection for tenants, landlords, boarders and lodgers Boarders and Lodgers

OCCUPANCY AGREEMENT



BoardersLodgers

In REGISTERED boarding houses

Occupy a room + meals and services

COMMON LAW + Consumer Claims Act 1998+ the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) 2010

Boarding Houses Act 2012Boarding Houses Act 2012

CONTRACTUAL LICENCE

‘RESIDENT’Has basic rights according to the ‘occupancy

principles’ and has an occupancy agreement

BoardersLodgers

Occupy a room

In hotels, motels, private homes, share houses, student accommodation, and


Leasing


What about these people?

They are covered by the same laws that ALL boarders and lodgers used to be covered by (before 2013).1. Common law2. The Consumer Claims Act 19983. The Australian Consumer Law 2010




COMMON LAW + Consumer Claims Act 1998+ the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) 2010CONTRACTUAL

LICENCE BoardersLodgersIn hotels, motels, private homes, share houses, student accommodation, and


and

Leasing


A lodger’s legal right to occupy premises is called a ‘licence’.

Unlike an agreement under the RTA, a licence is a personal right and does not give the renter a legal interest (i.e. ‘leasehold title’) in the land, and therefore is not protected to the same extent.

The terms contained in a licence are limited to whatever the lodger and landlord BARGAIN FOR (which means, in reality, that the terms are decided by the landlord, because they have all the bargaining power).




COMMON LAW + Consumer Claims Act 1998+ the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) 2010CONTRACTUAL

LICENCE BoardersLodgersIn hotels, motels, private homes, share houses, student accommodation, and


and