Are you a renter with a pet struggling to find a rental property which will allow a pet? Are you struggling to get your landlord to make necessary repairs to your rental property? If so, the amendments to The Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (Qld) are good news for you!

The Act has had a bit of a facelift, with significant amendments being implemented over a three-year period commencing in 2021. The second phase of amendments came into effect as of 1 October 2022. We have summarised the amendments relating to pet approvals and repair orders below.

Pet Approvals

Under the new legislation, rentals can no longer be advertised as “no pets allowed”. To request approval for a pet, a tenant must submit a ‘Request for approval to keep a pet in rental property’ Form and the landlord must respond to the request within fourteen days. If the landlord doesn’t respond within fourteen days, the request is deemed to be approved.

The landlord may only refuse the request on specific grounds (i.e. lack of appropriate fencing) which are outlined in the Act. Whilst the amended Act is much more pet-friendly, landlords are still entitled to put conditions (i.e. no indoor dogs) on any approval.

 

Repair Orders

Is getting your landlord to make repairs like butting your head against a brick wall? This is an all-too-common problem and the amendments to the Act have addressed this by enabling you to issue your landlord with a new type of Order, namely a Repair Order.

This type of Order will be useful in instances where a tenant has notified the property manager/landlord about routine or emergency repairs and the issue has not been addressed within a reasonable timeframe. In this situation, an Application for a Repair Order can be made through the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT).
Any outstanding Repair Orders must be disclosed in the general tenancy agreement, and a property cannot be lawfully leased whilst a Repair Order is outstanding.

 

How we can help

If you’re a tenant or a landlord looking for advice on the amendments to the legislation and how they might affect you, give us a call and book an appointment with one of our lawyers who can guide you through the changes and any impact they may have on you.