I speak in debate on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (Prohibiting No Grounds Evictions) Bill 2024, introduced by the member for Newtown. As we have heard, the objectives of the bill are to remove the right of a landlord to terminate residential tenancy agreements without grounds, to specify the grounds on which residential tenancy agreements may be terminated, and to make it an offence for a landlord to fail to ensure that residential premises are used in accordance with the ground on which the termination was made. Essentially, the bill aims to ensure that when people are evicted, they are given reasonable grounds and that those reasons are followed through.
On the surface, it is a good bill and its objectives are sound. However, the Government is working on its own bill. It is coming; I checked. I spoke with the Minister's staff and they are cooking away. I think all members will welcome that bill when it is introduced to the House. Government members, as well as the member for Newtown, recognise we need to make changes in the rental market. Given the state of the housing market, especially in Sydney, entire generations are being priced out of the market, which means more and more people are renting. As a result, we need to strengthen the rights of renters.
The Government is implementing commitments to make renting fairer and to provide more protection for renters. The Government appointed the Rental Commissioner, Trina Jones, who will be a voice for renters, which is very important. The Government also is moving to implement other election commitments, such as making it easier for renters to have pets, introducing new data protection requirements for real estate agents and introducing the portable bond scheme, which relieves renters of the burden of having to raise a bond while waiting for the refunding of the previous bond. That has been a burden for renters for some time. Especially in a cost‑of‑living crisis, it is one of the important reforms that the Government will be undertaking.
As a package, the Government's reforms will implement significant rental reforms to improve the rights of renters and ease the pressure within the rental market. The Government also is introducing measures to increase housing supply. I acknowledge the nimby members opposite. I guess it is their right to be nimbys, but it is important to ensure that we have more rental properties to create downward pressure on the cost of rent. My Leppington electorate office is situated in an area of transit-oriented development. It is not one of the Transport Oriented Development Program areas that the Minister has announced. The Camden and Liverpool councils are currently going through the process of rezoning the town centre. It will have significant housing stock once it is completed, both mixed use and high-density residential. As I have said publicly, it is a fantastic example of transit‑oriented development, as is the next station down at Edmondson Park, but it should not be happening 40 to 45 kilometres from the Sydney CBD. It needs to be happening five, 10 and 15 kilometres from the Sydney CBD, which would result in more rental stock on the market and help ease the burden that renters are currently facing.
A constituent told me a story a month or two ago. He is a gentleman who has shared custody of his two kids with his former partner, so he needed a new rental property. Because of the desperation in places like Leppington, he signed an agreement before seeing the property. On the day he moved in, he noticed that there was a car parked on the property. He thought, "What's that about?" The house had a partition through the middle of it and there was another family renting the other half of the house. The owner of the house, who may or may not be in cahoots with the real estate agent, had effectively split the house in two and rented it to two families. That is not proper, and he demanded that that be rescinded. Thankfully, that has happened. That is indicative of what is happening throughout Sydney and, I assume, throughout New South Wales when it comes to the plight of renters. That is why we need to strengthen renters' rights. The Government has done that, is doing that and will continue to do that.
The Government's fundamental belief is that renters need good owners and owners need good renters. As a result, the Government opposes the bill because it has its own commitment to ending no‑grounds evictions, as I mentioned earlier. The Government recently completed public consultation on those reforms. The paper entitled Improving NSW rental laws consultation paper sought feedback on a variety of rental reforms, including no‑grounds evictions. The public consultation was record breaking. I know from my time both as a member of Parliament and previously as a councillor that it is difficult to get the public to give feedback and to consult. When they do, it is a hot issue that needs to be addressed quickly. There were 400 submissions and 16,000 survey responses across the gamut from industry, rental advocacy groups and members of the general public.
It underlines the importance of the reforms, the need to strengthen the rights of renters and ensure a sensible, pragmatic approach to the reforms. They are complex reforms. No two States in Australia have adopted the same approach on the issue. There is not a one‑size‑fits‑all solution. Every State has its own pressures, complexities and particulars, which means that it needs to be worked through in a methodical way. Looking at the average house price in Sydney compared to Melbourne, there is something like a $400,000 to $500,000 difference. It is significant.
Ms Janelle Saffin: It's massive.
Mr NATHAN HAGARTY: It is huge. That is why the Government needs to take its time on this, but there is a need to deal with it in an appropriate time frame. The Government will continue to work with stakeholders to ensure that there are no unintended consequences and no detrimental impact on the rental market when no‑grounds evictions are introduced. Currently, under the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 a landlord can end a tenancy for several reasons, including where the tenant breaches the rental agreement; fails to pay rent or utilities, if that is part of the agreement; causes serious damage or injury; threatens, abuses or harasses the landlord, agent or a contractor; abandons the property; or gives up possession of the property with the consent of the owner.
Other reasons in the Act include the need for vacant possession on the sale of the property or the landlord suffering financial hardship. The Act also includes an ability for the landlord to end the tenancy without needing any reason. For a periodic lease, the landlord can end the tenancy at any time without a reason, but they must give the renter at least 90 days notice. For a fixed-term lease, the landlord cannot end the tenancy during the agreed term, except in exceptional circumstances. For example, the landlord cannot generally end a 12‑month lease until that 12 months has passed. If the landlord wants the renter to leave at the end of the agreed time, they must give 30 days notice. [Extension of time]
I need the extension of time because it is an extremely important issue and I have got so much more to contribute. I know members are looking forward to that. I go back to the "have your say" survey. Some of the results are revealing. Fifty-seven per cent of the respondents were renters and 34 per cent were owners. The survey was available in seven languages, ensuring voices across the community were heard. I thank the Minister and the department for allowing multilingual submissions to be made. In my part of the world, in Leppington, there is a diverse and multicultural community. When voices in my community are not heard, it is often an oversight. It is not from a lack of wanting to be heard but from people's inability to express themselves in the language. I commend the Minister, his office and the department for enabling multilingual submissions.
As the Minister pointed out when releasing the results of the consultation in March, there were different views on key issues, such as ways to implement a ban on no-grounds evictions. That is one of the reasons we cannot rush this and one of the reasons that I will be opposing the bill. For example, 96 per cent of renters supported the owner needing a reason to end a periodic lease, but owners and real estate agents—those reputable people—did not support the proposal. Some 28 per cent of owners and 12 per cent of real estate agents were in support. Those are some of the opposing views, and that is why there is a need to consult widely to come to an agreement on the issue. Renters also strongly supported the owner needing a reason to end a fixed-term lease, while most owners and real estate agents did not support the proposal. Some16 per cent of owners and 8 per cent of real estate agents were in support. It is important to touch on some of the statistics when it comes to renters in New South Wales. I note that the City of Sydney covers—
Ms Jenny Leong: Sydney, Newtown and Balmain.
Mr NATHAN HAGARTY: Sydney, Newtown and Balmain.
Ms Jenny Leong: A bit of Heffron, actually. A bit of the Leader of the House's electorate.
Mr NATHAN HAGARTY: A bit of the member for Heffron's electorate as well. Almost two‑thirds, or 65 per cent, of people in the City of Sydney local government area are renters. That is why it is a significant issue, and the member for Newtown is leading the charge on it. In Brewarrina, home of the fascinating Brewarrina Aboriginal Fish Traps—those who have not heard of them should look them up—surprisingly, 52.3 per cent of the population are renters. Reading down the list of LGAs, the percentages are: North Sydney, 52.3 per cent; Waverley, 49.8 per cent; Parramatta, 46.5 per cent; and Cumberland, 44.4 per cent. The point is that this impacts people right across the State. There are lots of renters and we need to be backing them. I have spoken about what this Government has done for renters, and it will continue that work.
I cannot finish without mentioning the renter statistics for the three local government areas that cover the great electorate of Leppington: Liverpool, 35.9 per cent; Campbelltown, 34.5 per cent; and Camden, 25.0 per cent. In Lismore, it is 27.7 per cent. [Time expired.]
