 |
| As
you will have realised by now, the law in NSW with regard to share
housing is inadequate. It is often hard to figure out whether you
are a co-tenant, a subtenant or a boarder/lodger. There is currently
no legislation in NSW that protects you if you're a boarder/lodger.
Even if you are a tenant, there are still major problems. If you are in a messy legal wrangle with your co-tenant there are no formal dispute resolution processes. The Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal cannot decide that a tenancy be terminated if co-tenants have a falling out. This is particularly damaging in the case of domestic violence in a share house. The Residential Tenancies Act which took effect in 1989, did not anticipate the problems raised by share housing. It is clear that there need to be amendments made to the Act in order to effectively deal with share housing. However legislative reform can only go part of the way. The nature of share housing, where legal rights and obligations are inevitably entangled with personal relationships, lends itself more to policy and education than legal reform. If you are interested in joining any campaign to reform tenancy laws and policies in NSW, contact the Tenants' Union on (02) 9251 6590. Becoming a member of the Tenants' Union entitles you to receive the monthly newsletter and also to join any of the working parties, for example, the Tenants' Legal Working Party. It only costs $8 per year if you are unwaged, $16 if you are waged and $32 if you are an organisation. If you are a tertiary student, find out if your students' association is active in tenancy reform. If not, make it active! If you are involved with community organisations, or are a member of a local tenants' group, encourage your organisation to join the Tenants Union. If you live in an area with a lot of share houses, start your own Tenants' Action Group. The law will only be reformed and appropriate policies created if people work together for change. In 1998 the Tenants' Union of NSW commissioned a report on reforming residential tenancies law as it relates to share housing. The Fair Share (Jane Goddard, Kessels and Associates and Stamatia Stamatellis) recommends major legal changes, including the creation of a new type of "communal" tenancy for all tenants in a share house. For a copy of the report, please contact the Tenants' Union on (02) 9247 3813. |
