Tenants | Queensland Community Living Handbook

Tenants

Tenancy arrangements fall under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008.
The Act is administered by the Residential Tenancies Authority or RTA for short.

The RTA

Handover of newly Constructed Strata Titled Buildings takes place once the contract administrator has confirmed that the works defined in the contract are complete.
Handover activities should have included:

providing free tenancy information
investigating and prosecuting offenses under the BCCMA when appropriate, and
offering a free dispute resolution service and conciliation conference facilities
holding tenants security rentals bonds and bond refund including bond refund disputes

Contents

The RTA
Tenants and the BCCM Act
Information for the Roll
Tenants Right’s
Tenant’s Responsibilities
Being neighbourly
If a dispute occurs
RTA Video’s
1. Starting a Tenancy
2. During a Tenancy

Tenants and the BCCM Act

The specific tenancy agreement, the tenant(s) enters into is between (a) the tenant and (b) the lessor.
The lessor may be:

the owner of the unit;
the on-site Letting Agent for the complex or
an outside real estate agent.

The body corporate is not a party to this agreement.

Under the Act, however, the tenant while living in the unit becomes the occupier of the unit. As such, the tenant has rights and obligations under the Act.

Information for the Roll

If the tenancy is for a period of 6 months or more, the owner (or their agent) should inform the body corporate of:

the tenant’s name
residential address
address for service of notices (if it differs to the residential address)
the name and address (including the address for service) of the letting agent.

Tenants Right’s

Tenant’s Responsibilities

The tenant, as an occupier, enjoys rights such as:

the tenant has the same rights as the owner regarding the use of the common property.
the tenant enjoys the benefits of an exclusive use by-law for that lot.
the right to live in premises which are in a good state of repair – the owner is responsible for maintaining the lot in good order and condition.
quiet enjoyment of the premises, and
enjoys the protection of the by-laws.

As the occupier of the lot, the tenant must:
obey the by-laws of the scheme.
except for that part of the lot that the body corporate must maintain, the tenant must keep the parts of the lot readily seen from another lot or common property, in a clean and tidy condition.
not cause a nuisance, interfere with or allow another person to interfere with the structures or utility services or service infrastructure of another lot or common property.
not use or permit the lot or common property to be used in a way that causes a nuisance or hazard, or interferes unreasonably with the use or enjoyment of another lot or common property.

Being Neighbourly

It is a requirement of the RTA Act for the letting agent to give the lessor of the lot a copy of the body corporate’s by-laws and house rules.

A visit by a committee member when the tenant moves-in can be a neighborly way to welcome the tenant.
Issues such as the by-laws could be discussed in a friendly, non-threatening manner.

If a dispute occurs

A resolution can be attempted using the dispute services offered by either;

the RTA, and/or
the resolution process under BCCM Act (see Section 15).

The RTA encourages parties to talk through issues before they are referred to the RTA’s dispute resolution service – which is free service. Agreements made through the service are written down and become part of the tenancy agreement.
They can be enforced by the Small Claims Tribunal (an informal court) if necessary.

The clickable link to the

Residential Tenancy Authority

website is here

RTA Forms for General Tenancy

RTA Video’s

Starting a Tenancy

During a Tenancy

Queensland Community Living Handbook

The information supplied on this website is general information only and as such any individual or company must seek their own professional advice, in relation to their own particular set of circumstances.

Copyright 2022. All rights reserved. Reproduction, distribution, or transmission, in any form, or by any means, of any of the contents of this publication without the written permission of the publisher Steve Reynolds is strictly prohibited.

Steve Reynolds e: qldclh@gmail.com PO Box 394 Surfers Paradise.4217