Ignore the doomsayers, change is good news
Rental rhetoric in this country exists in a lowtrust environment that continues to divide and do harm. It’ s a big problem; we can’t legislate our way out of it.
As a tenancy advocate, I’ve seen first-hand the harmful effects of false narratives. When everyone reacts viscerally and passionately to housing issues, fallacies and misinformation can certainly rule the day.
Thursday last week was one of those days. Almost immediately after it was announced that the 90-day no-fault termination will be restored to the landlord’s toolkit, the internet lit up with big neon signs telling tenants that they could lose their homes.
Trite and unimaginative as these grandstanding doomsday pronouncements are, they are nevertheless damaging. Why scaremonger tenants in the midst of a severe rental shortage? Isn’t the market already scary and stressful enough? How much more are we prepared to gin up tenants’ fear to maintain power and relevance?
When the last government banned no-fault termination, it did so to protect tenants’ tenure, to keep them in their homes. But quite ironically, the ban became an extra barrier for many tenants to access rental properties.
Without the safety net of no-fault termination, landlords were pushed to either withdraw their properties from the rental market or accept only those tenants with the most impeccable records. Many deserving tenants were unfairly sidelined.
There is no tenure to protect when there is no tenure to start with.
The suggestion that restoring no-fault termination will result in landlords handing out notices like Oprah gives away cars is entirely ludicrous.
Isn’t the whole point of renting so that someone else helps pay the mortgage? I don’t know a single landlord who goes into a tenancy actively looking for a way out.
I’ll put it another way: no-fault termination is an insurance policy. You don’t buy car insurance so that you can get into an accident.
You buy car insurance for peace of mind and confidence.
That’ s what landlords are looking for to re-engage with the rental market. It’s all hands on deck time. We are so short of rental homes in this country that it boggles my mind why anyone would be against encouraging supply, providing choice and putting a lid on runaway rent prices.
If landlords’ economic rationalism is not convincing or comforting enough, tenants only need to look to the Residential Tenancies Act for more protection and peace of mind.
Section 54 makes it unlawful for a landlord to retaliate against a tenant by terminating the tenancy. The fine is hefty — up to $6500, to be exact.
Contrary to popular belief, the return of the 90-day no-fault termination does not grant landlords unchecked power over their tenants. Rather, it reinforces the importance of upholding ethical practices and fostering trust within the rental sector.
Speaking of trust, I get that tenants and their advocates are incredibly concerned about no-fault termination being potentially abused or weaponised against them.
Rental rhetoric in this country exists in a low-trust environment that continues to divide and do harm.
It’ s a big problem; we can’t legislate our way out of it.
If landlords want to stop the next leftwing government from banning no-fault termination again, they need to step up, show moral leadership, exercise ethical business practices and renounce the slumlords and profiteers in their midst.
Restoring no-fault termination is a necessary measure to address the complexities of the rental market. Dispelling misconceptions and promoting mutual trust and understanding is a sure step towards a rental sector that serves the interests of all stakeholders.
To every tenant reading this piece: your home is as secure as it was last Wednesday. It is still very much business as usual over here in renting land.