44 / 52
R E I Q J O U R N A L
| J U N E 2 0 1 6
P A G E 4 2
Do you know about
new requirements
for residential
tenancy databases?
The Queensland Government has introduced changes
to residential tenancy database requirements under the
Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act
2008
(Qld) (
RTRAA
). These amendments are part of the
Plumbing and Drainage and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2015
which passed in Parliament on 18 March 2016. The
changes are expected to commence on 1 July 2016.
WORDS BY MICHAEL GAPES, PARTNER, CARTER NEWELL LAWYERS
Residential tenancy databases
such as TICA are privately owned
databases which are subscribed to
by lessors and real estate agents
and are frequently used when
considering applications from
prospective tenants. These databases
are used to check the rental history
of prospective tenants and are a
screening tool to identify ‘
black listed
’
tenants and minimise investor risk.
The new amendments introduce
uniform national law provisions for
residential tenancy databases and seek
to provide tenants with extra protection
from unfair disadvantage which may
arise from being listed on a database.
The proposed amended sections to
the RTRAA include ss 457 - 462 of
the RTRAA.
In this article, we outline some of
the key changes which property
managers need to be aware of.
3 year expiry date for listings (s 459D)
The amendments to the residential
tenancy database requirements
restrict the time a listing can be kept
on a database to 3 years. After the 3
year period has expired, the listing
must be removed by the database
operator within 14 days.
Once the amendments come into
effect, database operators will have a
6 month transitional period to remove
all listings that are older than 3 years.
Failure to comply with this
requirement may result in a maximum
penalty of 40 penalty units, which
currently amounts to $4,712.
Requirement to notify prospective
tenants of database use (s 458A)
When a prospective tenant submits
a residential tenancy application,
property managers will be required to
disclose to the prospective tenant all
of the residential tenancy databases
that they usually use and must state
that the reason the relevant databases
are used is to check an individual's
tenancy history.
In addition, property managers will
be required to provide information
about each particular database,
including how a person may contact
the database operator and obtain
information from the operator.
These requirements apply whether or
not the property manager intends to
use the relevant databases to determine
whether to recommend prospective
tenant to a lessor client.
Property managers will be able to
provide this notice to prospective
tenants in combination with another
document, such as a written tenancy
application form, or may give
prospective tenants an earlier
notice, not more than 7 days
before an application is made.
Requirement to notify prospective
tenants of existing listings (s 458B)
If a property manager uses a database to
check the rental history of a prospective
tenant and, in doing so, comes
across personal information about
the prospective tenant, the property
manager will be required to give a
written notice to the prospective tenant.
The notice must include:
• The name of the database;
• That personal information about the
prospective tenant is in the database;
• Details of the lessor or agent who
created the listing (if these details
appear on the database); and
• How and in what circumstances:
o the prospective tenant can
have the personal information