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amended or removed; and
o the prospective tenant can
obtain a copy of the personal
information.
Restrictions on listings (s 459)
Personal information about a tenant
may only be listed on a residential
tenancy database if there is a reason
provided for in the RTRAA.
The new amendments provide that a
listing may not be made about a tenant
unless the property manager has:
• Given the tenant a copy of the
personal information or taken
reasonable steps to disclose the
personal information to the tenant;
• Given the tenant at least 14 days to
review the personal information and
make submissions objecting to its
entry into the database or about its
accuracy, completeness or clarity; and
• The property manager has
considered any submissions made.
Failure to comply with these
requirements may constitute an
offence, unless the property manager
has made reasonable enquiries but is
unable to locate the person.
The amendments also provide
that property managers must not
knowingly list personal information
that is inaccurate, incomplete,
ambiguous or out of date.
Obligation to ensure quality and
accuracy of listings (ss 459A & 459B)
The new amendments introduce an
obligation on property managers to
ensure that any listings that they make
are accurate and not out of date. This
obligation will apply to listings made
after the amendments commence and
to pre-existing listings.
If a property manager creates a
listing, and they become aware that it
is inaccurate, incomplete, ambiguous
or out of date, the property manager
must, within 7 days of becoming
aware of the issue, either:
1. Amend the inaccurate, incomplete
or ambiguous information or
remove the out of date listing from
the database; or
2. Provide a written notice to the
database operator.
The written notice must inform the
database operator:
• For information that is inaccurate,
incomplete or ambiguous – how
the information must be amended;
• For information that is out of
date – that the listing must be
removed; and
• In either case, state that the
database operator must comply
with s 459B of the RTRRA.
Within 14 days of receiving the written
notice, database operators must either
remove or amend the listing or they
may incur a fine of up to $4,712.
Protection for domestic violence
victims (s 461)
The amendments offer protection to
victims of domestic violence, who will
be able to apply to the Queensland Civil
and Administrative Tribunal to prevent
their personal information from being
listed on a database where the breach of
the tenancy agreement was caused by
domestic violence perpetrated by another
person. The perpetrator of the domestic
violence, however, may be listed.
Requirement to provide copies of
listings to tenants (s 459C)
If a property manager lists personal
information about a tenant, and is
asked in writing by the tenant for
a copy of the listing, the property
manager must provide a copy of the
listing to the tenant within 14 days of
the written request.
Property mangers will be entitled to
charge the tenant a reasonable fee for
providing a copy of the listing.
Conclusion
Residential tenancy databases will
continue to be useful screening tools
when considering residential tenancy
applications, however, property
managers should be aware of the
additional obligations and restrictions
placed on them, which are expected
to commence on 1 July 2016.
Unless otherwise noted in this article,
failure to comply with the proposed
new requirements discussed above
may result in a maximum penalty
of 20 penalty units for each offence,
which currently amounts to $2,356.