The Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Bill 2008 (Qld) was passed by the Queensland Parliament on 2 December 2008 (without amendment to the provisions in relation to mortgagee recoveries).
The Bill will become an Act once it receives Royal Assent from the Governor of Queensland. The Act will take effect on a date to be fixed by proclamation.
In summary, under the new Act (once it takes effect) a mortgagee will only be entitled to recover possession of the secured property if it has given the requisite 60 days notice to the tenant. 28 days notice will then no longer be sufficient.
There will also be a new approved form which mortgagees must provide to the tenant giving notice of termination of the tenancy.
The Honourable Member for Keppel, Mr Paul Hooligan, made the following pertinent comments in commending the passing of the Bill:
"Mortgagees—that is banks and financial institutions—who have become entitled to take possession of a premises and have not consented to a tenancy must now provide two months notice as opposed to one month under the previous act. The tenant may leave at any time within this two-month period in order to enable a seamless transition to new accommodation. Additionally, the mortgagee is now required to use an approved form when giving notice to a tenant to terminate a tenancy. Previously, the way in which a notice was given was not specified. This has led to much confusion where tenants are not clear if they have to leave. Because that was an area of law in which I practised, I can confirm that oftentimes very damaging confusion was caused to tenants.
The new provisions also protect the tenant from possible claims by the lessor if the tenant pays rent to the mortgagee in accordance with notice from the mortgagee. Unfortunately, in the current economic climate, it is quite possible we will see a rise in situations where mortgagees take possession of rental premises where the lessor has defaulted on their mortgage payments. These changes will provide much needed clarification and protection for tenants. Overall, these changes about residential tenancy agreements are considered timely and necessary to ensure the legislation continues to meet the needs of the sector."
