What Is Quiet Enjoyment In A Tenancy and How Can You Ensure It?
Quiet enjoyment is a tenant’s right to enjoy a property as their own home and being entitled to reasonable peace, comfort and privacy. The Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 refers to this as common law.
It is legally an offence for a Property Manager to interfere with a tenant’s quiet enjoyment. Doing so can incur fines.
The Residential Tenancies Authority recently of Queensland prosecuted a property owner for interfering with his tenants’ quiet enjoyment of their rental property, resulting in a $3000 fine.
Residential Tenancies Authority Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Smith said, “Everyone has the right to enjoy the privacy, security and comfort of their home, and this court ruling sends a strong message that breaking Queensland’s tenancy laws has consequences.”
According to the Residential Tenancies Authority website, the most common breaches occur when the Property Manager does not comply with the rules of entry.
Other common scenarios include:
- Dictating how many visitors a tenant can have or who can visit the property
- Using advertising images of a tenant’s possessions without the tenant’s consent for the purposes of selling or renting a property
- Visiting the property without the appropriate entry notice or prior agreement
- Disruption of a tenant’s use of a property by shutting off the electricity or changing the lock
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