When Something is Not Mentioned in the Act

Owning a rental property entails a complex set of rules to conform to in order to ensure that the the rights of both landlord and tenant are protected.

More so, landlords ask their agents about where in the Act (Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008) some rules are specified. In fact, this often becomes a topic of discussion in social media forums. Similar questions are being asked again and again without really getting a direct answer from anybody.

Do you know why you can’t get answers? It’s because some things are not mentioned in the Act. Even the RTA cannot give you direct answers if you ask them. Individual scenarios and circumstances are simply not dealt with by the PO Act and the RTRA Acts.

So now the big question is: What do we do when the Act does not mention a particular situation? You must know that your property managers cannot contract outside of the Act when carrying out instructions from you. This is why the REIQ has created a set of special conditions written by their legal division.

Basically, these “Special Conditions” are the requirements of a tenant as requested by the landlord. They are included in the tenancy agreement in the way of an agreed upon special condition. Therefore, there is no right of enforcement of any situation not stipulated in both the Act and the tenancy agreement. However, it can be negotiated by both parties. In cases wherein parties fail to reach an agreement, the matter can be referred to the RTA dispute resolution or QCAT to obtain the right decision.