Mr GREG WARREN (Campbelltown) (12:52): My question is addressed to the Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading. Will the Minister update the House on how the Minns Labor Government's reforms create a fairer rental market for both tenants and owners?
Mr ANOULACK CHANTHIVONG (Macquarie Fields—Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading, Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology, Minister for Building, and Minister for Corrections) (12:53): I thank the member for Campbelltown for his question and for his great advocacy on behalf of the 10,500 householders who rent in his electorate. I am proud to advise the House that the Government has taken a holistic approach when it comes to meeting the housing challenge that is confronting the State of New South Wales. We know that building more homes must also be accompanied by bold reform, supporting people not only where they live but also how they live in their homes. That is why the Government has delivered on its election commitment to create a better and fairer rental system.
The Minns Labor Government has ushered in a new era of stability and security for renters and the rental market by removing no-grounds evictions, making it easier to have pets in rentals and ensuring that tenants have convenient ways to pay their rent without extra costs. Those historic reforms were formally implemented two weeks ago, on May 19. The 2.3 million renters, and growing, in this State are now afforded more protections than ever before. The Government has simplified the rules so that renters have housing security and landlords have much more certainty about their property. Landlords are no longer able to end a tenancy without a reason, as set out in the rental laws.
The Government has also made it easier for tenants to have pets in rentals. We know that pets are part of the family, and renters should not have to choose between a having place to live and keeping their companion animal. On May 19 the Government introduced a fairer decision-making process so that landlords are only able to refuse a tenant's request to keep a pet for specific reasons. We have also made sure that renters have free ways to pay their rent. Landlords and agents must now allow renters to pay their rent using convenient, modern, fee‑free payment methods such as direct transfer. Surely in this age of technology availability there should be an easy, convenient and free way for people to pay their rent.
Cost-of-living pressures continue to weigh upon renters across the whole State. These important changes, which are only possible under a Minns Labor Government, are among other key initiatives, including limiting rent increases to only once per year for all lease types, ending tenants having to pay for their own background checks, launching a new free website called Rent Check and investing $6.6 million to develop the nation's first portable rental bond scheme. [Extension of time]
The Government's new Rental Taskforce has hit the ground running following an $8.4 million investment. The taskforce is working extremely hard to carry out inspections, audits and compliance blitzes to prevent and act on breaches of the new laws. We have seen some really good results. In February, the taskforce helped secure $50,000 in refunds to more than 2,300 renters who were wrongly charged for background checks. The Rental Taskforce has also come down hard on real estate agents caught doing the wrong thing, leading to four successful prosecutions since late 2024. The Government set up the taskforce to show renters that it will act swiftly and effectively on agents and landlords who seriously breach the new rental laws.
The Government understands that more people than ever are renting, and renting for longer. These reforms are the result of thorough consultation with stakeholders, ranging from renters to property owners to industry experts. We have listened to, and delivered on, demands to improve rental security, balance and fairness in the rental market. There can be no clearer demonstration that the Minns Labor Government is committed to making renting fairer for the 2.3 million renters and 600,000 investors in this State. But there is more to come. The Government is well advanced on its commitment to enhance the protection of renters' privacy to ensure their data is safe.
Landlords and agents will also benefit from clear rules on the information they can gather from renters and how that information should be handled. The housing challenge needs a holistic solution for where we build, how we build and how people live in their homes. That is why the Government has implemented bold planning reforms through the planning Minister, established the Building Commission to ensure that homes are built to the highest quality, and modernised strata and rental laws to support people living in higher density housing. The Government has delivered historical reforms that will continue to support housing in New South Wales.
