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Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2012 No. 47 of 2012

TABLE OF PROVISIONSSection Page

PART 1—PRELIMINARY 1

1 Purposes 12 Commencement 2

PART 2—AMENDMENTS RELATING TO SUCCESSIVE BREACHES 3

3 Successive breaches by landlord 34 Successive breaches by tenant 35 Successive breaches by resident of rooming house 46 Successive breaches by resident of caravan park 47 Successive breaches by site owner 58 Successive breaches by site tenant 5

PART 3—AMENDMENTS RELATING TO BONDS 7

9 Definitions 710 Bond lodgment form 711 Duty to pay bond to Authority 812 Receipt for bond 813 Bond held on trust 814 What if the landlord is late in lodging the bond? 915 Payment of bond by cheque, Director of Housing voucher

or money order 916 New section 410B inserted 9

410B Payment of substitute bond 917 Payment out of bonds 1018 Payment out of certain Director of Housing bonds held on

30 June 2003 1019 New section 411B inserted 11

411B Payment out of Director of Housing bonds generally 1120 New section 411C inserted 12

411C Refund of amount of substitute bond 1221 Payment out by agreement 1222 Payment to Director of Housing 1223 Authority to notify Director of Housing on receipt of new

bond 13

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24 Bond paid by Director of Housing 1325 Prohibition of claims 1326 Notice of assignment or transfer by landlord 1427 Notice of assignment or transfer by tenant 1428 Authority to record names 1429 Functions of Authority 15

PART 4—OTHER AMENDMENTS AND REPEAL 16

30 Statute law revision 1631 Date of repeal of Consumer Affairs Legislation Amendment

(Reform) Act 2010 1632 Repeal of amending Act 16

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ENDNOTES 17

Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2012†

No. 47 of 2012

[Assented to 21 August 2012]

The Parliament of Victoria enacts:

PART 1—PRELIMINARY

1 Purposes

The main purposes of this Act are—

(a) to amend the Residential Tenancies Act 1997—

Victoria

1

(i) to clarify the consequences of a third successive breach of a duty provision; and

(ii) to make further provision for matters relating to bonds; and

(iii) to make other miscellaneous amendments; and

(b) to amend the Consumer Affairs Legislation Amendment (Reform) Act 2010 to amend the date of the repeal of that Act.

2 Commencement

(1) Part 1 and section 31 come into operation on the day after the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), the remaining provisions of this Act come into operation on a day or days to be proclaimed.

(3) If a provision referred to in subsection (2) does not come into operation before 1 June 2013, it comes into operation on that day.

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s. 2 Section Page

2

PART 2—AMENDMENTS RELATING TO SUCCESSIVE BREACHES

3 Successive breaches by landlords. 3

See:Act No.109/1997.Reprint No. 6as at5 September 2011and amendingAct Nos49/2010, 63/2010, 67/2010, 17/2012 and 21/2012.LawToday:www.legislation.vic.gov.au

(1) In section 240(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997—

(a) after "premises" insert "without first serving a breach of duty notice under section 208";

(b) in paragraph (c), after "occasion" insert "referred to in paragraph (b)".

(2) After section 240(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 insert—

"(1A) If the tenant gives a breach of duty notice to the landlord under section 208 in respect of the breach referred to in subsection (1)(a), the tenant must not give the landlord a notice of intention to vacate under this section unless the landlord has not complied with the breach of duty notice within the required time.".

4 Successive breaches by tenant


(a) after "premises" insert "without first serving a breach of duty notice under section 208";

Part 4—Other Amendments and Repeal

Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2012No. 47 of 2012

3



"(1A) If the landlord gives a breach of duty notice to the tenant under section 208 in respect of the breach referred to in subsection (1)(a), the landlord must not give the tenant a notice to vacate under this section unless the tenant has not complied with the breach of duty notice within the required time.".

5 Successive breaches by resident of rooming house


(a) after "by the resident" insert "without first serving a breach of duty notice under section 208";



"(1A) If the rooming house owner gives a breach of duty notice to the resident under section 208 in respect of the breach referred to in subsection (1)(a), the rooming house owner must not give the resident a notice to vacate under this section unless the resident has not complied with the breach of duty notice within the required time.".

6 Successive breaches by resident of caravan park


s. 5Part 4—Other Amendments and Repeal


4

(a) after "a site or caravan" insert "without first serving a breach of duty notice under section 208";



"(1A) If the caravan park owner or caravan owner gives a breach of duty notice to the resident under section 208 in respect of the breach referred to in subsection (1)(a), the caravan park owner or caravan owner must not give the resident a notice to vacate under this section unless the resident has not complied with the breach of duty notice within the required time.".

7 Successive breaches by site owner

(1) In section 317V(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997—

(a) after "Part 4A site" insert "without first serving a breach of duty notice under section 208";


(2) After section 317V(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 insert—

"(1A) If the site tenant gives a breach of duty notice to the site owner under section 208 in respect of the breach referred to in subsection (1)(a), the site tenant must not give the site owner a notice of intention to vacate under this section unless the site owner has not complied with the breach of duty notice within the required time.".

8 Successive breaches by site tenant



5

(1) In section 317ZB(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997—

(a) after "Part 4A site" insert "without first serving a breach of duty notice under section 208";


(2) After section 317ZB(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 insert—

"(1A) If the site owner gives a breach of duty notice to the site tenant under section 208 in respect of the breach referred to in subsection (1)(a), the site owner must not give the site tenant a notice to vacate under this section unless the site tenant has not complied with the breach of duty notice within the required time.".

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6

PART 3—AMENDMENTS RELATING TO BONDS

9 Definitions

In section 404 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997—

(a) insert the following definitions—

"amount of bond includes a partial or full amount of a bond;

bond lodgment form means a form completed and signed by a landlord and tenant in accordance with section 405 for the purposes of lodgment of an amount of bond;

bond substitution form means a form completed and signed by a tenant in accordance with section 410B for the purposes of lodgment of a substitute bond under that section;";

(b) in paragraph (d) of the definition of landlord, after "former landlord" insert ", former rooming house owner, former caravan park owner, former caravan owner and former site owner".

10 Bond lodgment form

(1) Insert the following heading to section 405 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997—

"Bond lodgment form".


(a) for "a bond" substitute "an amount of bond";

(b) for "the bond" substitute "the amount of bond".



7

(3) In section 405(3) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, for "the bond" substitute "the amount of bond".

11 Duty to pay bond to Authority



(b) for "the bond" (where first occurring) substitute "the amount of bond";

(c) for "the bond" (where secondly occurring) substitute "bond".

12 Receipt for bond

In section 407(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997—

(a) for "the bond" (where first occurring) substitute "bond";

(b) in paragraph (b), for "the bond" substitute "the amount of bond".

13 Bond held on trust



(b) for "the bond" (where twice occurring) substitute "the amount of bond".



8

14 What if the landlord is late in lodging the bond?

In section 409(2) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, for "that bond" substitute "that amount of bond".

15 Payment of bond by cheque, Director of Housing voucher or money order

In section 410A of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997—

(a) for "a bond" (wherever occurring) substitute "an amount of bond";

(b) for "the bond" substitute "bond".

16 New section 410B inserted

After section 410A of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 insert—

"410B Payment of substitute bond

(1) A tenant under a tenancy agreement may substitute an amount of bond paid by the tenant and held by the Authority in relation to that tenancy agreement with an equivalent amount of bond paid on behalf of the tenant by the Director of Housing or an agent of the Director of Housing (whether in the form of a Director of Housing voucher or otherwise).

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a tenant must—

(a) complete and sign a bond substitution form containing the prescribed information; and

(b) give the substitute bond to the Authority together with the completed bond substitution form.



9

(3) The Authority, within 7 days after receiving a substitute bond, must give a receipt to—

(a) the landlord under the tenancy agreement; and

(b) the tenant; and

(c) the Director of Housing.

(4) A receipt under subsection (3) must—

(a) confirm that a bond substitution has been effected; and

(b) specify the amount of bond substituted; and

(c) contain the prescribed information.

(5) The receipt may be given in the manner determined by the Authority.".

17 Payment out of bonds


(a) after paragraph (a) insert—

"(ab) in accordance with section 411C; or";

(b) in paragraph (d)(ii), after "411A" insert "or 411B";

(c) in paragraph (d)(iii), omit "or (1A)".

18 Payment out of certain Director of Housing bonds held on 30 June 2003

After section 411A(3) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 insert—

"(4) This section does not apply on or after the commencement of section 411B.".



10

19 New section 411B inserted

After section 411A of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 insert—

"411B Payment out of Director of Housing bonds generally

(1) This section applies if—

(a) the Authority holds an amount of bond paid by the Director of Housing or an agent of the Director of Housing on behalf of a tenant; and

(b) the Authority receives a new amount of bond in relation to a tenancy agreement—

(i) for the same premises to which the amount of bond referred to in paragraph (a) relates; and

(ii) from or on behalf of a tenant other than the tenant referred to in paragraph (a); and

(c) no application for a refund of the amount of bond referred to in paragraph (a) is made in accordance with section 413(1) within 12 months of the date on which the Authority receives the new bond referred to in paragraph (b).

(2) The Authority may pay to the Director of Housing the amount of bond referred to in subsection (1)(a).

(3) After the Authority pays an amount under subsection (2), if the Authority holds a remaining amount of bond in relation to the tenancy agreement for which the amount of bond referred to in subsection (1)(a) was



11

paid, the Authority may pay to the tenant the remaining amount of bond.".

20 New section 411C inserted

Before section 412 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 insert—

"411C Refund of amount of substitute bond

If the Authority receives a substitute bond under section 410B, the Authority must pay to the tenant under the tenancy agreement to which the substitute bond relates the amount of bond held by the Authority that the substitute bond replaces.".

21 Payment out by agreement

(1) In section 412(5) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 for "the bond or part of the bond" substitute "an amount of bond".


"(5A) A landlord must not request or obtain a tenant's signature to an application under this section if the application does not specify—

(a) the amount of bond to be refunded; and

(b) the apportionment (if any) of that amount.

Penalty: 20 penalty units.".

22 Payment to Director of Housing

(1) Insert the following heading to section 413 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997—

"Payment to Director of Housing".



12


(a) omit "and tenant";

(b) for "the bond" substitute "the amount of bond";

(c) for "apply jointly" substitute "applies".

(3) In section 413 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997—

(a) subsection (1A) is repealed; and

(b) subsection (3) is repealed.

23 Authority to notify Director of Housing on receipt of new bond

(1) In the heading to section 413A of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, after "new" insert "amount of".

(2) In section 413A of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, after "new" (where twice occurring) insert "amount of".

24 Bond paid by Director of Housing

In section 421(3)(a) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, after "bond lodgment form" insert "or bond substitution form".

25 Prohibition of claims


(a) for "the bond" (where first occurring) substitute "bond";

(b) for "the bond" (where secondly occurring) substitute "the amount of bond".



13

26 Notice of assignment or transfer by landlord

In section 424(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, for "a bond" substitute "an amount of bond".

27 Notice of assignment or transfer by tenant

In section 425(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, for "a bond" substitute "an amount of bond".

28 Authority to record names


(a) in paragraph (a), for "a bond" substitute "an amount of bond";

(b) for paragraph (aa) substitute—

"(ab) in the case of a bond lodgment form or bond substitution form that states that the amount of bond has been paid by the Director of Housing or an agent of the Director of Housing on behalf of a tenant—

(i) the fact that the amount of bond has been so paid; and

(ii) the amount of bond that has been so paid; and

(iii) if applicable, the amount of bond that has been refunded to the tenant under section 411C; and".



14

29 Functions of Authority

In section 431(ca) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997—

(a) after "forms" insert "and bond substitution forms";

(b) after "bonds" insert "(including substitute bonds under section 410B)".

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15

PART 4—OTHER AMENDMENTS AND REPEAL

30 Statute law revision

In section 333(1)(iia) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, for "building:" substitute "building;".

31 Date of repeal of Consumer Affairs Legislation Amendment (Reform) Act 2010

In section 82 of the Consumer Affairs Legislation Amendment (Reform) Act 2010 for "1 September 2012" substitute "1 December 2013".

32 Repeal of amending Act

This Act is repealed on 1 June 2014.Note

The repeal of this Act does not affect the continuing operation of the amendments made by it (see section 15(1) of the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984).

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s. 30

See:Act No.63/2010 and amending Act Nos 72/2010, 29/2011, 36/2011 and 21/2012.Statute Book:www.legislation.vic.gov.au

Part 4—Other Amendments and Repeal


16

ENDNOTES

Endnotes


17

† Minister's second reading speech—

Legislative Assembly: 23 May 2012

Legislative Council: 21 June 2012

The long title for the Bill for this Act was "A Bill for an Act to amend the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 to make further provision for matters relating to bonds and duty provisions and for other purposes."

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