housing Archives - Queensland Advocacy Incorporated

2015 Summary of Submission – Senate Committee Inquiry – Violence, Abuse, Neglect PWD

QAI has campaigned for the closure of institutional and congregate care arrangements since
our inception in 1988, and have worked collaboratively with people with disability, family
members, other advocacy groups and allies to successfully close down a number of such
places. We need to support people to live in the community in accommodation arrangements
they choose.
Abusive practices can become embedded if they are not immediately addressed. When
subtle forms of abuse are viewed as harmless, more overt and serious issues are more likely
to occur and be ignored. People who are systematically abused can normalise this behaviour
and unwittingly perpetuate the abuse upon others. Other people who normalise abusive
behaviour can become perpetual victims.

Read the summary Summary Senate Inquiry – abuse

Opening Doors to Renting Reform Consultation Submission by QAI

Recommendations

Lessors must provide a statutorily mandated reason to end a tenancy.
Prohibit the use of ‘end of fixed term’ notices to leave except for statutorily mandated reasons.
Prohibit false, misleading or deceptive representations by lessors or agents.
Stipulate pre-contractual disclosure of;
– plans to sell
– asbestos
Limit bond maximum to four weeks’ rent.
Limit rent increases to no more than one per year.
Pets less unwelcome in rental properties.
No additional bond should be required or permitted, should the tenant keep a pet.
Extend the jurisdiction of the Housing Appeals and Review Unit (HARU) to include community housing tenants.
Social and affordable housing providers should be required to give their tenants grounds for all evictions.
Extend the administrative appeals process to community housing tenants.
Termination clauses inserted into RTRAA in 2013 that target social and affordable housing tenants are onerous and unnecessary and should be removed.
Remove the provisions that separate the termination provisions for social housing tenants from those in the private rental market and extend responsibilities for social housing tenants. In particular, remove section 290A which unreasonably extends responsibilities to social housing tenants and reverses the onus.
Remove the anti-social behaviour agreements (at s 527D) from the legislation. They are a form of indirect discrimination, in effect, if not in law, against tenants whose behaviour is a result of their disability.
Where a tenant has since rectified arrears in full, a Warrant of Possession issued for rent arrears should be withdrawn.
Remove provisions for immediate eviction and self-eviction in rooming house premises.
A disputed rooming house eviction must be settled by the Tribunal.
Extend the grounds for a tenant to end a tenancy agreement early.
Tenants should be able to end a fixed term agreement with the prescribed notice of two weeks’ if the premises are put on the market or entry is made to show prospective purchasers during a fixed term agreement.
Tenancy agreements should not be able to unreasonably limit the number of people who can occupy premises.
The assumption in tenancy agreements should be that renters are able to keep pets as long as they are not in breach of any law or by-law.

Click here to read the full submission

Opening Doors to Renting Reform Consultation Submission by QAI

QAI submission – Market Readiness for the NDIS

Issues Paper on the intersection of the international human rights treaties: Focussing on human rights in specific areas