❓ Mr. Watson raises concerns about real estate option fees and refund processes. The Minister acknowledges the issue and outlines planned legislative changes to cap fees and mandate cash refunds.
AnsweredQoN 1480Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(1) Is the Minister aware of the practice by real estate property managers in charging an option fee, the equivalent of one week’s rent, to secure the interest of a potential tenant when they apply for a rental property? The tenant may pay this fee on more than one property that they are interested in and the money is refunded if the application is not successful or the tenant does not ended up signing a lease. The refund is made by cheque and delays are common due to the process of raising the cheque and then waiting for it to clear once deposited.
(2) Will the Minister investigate the payment being made electronically into the applicant’s bank account as an alternative to processing a cheque?
(2) Will the Minister investigate the payment being made electronically into the applicant’s bank account as an alternative to processing a cheque?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
13 October 2009
Responded by
Minister for Commerce
Response time
35 days
(1) Yes.
(2) Not at this point in time.
The payment of option fees by tenants was considered during the recent statutory review of the
Residential Tenancies Act 1987
.
In response to the review, the Government approved a proposal to amend the
Residential Tenancies Act 1987
to cap the amount of option fee that can be sought in respect of a rental property at 10% of the weekly rent payable for that property and to require that the refund be refundable, in cash, to the tenant if the application is not successful.
A Bill to amend to the
Residential Tenancies Act 1987
is currently being drafted in preparation for its introduction into the Parliament in 2010.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
(2) Not at this point in time.
The payment of option fees by tenants was considered during the recent statutory review of the
Residential Tenancies Act 1987
.
In response to the review, the Government approved a proposal to amend the
Residential Tenancies Act 1987
to cap the amount of option fee that can be sought in respect of a rental property at 10% of the weekly rent payable for that property and to require that the refund be refundable, in cash, to the tenant if the application is not successful.
A Bill to amend to the
Residential Tenancies Act 1987
is currently being drafted in preparation for its introduction into the Parliament in 2010.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
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