Nsw Law

<html><body>
<div>
<div>
<div class="standard-header__content">
<div class="nsw-container">
<div class="deck">
<p>The NSW Government has signalled it will ensure there are more transparent fees for retirement village residents through new laws.</p>
<p>They will also seek to ensure that exit entitlements paid more quickly when residents depart their village.</p>
<p>Minister for Better Regulation, Kevin Anderson, said the new reforms will improve access to exit entitlements, create a new mechanism to support residents moving to aged care, and place a 42-day cap on the payment of recurrent charges for general services.</p>
<p>“We promised to make retirement village fees fairer, and these reforms will put residents first, saving them thousands of dollars and giving them access to their exit entitlements sooner when they leave the village,” Mr Anderson said.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="nsw-container">
<div class="nsw-grid">
<div class="nsw-col page__main">
<div>
<div class="nsw-wysiwyg-content">
<p>Under the changes, if a unit remains unsold after 6 months in metropolitan areas or 12 months in the regions, residents will be eligible to receive their exit entitlements if the village operator has not taken reasonable steps to facilitate a sale.<br><br>The reforms respond to several key recommendations of the independent report into NSW Retirement Villages conducted by Kathryn Greiner AO, which found residents could wait years for their unit to be sold by the operator before they received their exit entitlements.<br><br>“Waiting extended periods of time to receive your exit entitlement can cause a financial and personal burden. That’s why we’re putting in a safety net that will require operators to buy back the unit from the resident if they don’t use their reasonable endeavours to sell it within the appropriate time period.”<br><br>“We’re also capping recurrent charges, such as office management and gardening fees, at 42 days after a resident moves out.”<br><br>Mr Anderson said the Government is also making it easier for retirement village residents to transition directly into aged care.<br><br>“More than 60 percent of residents transition from villages directly into aged care accommodation. However, under the status quo, many can’t afford these costs if their unit does not sell quickly.”<br><br>“Under the reforms, the operator will need to cover a portion of the estimated exit entitlement directly to the aged care provide, allowing a seamless transfer.”<br><br>Retirement villages currently accommodate over 66,000 retired people, and this number is expected to double by 2033.<br><br>New laws to deliver on the reforms will be introduced into the Parliament later this year.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</body></html>

j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Retirement village residents to get greater fee transparency

<html><body>
<p>Reforms to the Residential Tenancies Act have passed without amendment.</p>
<p>REINSW President Leanne Pilkington (pictured above) said the Residential Tenancies Amendment (Review) Bill 2018 passed and REINSW was now commencing the first phase of educating the property management community.</p>
<p>She stated it is important for the profession to understand all of the changes that the new Bill includes as these major changes affect the real estate industry, landlords &amp; tenants.</p>
<p>Particularly as the <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/89749-nsw-rental-laws-set-to-favour-tenants-in-major-overhaul" target="_blank">new rental laws are set to favour tenants</a>.</p>
<p>The Real Estate Institute of NSW had claimed it was <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/expert-insights/investing/89960-reinsw-loses-all-influence-with-nsw-state-government">blindsided by the proposals</a> and its concerns ignored.</p>
<p>“There are well-meaning, passionate views on both sides of the debate,” Matt Kean, the Minister said in response to a broadside from the institute.</p>
<p>”But my job is to make sure we get the balance right … and get the policy settings in place that will mean landlords and tenants get the best of both worlds.”</p>
<p>McKibbin has more recently sent a letter to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian saying people "would be horrified to learn of the level and quality of support the industry receives from Government and the risk this exposes them to as consumers in comparison to the supportive regulatory structure provided to the industry in the other States and Territories of Australia."</p>
<p>McKibbin claimed it would be "grossly negligent" for Ms Berejiklian to ignore the issue.</p>
<p>"We (the real estate industry) are the biggest industry in this state and this country. We make a greater contribution to state revenue than any of the other industries. I would be very surprised if the Premier would ignore a dissatisfied property industry - I think that would be grossly negligent to discard our position," Mr McKibbin claimed.</p>
<p>The REINSW will be however conducting training sessions in 17 locations across the state beginning in Sydney on the 25 October and running to 29 November.</p>
<p>The second phase will follow the release of the Regulation, which are the guidelines that dictate how the act should be applied.</p>
<p>The REINSW had worked to identify areas where reform was needed.</p>
<p>Ms Pilkington said "while many of our lobbying efforts have been adopted in whole or part by the Government, a lot have been ignored, such as the Government’s proposed changes to: alterations to property, break fees, domestic violence, rent increases, and more."</p>
<p>The bill will now be sent to the <span>Governor of NSW for his assent.</span></p>
<p>The date for the reforms to be put into action has yet to be disclosed. </p>
</body></html>

NSW Residential Tenancies Act 2018 reforms have passed without amendment

<html><body>
<div>
<p>The home sharing platform Airbnb has come out in support of  a limit on the number of days a investment property can be rented in NSW strata, as it seeks to avoid a tougher regulatory crackdown by the NSW government.</p>
<p>In a submission to the NSW government, Airbnb said if a host wants to rent out an investment property on Airbnb for more than 180 days in a year, they would have to apply for a development application through the local council.</p>
<p>There are more than 45,000 Airbnb listings in the state with average host earning around $5,300 a year.</p>
<p>Hosts will not require permissions to rent out their primary place of residence or investment property for less than 180 days a year.</p>
<p>The NSW government's options paper, which was released in July, considers a range of options.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p>Submissions closed this week with the government is expected to release a response before Christmas.</p>
<p>NSW Planning Minister Anthony Roberts envisages any new policy would need to balance protecting neighbours and allowing people to profit from providing short-term accommodation.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/committees/inquiries/Pages/inquiry-submission-details.aspx?pk=%2053960" target="_blank">Airbnb's prior submission</a> has called for a statewide planning framework which clarifies how individuals are allowed to rent out the homes.</p>
<p>"Airbnb supports a clear, statewide approach that supports our host community sharing their own primary place of residence without the need for approvals, registrations, or caps, and for non-­primary places of residence, an approach that is streamlined with clear information about the safety and planning standards to adhere to," it said in the submission.</p>
<div>
<p>London introduced a 90-day limit a calendar year on Airbnb rentals. </p>
<div title="Page 13">
<div>
<div>
<p>In June 2015, Philadelphia became the largest city in the U.S. to pass legislation specifically enabling people to share their homes for up to half a year.</p>
<div title="Page 12">
<div>
<div>
<p>The city of Hamburg acted to clarify that rules restricting tourist accommodation in residential areas do not apply to primary residences.</p>
<p>The Hamburg housing law gives residents the right to use all of their home to host guests for up to 50% of the year. Alternatively, they can use 50% of their home to host guests all year round. </p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>A recent City of Sydney Council survey of 1000 residents showed more than 40 per cent of Sydney inner-city residents oppose short term rentals on Airbnb or Stayz as a full-time investment and believe strata bodies should be able to ban short-term rentals.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<p>Airbnb also recommends the NSW government set up a "three-strikes-and-you're-out" framework to manage complaints.</p>
<p>Airbnb said it opposes giving strata bodies the power to prohibit short-term renting. </p>
<div title="Page 3">
<div>
<div>
<p>Airbnb has been gaining immense traction in New South Wales.</p>
<p>New South Wales’ host community has welcomed nearly 420,000 Airbnb guests during the past twelve months which represents a year-over-year growth rate of 167 percent.</p>
<p>We have a large community of people across New South Wales for whom sharing their home is now part of their lifestyle.</p>
<p>"There are now approximately 20,000 active listings in New South Wales and Sydney ranks as one of Airbnb’s top ten cities for most properties on the platform."</p>
<p>In an Economic Impact Study that Airbnb conducted in Sydney, Airbnbn found that the majority of hosts (85 percent) rent their primary residences occasionally and earn a modest but significant amount of extra income that they use to help make ends meet.</p>
<p>In Australia, the average host earns $7,100 per year and hosts approximately 51 nights per year.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</body></html>

Airbnb support 180 day limit without formal NSW development approvals

<html><body>
<p>Changes to infrastructure charges by the NSW government are expected to be a hurdle for developers planning new projects because of the uncapped nature of the charges. </p>
<p>The NSW government's changes to Section 94 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, which allows local councils to levy contributions for public amenities and services because of new development, will now be uncapped.</p>
<p>This would mean that feasibility studies of new projects become too uncertain.</p>
<p>At a meeting in Sydney with Minister for Planning and Housing, Anthony Roberts, Urban Development Institute of Australia's NSW chief executive Steve Mann said the uncapped component had already sent reverberations through the development industry, reported The Australian Financial Review.</p>
<p>Mann said its members, including some major developers, had said they were not likely to make any acquisitions until there was more clarity on the infrastructure charges.</p>
<p>"There is now a serious concern about prospective acquisitions," Mann said.</p>
<p>"The uncapping of Section 94 contributions and making more areas liable to pay state infrastructure contributions without any transparency as to what this cost will be, will directly impact on investment confidence," he said.</p>
<p>He drew similarities with the 2003-04 boom when excessive taxation, of up to 50 percent of the value of a home, led to a supply drought.</p>
<p>The way infrastructure charges will be devised is currently being reviewed by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal, the AFR reported.</p>
<p>Mann said he suspected this review could take as long as another 12 months, hurting the delivery of affordable housing in the state.</p>
<p>The NSW government will allow councils to borrow more money for infrastructure spending at a reduced interest rate. It will support up to $500 million in additional borrowing by councils by halving the cost of borrowing for eligible projects.</p>
</body></html>

jonathanchancellor-7SQnKwU6yx

Uncapped infrastructure charges through Section 94 changes could halt property purchases: UDIA

<html><body>
<p>GUEST OBSERVER</p>
<p>Despite initial predictions of delays to the commencement date for the new swimming pool certification regime under The Swimming Pools Amendment Act 2012 (NSW), the day for compliance is rapidly approaching.</p>
<p><strong>Compliance and Prescribed Documents</strong></p>
<p>In addition to the requirement to have a pool or spa registered on the NSW Swimming Pools Register, from <strong>29 April 2016</strong> owners must include one of the following as a prescribed document attached to a Contract for Sale with respect to a pool or spa on the property:</p>
<ol>
<li>a valid certificate of compliance;</li>
</ol>
<ol start="2">
<li>an occupation certificate; or</li>
</ol>
<ol start="3">
<li>a certificate of non-compliance.</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Strata Schemes and Off-the-plan Contracts Exempt</strong></p>
<p>Strata Schemes and off-the-plan contracts are notably <span style="text-decoration: underline;">exempt</span> from the requirement to include a required certificate as a prescribed document. Strata Schemes remain exempt provided they have two or more lots and the off-the-plan contracts are exempt provided they include a sunset clause.</p>
<p><strong>Who Else is Affected</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Landlords: must provide their tenants with a certificate under the Residential Tenancies amendment (Swimming Pools) Regulation 2016.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Purchasers: where a certificate of non-compliance is attached to a Contract for Sale, the purchasers may have time restrictions as to rectification works. Please contact us if you have a pool that is non-compliant with current regulations.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Option Deeds</strong></p>
<p>A warning for owners and developers both buying and selling properties under Option Deeds – it remains to be seen how the act will address Option Deeds which were entered into prior to 29 April 2016 with a date for the exercise of option falling after 29 April 2016.</p>
<p>Under an Option Deed whereby the option is exercised after 29 April 2016, a Contract for Sale may not include a certificate as required under the Conveyancing (Sale of Land) Regulations 2010 as a prescribed document, meaning that upon the exercise of option after 29 April 2016 owners may have breached the Contract for Sale giving rise to the purchaser’s right of rescission.</p>
<p>For more information from Macpherson Kelley <a href="https://www.mk.com.au" target="_blank">click here.</a></p>
</body></html>

Nsw Law

Editor's Picks

Have something to contribute?

Developments

New apartments

New townhouses

News

Nsw Law

Editor's Picks

Receive the latest news stories to your inbox

Have something to contribute?

Developments

New apartments

New townhouses

News