Submissions on the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill, which would reinstate no-cause evictions, close tomorrow. While the housing minister says it’s a ‘pro-tenant’ move, renters’ advocates disagree.

If passed, the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill would allow landlords to give tenants 90-day termination-of-lease notices for periodic tenancies if:

• They didn’t like the colour of your shoes.
• They’ve taken an online colour course and want to test their talents by painting every room of a house in a custom colour scheme.
• They didn’t like the tone of your text.
• They reckon they can get more money off someone else.
• It’s suddenly occurred to them them there might be treasure buried in the garden.
• They feel like it.
• They’ve been eyeing up your vege patch and the cabbages are almost ready to harvest.
• They don’t like your new haircut.
• Their friend wants to move in.
• Last time they did an inspection you left your bed unmade.
• They simply want to be mysterious and edgy.
• They suspect you might be cooking fish in the kitchen and they don’t like fish.

Worst of all, they won’t have to tell you why, so while you’re desperately hunting for somewhere else to live, you’ll be worried that your shoes are ugly, your haircut is unflattering and you’re bad at texting.

Your hunting will be even more desperate if their reason for evicting you is that you’re more than three weeks late on rent, they or a family member need to live in the property or they need it for their employees or contractors, because you will have just 42 days to get out (currently it’s 63). You will also only have 42 days if they’ve sold the house and the new owner wants it empty (currently it’s 90). If you’re on a fixed term lease, start running, because your landlord will be able to give you just 21 days’ notice before the expiry of the fixed term to end the tenancy, with no reason needed. 

Oh, and having signed your lease under a different understanding (eg the current law) won’t matter. This will apply to all tenancies, existing and new.

Perhaps we shouldn’t pooh-pooh the legislation in its entirety – part one introduces pet bonds, which the government says will make it easier for people with pets to find rentals (provided they can pay the bond, of course). It’s part two (termination of tenancies) where no-cause evictions have been resuscitated (they were banned in a 2020 amendment to the Residential Tenancies Act), which has housing and renters’ advocacy groups worried.

The Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill’s first reading in parliament was in May, and it’s now with a select committee, which is inviting submissions from the public until 11.59pm tomorrow (Wednesday, July 3). Groups like Renters United are calling for people to submit criticism of the bill, saying that no-cause evictions undermine every other right that tenants hold. If you can be evicted for no reason, you might be cautious to ask your landlord to comply with the healthy homes standards, or respect other rules, because the easiest thing for them to do would be to kick you out and get a tenant who doesn’t ask for their rights – or so the logic goes. Evictions without cause would also allow landlords to increase rent (significantly) between tenancies. The current law allows them to increase the rent every 12 months during tenancies, and if it seems excessive, tenants can challenge the increase. There could be an incentive, then, to evict tenants and get new ones who pay more. 

The bill’s stated aim is to remove barriers to rental supply and incentivise owners to rent their properties. It says there are more than 1.7 million renters in the country, and that’s anticipated to increase as more people are renting for longer and later in life. What it does not mention is a multitude of research that shows that being evicted is stressful and expensive, moving can age adults and has negative long-term effects on kids. Housing minister Chris Bishop has attempted to paint the return of no-cause evictions as a “pro-tenant move”, but according to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development’s regulatory impact statement, there’s no evidence of that being true. 

Landlords don’t have to like your shoes or your cooking, and anyone is allowed to be jealous of your cabbages – but most people would agree these aren’t grounds for eviction. There are a few legislative steps to go through before the bill becomes law. The select committee has six months to gather information (including submissions) and then prepare a report, including recommended changes. If changes are recommended, a second copy of the bill will be published, then read in the House and voted on. It could be voted down here, or progressed into another copy with further changes from the House. Then there’s a final vote. By that time your landlord could be eyeing up your tomatoes.