This Act may be cited as the Residential Tenancies Act 1987.
(1) Sections 1, 2, 3 and 137 and Schedule 2 shall commence on the date of assent to this Act.(2) Except as provided by subsection (1), this Act shall commence on such day or days as may be appointed by the Governor and notified by proclamation published in the Gazette.
(1) In this Act, except in so far as the context or subject-matter otherwise indicates or requires:Chairperson means the Chairperson of the Tribunal.
Deputy Registrar means a Deputy Registrar of the Tribunal.
investigator means:
(a) an officer appointed, or taken to have been appointed, as an investigator by the Minister under section 119A, or(b) an investigator appointed under section 18 of the Fair Trading Act 1987.landlord means the person who grants the right to occupy residential premises under a residential tenancy agreement, and includes the person’s heirs, executors, administrators and assigns.
landlord’s agent means a person who acts as the agent of a landlord and who (whether or not the person carries on any other business) carries on business as an agent for:
(a) the letting of residential premises, or(b) the collection of rents payable for any tenancy of residential premises.member means the Chairperson or any other full-time member or part-time member of the Tribunal.
moveable dwelling has the same meaning as it has in the Local Government Act 1993.
officer means:
(a) the Tenancy Commissioner, or(b) a person employed under the Public Sector Management Act 1988 as referred to in section 117B (1), or(c) a person whose services are used in accordance with section 117B (2).record includes any book, account, document, paper and other source of information compiled, recorded or stored in written form, or on microfilm, or by electronic process, or in any other manner or by any other means.
Registrar means the Registrar of the Tribunal.
regulations means regulations made under this Act.
rent means an amount payable by a tenant under a residential tenancy agreement in respect of a period of the tenancy.
rent rebate means an amount waived or remitted, in accordance with a scheme established under any Act, from rent payable to a social housing provider.
rental bond, in relation to a residential tenancy agreement or proposed residential tenancy agreement, has the same meaning as it has in the Landlord and Tenant (Rental Bonds) Act 1977 in relation to a lease or proposed lease.
reservation fee means an amount paid or required to be paid to a person in consideration for not letting residential premises pending the making of a residential tenancy agreement.
residential premises:
(a) means any premises or part of premises (including any land occupied with the premises) used or intended to be used as a place of residence, and(b) includes a moveable dwelling or the site on which a moveable dwelling is situated or intended to be situated (or both the moveable dwelling and the site), if the moveable dwelling is used or intended to be used as a place of residence.residential tenancy agreement means any agreement under which a person grants to another person for value a right of occupation of residential premises for the purpose of use as a residence:
(a) whether or not the right is a right of exclusive occupation,(b) whether the agreement is express or implied, and(c) whether the agreement is oral or in writing, or partly oral and partly in writing,and includes such an agreement granting the right to occupy residential premises together with the letting of goods.social housing premises means residential premises let by a social housing provider under a residential tenancy agreement (otherwise than in the circumstances, if any, prescribed by the regulations).
social housing provider means any of the following:
(a) the New South Wales Land and Housing Corporation,(b) the New South Wales Department of Housing,(c) the Office of Community Housing of the Department of Housing,(d) the Aboriginal Housing Office,(e) an organisation for the time being registered with the Office of Community Housing, or under Part 5 of the Aboriginal Housing Act 1998,(f) an organisation prescribed by the regulations.tenancy means the right to occupy residential premises under a residential tenancy agreement.
Tenancy Commissioner means the Tenancy Commissioner referred to in section 117A.
tenant means the person who has the right to occupy residential premises under a residential tenancy agreement, and includes the person’s heirs, executors, administrators and assigns.
this Act includes the regulations.
Tribunal means the Residential Tribunal established by the Residential Tribunal Act 1998.
(2) In this Act:(a) a reference to a function includes a reference to a power, authority and duty, and(b) a reference to the exercise of a function includes, where the function is a duty, a reference to the performance of the duty.(3) In this Act:(a) a reference to a landlord includes a reference to a tenant who has granted the right to occupy residential premises to a sub-tenant, and(b) a reference to a tenant includes a reference to the sub-tenant of a tenant.(4) For the purpose of determining whether an agreement is a residential tenancy agreement as defined in subsection (1), it does not matter that the person granted the right of occupation is a corporation if the premises are used (or intended for use) as a residence by a natural person.(5) In this Act, a reference to the giving of something by a person includes a reference to the causing of that thing to be given by the person.(6) The Chairperson may be referred to as the Chairman or Chairwoman.(7) Notes in the text of this Act do not form part of this Act.
Except as provided by section 132 (which exempts the New South Wales Land and Housing Corporation and the Aboriginal Housing Office from certain provisions of this Act), this Act binds the Crown, not only in right of New South Wales but also, so far as the legislative power of Parliament permits, the Crown in all its other capacities.
(1) This Act applies to residential tenancy agreements made after the commencement of this section.(2) This Act (except as provided by Part 1 of Schedule 2) applies to oral residential tenancy agreements made before the commencement of this section.(3) This Act (except as provided by clause 9 of Schedule 2 and subsection (4)) applies to:(a) written residential tenancy agreements, and(b) partly written and partly oral residential tenancy agreements,made before the commencement of this section.(4) Until such time as the regulations provide:(a) sections 64 and 65 do not apply to:(i) written residential tenancy agreements, and(ii) partly written and partly oral residential tenancy agreements,made before the commencement of this section, and(b) clauses 10 and 11 of Schedule 2 apply to such agreements.(5) Where this Act applies to a residential tenancy agreement, it so applies notwithstanding the terms of any such residential tenancy agreement or any other contract, agreement or arrangement, whether made before or after the commencement of this section.
6 Agreements and premises to which Act does not apply
(1) This Act does not apply to a residential tenancy agreement:(a) if the tenant is a party to an agreement made in good faith for the sale or purchase of the residential premises,(b) if the agreement arises under a mortgage made in good faith in respect of the residential premises,(c) if the agreement arises under a company title scheme under which:(i) a group of adjoining or adjacent premises is owned by a corporation, and(ii) the premises are let by the corporation to persons who jointly have a controlling interest in the corporation,(c1) if the agreement is a residence contract within the meaning of the Retirement Villages Act 1999,(d) if the tenant is a boarder or a lodger, or(e) if the agreement is made in good faith for the purpose of giving a person a right to occupy residential premises (not being premises ordinarily used for holiday purposes) for a period of not more than 2 months for the purpose of a holiday.(2) This Act does not apply to:(a) premises to which Parts 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act 1948 apply,(b) any part of a hotel or motel,(c) any premises ordinarily used for holiday purposes,(d) any part of an educational institution, hospital or nursing home,(e) any part of a club,(f) any premises used as an approved hostel within the meaning of the Aged or Disabled Persons Care Act 1954 of the Commonwealth.(g) (Repealed)(3) Nothing in subsection (2) applies to any part of premises referred to in paragraph (b), (c), (d), (e), (f) or (g) of that subsection if the part is used solely as a place of residence by a person employed as a caretaker for the premises or in any similar capacity.
7 Application of Act to moveable dwellings and residential parks
(1) This Act does not apply to residential tenancy agreements to which the Residential Parks Act 1998 applies.(2) This Act applies to any other residential tenancy agreements under which the residential premises consist of a moveable dwelling, but only in the manner and to the extent specified by the regulations.(3) To avoid doubt, Part 6 (The Residential Tenancies Tribunal of New South Wales) applies to matters that arise by virtue of jurisdiction conferred on the Tribunal by the Residential Parks Act 1998.(4) Nothing in this section limits the operation of section 133 (3) (which enables exemptions from the operation of this Act).