Scammers target real estate and settlement industry trust accounts, WA Consumer Protection reports

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Scammers target real estate and settlement industry trust accounts, WA Consumer Protection reports

30 May 2023

Agents in Western Australia are being urged by Consumer Protection to stay vigilant when it comes to fraud prevention and suspicious scam-like activity.

Consumer Protection has reported that in the past two days, WA ScamNet received one report from a real estate agent who advised they’d lost a total of $43,080, and two reports from settlement agents who lost a total of $64,468.28.

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WA Consumer Protection announces changes to tenancy laws

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WA Consumer Protection announces changes to tenancy laws

26 May 2023

Significant changes to Western Australian tenancy laws have been announced, in an effort to “improve rights for renters and provide certainty for landlords”.

The changes centre around prohibiting the practice of rent bidding, reducing the frequency at which rent may be increased, and allowing greater freedom for tenants around making minor modifications to a rental property and keeping pets on premises.

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NSW portable bond scheme and further reform to recent laws around rent bidding

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NSW portable bond scheme and further reform to recent laws around rent bidding

10 May 2023

Following the NSW Government’s recent move to make solicited rent bidding on rental properties illegal, the Government will today introduce a bill to NSW Parliament with the aim of providing cost-of-living relief and better protection to NSW renters.

Not only does the legislation aim to eliminate the practice of secret rent bidding, it will also mark the first stages of the development of a portable bond scheme.

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WA agency fined over failure to act in best interest of clients

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WA agency fined over failure to act in best interest of clients

10 May 2023

Western Australia Consumer Protection has reported details on its website today surrounding a WA agency’s failure to act in the best interest of its clients.

Consumer Protection carried out disciplinary actions on the agency by reprimanding its actions and issuing the agency $6,000 in fines for breaching the Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978 and the Code of Conduct under the Act. The agency’s principal was also reprimanded, in addition to being fined $4,000, “for failing to exercise due care, diligence and skill in her supervision of the agency in relation to the breach.”

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Rent increase limits and minimum housing standards for Queensland tenancies

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Rent increase limits and minimum housing standards for Queensland tenancies

28 April 2023

Following significant reforms to residential tenancy laws in Queensland in October 2021 and October 2022, and with more changes yet to come, the Queensland Government has outlined what tenants, landlords, and agents can expect in upcoming changes to the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008.

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Unlicensed individual acting as WA agent ordered to pay over $23,000 in fines and costs

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Unlicensed individual acting as WA agent ordered to pay over $23,000 in fines and costs

6 April 2023

An unlicensed individual acting as a property manager in Willetton, Perth has been ordered to pay costs of $5,718.16, in addition to being fined a total of $18,000 by the Perth Magistrates Court.

The individual is reported to have “entered into property management agreements, found tenants, negotiated and collected rents, paid water bills and carried out property inspections and repairs” as an unlicensed person, breaching the Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978 to a significant degree.

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ACT rental reforms set out minimum energy efficiency standard for ceiling insulation

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ACT rental reforms set out minimum energy efficiency standard for ceiling insulation

31 March 2023

The ACT Government has published further detail on how the ACT tenancy reforms due to commence on 1 April 2023 will provide greater comfort to tenants, literally. A media release published earlier today states that “rental homes across the ACT will now have to meet a minimum energy efficiency standard for ceiling insulation which will help keep Canberra homes comfortable, safe and energy efficient”.

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WA Consumer Protection reports over $4 million in bond money waiting to be claimed

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WA Consumer Protection reports over $4 million in bond money waiting to be claimed

30 March 2023

Western Australia Consumer Protection is appealing to WA tenants and landlords to claim outstanding bond money, stating that over $4 million is being held, waiting to be returned to rightful owners.

Consumer Protection understands the bonds were not paid out for a variety of reasons:

  • No forwarding contact or payment details were provided;

  • No agreement was reached on how to release the bond;

  • An application requesting a release of the bond was incomplete; or

  • The release of the bond was not requested at the end of the tenancy.

WA organisations and government agencies that are holding funds on behalf of others are legally obligated to transfer them to Treasury if still unclaimed after six years.

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Reforms to South Australian renting law officially underway

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Reforms to South Australian renting law officially underway

27 March 2023

Following consultation with property industry participants and the public late last year, the South Australian Government has now introduced proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act 1995 to parliament.

The Government of South Australia initially outlined immediate priorities on 15 February 2023, including:

  • a commitment to improving housing outcomes

  • more affordable rental bonds

  • a ban on rent bidding

  • restrictions on what information is requested on rental application forms

  • greater protection for tenant information

As the key regulator of the property industry in South Australia, Consumer and Business Services (CBS) has announced they will “provide advice to the State Government to inform the best way forward for South Australia”.

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Former Victorian agent faces over 900 charges relating to trust fund misuse

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Former Victorian agent faces over 900 charges relating to trust fund misuse

27 March 2023

In a media release this week, Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) outlines the staggering number of trust account breaches achieved by a now-former agent of Dandenong, Victoria. A total of 941 instances of trust fund misuse were identified by CAV after the then-agent decided to report their own personal use of trust funds by letter and phone.

It is alleged that approximately $75,000 in trust account funds were fraudulently converted for the agent’s personal use, between 12 March 2019 and 10 January 2020, while trading as Agent 96 Real Estate.

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