TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Mr Alex Greenwich): I report receipt of a message from the Legislative Council returning the bill with an amendment.
Consideration in Detail
Consideration of the Legislative Council amendment.
Schedule of amendment referred to in message of an earlier hour
No. 1AJP No. 7 [c2024-197E]
Page 8, Schedule 1[9]. Insert after line 18—
73IEffect of consent
(1)A consent continues in force while the tenant resides in the residential premises for the lifetime of the animal despite any change in the following—
(a)the landlord,
(b)the landlord's agent,
(c)the residential tenancy agreement.
(2)This section is a term of every residential tenancy agreement.
Mr ANOULACK CHANTHIVONG (Macquarie Fields—Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading, Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology, Minister for Building, and Minister for Corrections) (21:41): I move:
That the Legislative Council amendment be agreed to.
The purpose of reform is to make sure that we continue to deliver legislation that meets the needs of people in our community for how they live and embed themselves in our local area and for how our economy works as well. Through the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill 2024, this Parliament is working for the 2.2 million renters in New South Wales—whose number is growing—making their lives easier, making their tenure in their property more secure and delivering for our economy to retain and attract the human capital we need to make sure that New South Wales continues to be this nation's premier State.
These reforms have been long in the making. The Government has worked extensively with all stakeholders within the sector, including landlords and tenants' advocates, and members across the Parliament as well. I extend my appreciation to all members who have been working with my office and the Government to deliver a package that is fair, balanced and measured to ensure that we have universal acceptance. We were never going to get perfection, but nevertheless this is a significant leap forward, a great paradigm shift in the signal we send to the market about how the relationship between renters and landlords should work now and in the future, with changing no-grounds evictions, making it easier for renters to have pets so they can call their rental properties their homes, closing loopholes to ensure that cost-of-living pressures are front and centre of this Government's reform agenda, and providing certainty, clarity and security for all involved in the property sector.
I thank all my colleagues in this House and the upper House for their collaboration and willingness to engage with the Government in the spirit of genuine sincerity to ensure we deliver a rental reform package that meets the needs of our community. I also thank the staff of NSW Fair Trading, who have worked so hard for so long, for the extensive consultations we have done with the community sector and stakeholders through one‑on‑one engagements and surveys. The response from our community has been extensive, which goes to show the importance of this reform and its ability to impact people's lives.
I thank Trina Jones, Diana Holy and the staff at Fair Trading for all their work in the development of this excellent and significant reform. I thank my own ministerial staff, particularly my chief of staff, Brooke O'Rourke, and policy director Alicia Sylvester, who have taken carriage of the reform from the start and worked with the Government, the crossbench and the sector. They were truly committed to this important piece of legislation, which will deliver great certainty for the sector and the people of New South Wales. I commend the bill to the House.
Ms JENNY LEONG (Newtown) (21:44): I congratulate the Minns Labor Government on delivering an end to no-grounds evictions in this State. I acknowledge that Minister Chanthivong has managed to achieve a reform that no previous fair trading Minister was able to—and I know they tried. I acknowledge this reform was won through a lot of effort and hard work. I thank the Minister's staff for the incredibly constructive way in which they have worked with The Greens. I express my appreciation for the fact that New South Wales has finally banned no-grounds evictions in this State. That is a very, very good thing.
TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Mr Alex Greenwich): The question is that the Legislative Council amendments be agreed to.
Motion agreed to.
