Renters in New South Wales are set to receive new protections around personal information, rental advertising and embedded utility networks under the latest tranche of rental reforms.
Under the changes, renters will only need to provide identity documents such as a driver licence or passport at the final stage of the application process, when they are about to sign a lease, rather than routinely supplying them with every rental application.
Landlords and agents will also be required to use a standardised rental application form. The reforms restrict requests for information such as personal photographs, social media account details, information about children and the number of tattoos a prospective tenant has.
The NSW Government introduced the legislation to limit the collection of personal information during rental applications and reduce privacy and data-security risks. The government has previously estimated that about 187,000 pieces of identification information are collected from NSW renters each week.
The reforms also introduce disclosure requirements for digitally altered rental photographs. Landlords and agents will have to tell prospective renters when images have been altered in a way that could mislead them, including by using digitally generated furniture to hide faults or misrepresent the size of a room.
Another change concerns properties connected to embedded utility networks. Agents will be required to tell prospective renters when a property is part of an embedded network, such as a private electricity or gas system, so applicants are aware of the arrangement before entering a tenancy.
The NSW Government’s original legislation set penalties of up to $11,000 for individuals and $49,500 for corporations for breaches of the privacy requirements. It set penalties of up to $5,500 for individuals and $22,000 for businesses for failing to disclose misleadingly altered rental images.
Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading Anoulack Chanthivong said the changes would reduce what he described as excessive and intrusive data collection during the rental process.
“Whether you have a tattoo, or what school your kids go to, is not relevant to whether you’ll be a good tenant,” Chanthivong said.
The reforms are part of a broader series of changes to NSW rental laws introduced in stages. Other measures have included limiting rent increases to once a year, ending no-grounds tenancy terminations and introducing Smart Rental Bonds.
The NSW Government says the latest changes are intended to set clearer rules for how renter information is collected and handled, while giving applicants more transparency about rental properties and advertising.
Source: NSW Government.
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