Residential Tenancies Regulation 2019

This Regulation is the Residential Tenancies Regulation 2019.

This Regulation commences on 23 March 2020 and is required to be published on the NSW legislation website.

In this Regulation—

approved area, for Part 3B—see clause 23M.

authorised electrician means a person who is authorised under the Home Building Act 1989 to do electrical wiring work.

council has the same meaning as in the Local Government Act 1993.

deposited rental bond, for Part 3B—see clause 23M.

development consent has the same meaning as in the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

development control order has the same meaning as in the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

disqualification register, for Part 3B—see clause 23M.

disqualified person, for Part 3B—see clause 23M.

educational institution means premises used for education that are—

a school, or

a tertiary institution that provides formal education and is constituted by or under an Act.

heritage item means premises, or part of premises, that are—

listed on the State Heritage Register kept under the Heritage Act 1977, or

the subject of an interim heritage order or heritage agreement under that Act, or

identified as items of State or local environmental heritage under an environmental planning instrument, or

vested in, or controlled or managed by, the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales.

LFAI Register means the register of residential premises that contain or have contained loose-fill asbestos insulation that is required to be maintained under Division 1A of Part 8 of the Home Building Act 1989.

licensed conveyancer means the holder of a licence in force under the Conveyancers Licensing Act 2003.

new agreement, for Part 3B—see clause 23M.

original agreement, for Part 3B—see clause 23M.

original rental bond, for Part 3B—see clause 23M.

owners corporation has the same meaning as in the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015.

principal tenant, for Part 3B—see clause 23M.

public authority means a public authority constituted by or under an Act, and includes—

a government department, and

a statutory body representing the Crown, and

a State owned corporation within the meaning of the State Owned Corporations Act 1989 or a subsidiary (within the meaning of that Act),

but does not include a council.

retirement village has the same meaning as in the Retirement Villages Act 1999.

smart rental bonds scheme or scheme, for Part 3B—see clause 23M.

strata scheme has the same meaning as in the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015.

the Act means the Residential Tenancies Act 2010.

transfer, for Part 3B—see clause 23M.

transferred rental bond, for Part 3B—see clause 23M.

Note.

The Act and the Interpretation Act 1987 contain definitions and other provisions that affect the interpretation and application of this Regulation.

Notes included in this Regulation (other than in Schedules 1, 2 and 3) do not form part of this Regulation.

The standard form of residential tenancy agreement is the form set out in Schedule 1.

The standard form of residential tenancy agreement set out in Schedule 1, when used for a residential tenancy agreement having a fixed term of more than 3 years, must be annexed to the form approved by the Registrar-General for registration under the Real Property Act 1900.

When this Regulation is amended by altering, adding or substituting a standard form of residential tenancy agreement, the amendment does not (subject to the Act) apply to a residential tenancy agreement entered into before the commencement of the amendment.

Note.

See clauses 50 and 61 for clauses of the residential tenancy agreement set out in Schedule 1 that apply for the purposes of section 15(2)(d) of the Act.

For the Act, section 19(1), a residential tenancy agreement must not contain a term that requires a tenant to use a specific utility provider.

Subclause (1) does not apply if the landlord must use a specific utility provider for the premises.

For the purposes of section 20(2)(e) of the Act, the terms under sections 35, 54, 54A, 64A, 73B–73F and 73I of the Act are prescribed.

A condition report is to be in the form set out in Schedule 2.

For the purposes of section 26(1) of the Act, the following material facts are prescribed—

the residential premises have been subject to flooding from a natural weather event or bush fire within the last 5 years,

the residential premises are subject to significant health or safety risks that are not apparent to a reasonable person on inspection of the premises,

Note.

Disclosure under this provision does not affect the legal obligations of the landlord with respect to the residential premises.

the residential premises are listed on the LFAI Register,

the residential premises have been the scene of a serious violent crime within the last 5 years,

the residential premises have been used for the purposes of the manufacture or cultivation of any prohibited drug or prohibited plant within the meaning of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 within the last 2 years,

any council waste services that will be provided to the tenant on a different basis than is generally applicable to residential premises within the area of the council,

the tenant will not be able to obtain a residential parking permit in an area where only paid parking is provided because of the zoning of the land or another law applying to development on the land,

the existence of a driveway or walkway on the residential premises which other persons are legally entitled to share with the tenant,

if the premises comprise or include a lot in a strata scheme—scheduled rectification work or major repairs (including replacement of roofing, guttering or fences) to be carried out to common property during the fixed term of the residential tenancy agreement,

the residential premises are part of a building in relation to which—

a notice of intention to issue a fire safety order, or a fire safety order, has been issued requiring rectification of the building regarding external combustible cladding, or

a notice of intention to issue a building product rectification order, or a building product rectification order, has been issued requiring rectification of the building regarding external combustible cladding,

a development application or complying development certificate application has been lodged for rectification of the building regarding external combustible cladding.

In this clause—

building product rectification order has the same meaning as in the Building Products (Safety) Act 2017.

external combustible cladding has the same meaning as in the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000.

fire safety order has the same meaning as in the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000.

serious violent crime includes murder, manslaughter, sexual assault or aggravated assault.

For the Act, section 32(c), a landlord or landlord’s agent may require or receive from a tenant a fee for the recovery of a transaction cost if—

the landlord or landlord’s agent incurs the transaction cost for a payment of rent by way of a payment method chosen by the tenant, and

the payment method is a way to pay rent other than by a prescribed way, and

the fee is not greater than the transaction cost incurred.

A fee for the recovery of a transaction cost—

must not be imposed more than once for the transaction cost, and

may be imposed by either the landlord or landlord’s agent but not both.

In this clause—

prescribed way has the same meaning as in the Act, section 35.

transaction cost means a fee or charge imposed by a financial institution for payment by an electronic transaction using a credit, debit or pre-paid card, whether or not a physical card is used.

This clause applies to a tenant under a social housing tenancy agreement for residential premises that would be in a retirement village but for the fact that the landlord is—

the Aboriginal Housing Office, or

the New South Wales Land and Housing Corporation.

The tenant must pay to the landlord any charges for optional services that the tenant agrees are to be provided by or on behalf of the operator of a retirement village.

In this clause—

operator, of a retirement village, means an operator of a retirement village within the meaning of the Retirement Villages Act 1999.

optional services means services that would be optional services within the meaning of the Retirement Villages Act 1999 if the services were provided by an operator of a retirement village under that Act.

A tenant must pay charges for the following services provided to the residential premises through an embedded network—

hot water,

chilled water.

A tenant must not be required to pay a charge under this clause unless the supply of hot water or chilled water to the tenant’s residential premises is separately metered.

In this clause—

embedded network has the same meaning as in the National Electricity Rules.

For the purposes of section 39(1)(b) of the Act, the following water efficiency measures are prescribed—

for shower heads—a maximum flow rate of 9 litres a minute,

on and from 23 March 2025, for toilets—a dual flush toilet that has a minimum 3 star rating in accordance with the WELS scheme within the meaning of the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Act 2005 of the Commonwealth,

for internal cold water taps and single mixer taps for kitchen sinks or bathroom hand basins—a maximum flow rate of 9 litres a minute.

at the commencement of the residential tenancy agreement and whenever any other water efficiency measures are installed, repaired or upgraded, the premises are checked and any leaking taps or toilets on the premises are fixed.

Note.

Taps and shower heads having a maximum flow rate of 9 litres a minute have a 3 star water efficiency rating.