Balance sought in lease dispute

THE Queensland Government is reviewing the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act following a series of complaints from investors.

THE Queensland Government is reviewing the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act following a series of complaints from investors about companies unfairly backing out of lease agreements in Moranbah.

A spokesperson for Minister for Housing and Public Works Tim Mander said disputes between landlords and tenants were a civil matter, dealt with under the act.

The spokesperson said the Government was currently reviewing the act to ensure it "strikes the right balance between the interests of tenants and lessors".

The Daily Mercury reported last week that Moranbah investors were struggling to find a solution to their problem of companies using "unfair" maintenance complaints as an excuse to break lease agreements following a resources slowdown in the region.

Member for Dalrymple Shane Knuth met with real estate agents and investors in Moranbah last week and said he hoped the Housing Minister would bring about a resolution so that "contracts remain legally binding documents regardless of economic conditions".

An investor, who asked not to be named, said last week he would wait for a resolution before starting a lengthy court process where "you probably won't get all the rent due anyway".

The investor said that just prior to Christmas building company Hutchinson Builders had notified him of various maintenance issues throughout his three-bedroom Moranbah property and had recently given him a breach notice for failing to maintain the property correctly, which would expire this week.

Hutchinson Builders managing director Greg Quinn said he had personally inspected the 20-24 properties the company was seeking to break leases on and was "aghast" at the conditions he found.

Originally published as Balance sought in lease dispute