The Tenants Union aims to improve tenancy laws and conditions for residential tenants in Queensland. To achieve this aim the Tenants' Union conducts law reform campaigns around issues affecting tenants.

Current issues affecting tenants include:

• The unregulated use of Application fees by real estate agents when tenants are applying for rental premises.
• The growing use of "Rent Cards" by real estate agents as a required method of rent payment, despite objections by tenants and the fact that this is not an approved method of rent payment under the Act.
• The need for tenancy laws to ensure that tenants have security of tenure and are adequately protected from retaliatory eviction.
• The need for a fair and accountable Tribunal system to adjudicate tenancy disputes
  

Examples of recent Tenants' Union law reform campaigns include:

Tenancy Database Laws in Queensland

Working with the Tenancy Database Action Group the Tenants' Union lobbied for changes to the Queensland Residential Tenancies Act to regulate the use of tenancy databases. In 2003 The Queensland government introduced amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act making Queensland the first state in Australia to regulate tenancy database listings by real estate agents. For information see the Tenants' Union fact sheet on Tenancy Databases.

Tenancy Databases and the Privacy Act

The Tenants Union and a group of consumer advocates successfully lodged 4 representative complaints with the Privacy Commissioner regards breaches of the Privacy Act by tenancy database operator Tenancy Information Centre of Australia (TICA). These complaints resulted in a landmark Determination by the Privacy Commissioner, who found TICA had breached the Privacy Act 13 times. These complaints have enhanced the rights of tenants to access information on TICA and to dispute and remove listings. For information about the determination visit the Privacy Commissioner's website at www.privacy.gov.au . To find out what the Determinations mean for tenants see the Tenants' Union's fact sheet on the Privacy Act.

Boarding House and Hostel Residents

The Tenants' Union has spent many years advocating the need for tenancy law protection for residents in boarding houses and hostels. In 2002 the Queensland government introduced the Residential Services Acts, which now cover residents in boarding houses, hostels and aged rental complexes. The Tenants' Union recently completed a Residential Services Monitoring Project which assessed the extent to which this legislation has improved conditions for residents. The Queensland government will review the legislation soon and the outcomes of the Monitoring report will help the Union advocate on behalf of residents for improvements to the Acts.

Leaking Roofs - A National Overview of Tenancy Laws

The Tenants' Union is a member of the National Association of Tenant Organisations, which includes Tenants' Union's and tenant representative associations from all Australian states and Territories. Recently NATO updated "Leaking Roofs", a report which provides a comparative overview of tenancy laws in each state and territory and puts forward recommendations around national reform issues. Some recommendations refer to broad housing matters, such as the need for a National Housing Policy framework and an increase in funding for social housing. However the majority or recommendations relate to the rights of tenants under tenancy law. The launch of this report marks the start of a long term national campaign to improve tenancy laws.