Daily Buzz: Wednesday, 3 July
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PropertyBuzz, your daily dose of property news.
WA kicks off short-term rental register, An Engineered Stone Ban is now in place, and Could landlords be fined for Bond Disputes?
Welcome to Property Buzz! I’m Grace Ormsby
Today is Wednesday, 3 July
– Western Australia’s short-term rental accommodation register is now open for Airbnb owners, with owners required to register their properties by 1 January 2025.
– Those who register their holiday let properties by September 2024 will be exempt from the $250 annual registration fee.
– The register aims to provide a clear indicator of the number of short-term rental properties in local areas, with a heat map scheduled for release in late 2025.
– A nationwide ban on engineered stone in Australia is now in place to protect workers from silicosis.
– The ban, effective from 1 July, prohibits the manufacture, supply, processing, and installation of engineered stone. Implementation varies by state, with some allowing transition periods for pre-ban contracts.
– Engineered stone already installed in homes does not pose a safety risk if left undisturbed.
Qualified tradespeople can still perform removal, repair, minor modification, or disposal under certain conditions, with consumers protected by Australian Consumer Law for faults in engineered stone products but replacement of like-for-like will be outlawed.
And a Victorian firm, Anika Legal, has found over a third of bond claims don’t hold up, with no money recovered by the rental provider in nearly 40 per cent of cases.
– The firm’s research also revealed that renters, with legal assistance, could recover two-thirds of the bond money claimed by rental providers, averaging almost $1,700.
– Anika Legal recommends implementing civil penalties for unfair bond claims, a Portable Bond Scheme, and adjusted eligibility criteria for Rent Assist payments to create a more equitable system for tenants.
That’s Property Buzz for today.
See you again tomorrow, 04 July, for your daily dose of Property Buzz.
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