THE NSW Government has established a rental taskforce to “hold landlords and real estate agents to account”, and address rental law violations.

With an $8.4 million investment, NSW Fair Trading’s Rental Taskforce will analyse activities and trends within the rental market and conduct compliance activities such as inspections, audits, and blitzes to prevent and act on breaches of the law.

The new taskforce is a multi-disciplinary team with new and existing resources drawn from across NSW Fair Trading, and led by a newly appointed Rental Taskforce Manager reporting to the NSW Rental Commissioner, Trina Jones.

The Rental Taskforce will focus on three key priorities:

● Ending solicited rent bidding

● Implementing renting reforms to prevent no grounds evictions

● Ensuring improved responses to repairs and maintenance in the rental market.

The NSW Government is also working to deliver cost of living relief to renters by delivering a Portable Rental Bond Scheme, which is due to go live in the second half of this year.

Rental Commissioner Trina Jones said the Rental Taskforce would “protect the rights of renters and hold bad actors to account”.

“It’s critical to provide renters and property providers with assurance that bad actors will not be permitted to cause harm in the market.

“The Rental Taskforce is a dedicated and skilled team made up of new and existing roles focused on preventing and responding to breaches of rental laws.

“This will support a fair and safe marketplace for rented homes in NSW and contribute to improved confidence in the rental market.”

Leo Patterson Ross, CEO of the NSW Tenants Union, has supported the taskforce’s establishment.

“For too long, renters have been carrying the burden of dodgy behaviour.

“It is vital that such an important essential service as renting your home has an active and visible regulator to hold people to account for failing to deliver a fair renting experience.

“We and the Tenants’ Advice and Advocacy Services have long supported renters with services to support them in resolving issues, but without a responsive regulator there have often been limited options to truly hold dodgy operators to account.

“We welcome the investment and the impact it will have, and we look forward to seeing further investment as needed in both regulatory activities and support services for renters into the future.”

NSW Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading Anoulack Chanthivong said, “The Minns Labor Government understands that more people are renting, and they are renting for longer.

“That’s why we have established the Rental Taskforce to help create a more equitable market for the 2.3 million renters in this state.

“Our inspectors will be out in full force to ensure real estate agents and landlords are complying with new and existing rental laws to ease the stress placed on renters by things like no grounds evictions and rent bidding.”