It's a loophole that affects tens of thousands of tenants and landlords across the state, and most of them would be unaware of it: The New South Wales Rental Tribunal lack jurisdiction over disputes in when one party lives interstate, even if the property is in New South Wales. Now, as with the state government enforcing greater regulation of rental law, those affected by the loophole have been left waiting for change.
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00:00Beth and Kaitlyn have been asking their landlord to fix a mould infestation for years.
00:13Every single rental inspection we mention it, so that's a few times every year for
00:1815 years.
00:19The sisters live with their mother Penny, who has a respiratory illness and requires
00:23round-the-clock care since having a stroke several years ago.
00:26We think the mould is having effects on everyone who lives here in essence, our mum has chronic
00:32lung disease, so breathing is already an issue for her and the house is full of mould.
00:39They took their case to NCAT, the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal, but
00:44it was dismissed because the landlord lives interstate and the tribunal has no power to
00:49compel them to appear.
00:51Disputes that can't be resolved at NCAT are referred to the local or district court.
00:56However, unlike the tribunal, where parties represent themselves, going to court can be
01:00both time-consuming and costly.
01:03If you're trying to get your repairs done, if you're trying to get your bond back, having
01:07these matters heard in a timely way is really important.
01:11So it is really frustrating and in some cases even dangerous to let these cases run for
01:18too long.
01:19Spokesperson for Attorney General Michael Daly didn't say if the government has a plan
01:22to resolve the loophole, while renters such as Beth and Caitlin are perplexed it hasn't
01:27been resolved already.
01:29After their case was dismissed by the tribunal, the sisters were issued a no-grounds eviction
01:33notice.
01:34In essence, we could be homeless, with someone in a wheelchair who needs 24-7 care and specialised
01:40equipment.
01:41So the thought of it is terrifying.
01:44Exchanging one housing crisis for another.