Residential Tenancies and Funerals Amendment Act 2024 (Vic)

Residential Tenancies and Funerals Amendment Act 2024

No. 33 of 2024

TABLE OF PROVISIONS

Section  Page

Part 1—Preliminary

1Purposes

2Commencement

Part 2—Amendment of Residential Tenancies Act 1997

3Section 206E amended

4Terms of site agreement

5Information that site owners must disclose before entering into site agreements

6Rent increases in site agreements

7Regulations

8New clause 20 of Schedule 1 inserted

Part 3—Amendment of Funerals Act 2006

9New section 23A inserted

10Regulations

Part 4—Repeal of this Act

11Repeal of this Act

═════════════

Endnotes

1      General information

Residential Tenancies and Funerals Amendment Act 2024

No. 33 of 2024

[Assented to 17 September 2024]

The Parliament of Victoria enacts:

PART 1—PRELIMINARY

1Purposes

The purposes of this Act are—

(a)to amend the Residential Tenancies Act 1997—

(i)to provide for prescribed forms of Part 4A site agreements; and

(ii)to make further provision in relation to pre-contractual disclosure and rent increases; and

(b)to amend the Funerals Act 2006 to provide for funeral goods and services price lists and coffin price lists to be published on a funeral provider's website and at their premises.

2Commencement

(1)This Part and section 6 come into operation on the day after the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.

(2)Subject to subsection (3), the remaining provisions of this Act come into operation on a day or days to be proclaimed.

(3)If this Act does not come into operation before 1 August 2025, it comes into operation on that day.

PART 2—AMENDMENT OF RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES ACT 1997

3Section 206E amended

(1)In the heading to section 206E of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, for "writing" substitute "prescribed form".

(2)After section 206E(2) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 insert—

"(2A)A site agreement must be in the prescribed form (if any).

(2B)If a form of site agreement is prescribed for the purposes of subsection (2A), a site owner must not prepare or authorise the preparation of a site agreement that is not in the prescribed form.

Penalty:25 penalty units.".

4Terms of site agreement

In section 206F of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997—

(a)in subsection (1)(b), after "this Act" insert ", a prescribed form of site agreement (if any)";

(b)in subsection (3)(a), after "this Act" insert "or a prescribed form of site agreement (if any)".

5Information that site owners must disclose before entering into site agreements

After section 206JF(1)(e) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 insert—

"(ea)the name, address, telephone number and ABN (if any) of the site owner;

(eb)the name, address and telephone number of any person located at the Part 4A park as the representative of the site owner or the Part 4A park owner;

(ec)the proposed site agreement that is to be entered into to become a site tenant in the Part 4A park;

(ed)the prescribed financial matters (including but not limited to rent, bonds and other fees and charges), prescribed entitlements and prescribed obligations of a person—

(i)on entering a Park 4A park; and

(ii)when living in a Part 4A park or on a Part 4A site as a site tenant; and

(iii)on leaving the Part 4A park or Part 4A site at the end of a site agreement;".

6Rent increases in site agreements

(1)In section 206SA(1)(a) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, for "subsection (3)," substitute "subsections (3) and (3A),".

(2)After section 206SA(3) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 insert—

"(3A)For the purposes of subsection (1)(a)—

(a)a specified method of calculating a rent increase must clearly define the formula and the specific index being used (if any); and

(b)if the specified method includes a reference to CPI, CPI means the all groups consumer price index for Melbourne in original terms published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.".

7Regulations

In section 511(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997—

(a)in paragraph (fb), after "section 206F" insert "and the prescribed form of site agreement referred to in section 206E(2A)";

(b)after paragraph (fb) insert—

"(fba)prescribing information and other matters to be disclosed for the purposes of section 206JF;".

8New clause 20 of Schedule 1 inserted

After clause 19 of Schedule 1 to the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 insert—

"20   Transitional provisions for site agreements—Residential Tenancies and Funerals Amendment Act 2024

(1)The amendments made to sections 206E, 206F and 206JF by the Residential Tenancies and Funerals Amendment Act 2024 only apply to—

(a)a fixed term site agreement entered into on or after the commencement of the applicable amendment; and

(b)a periodic site agreement that was created under section 207K on or after the commencement of the applicable amendment, whether or not the fixed term site agreement referred to in section 207K(1)(a) was terminated or ended before, on or after the applicable commencement.

(2)Sections 206E, 206F and 206JF as in force immediately before the applicable amendment by the Residential Tenancies and Funerals Amendment Act 2024 continue to apply to—

(a)a fixed term site agreement entered into before the commencement of that amendment until the termination or end of that site agreement; and

(b)a periodic site agreement that commenced under section 207K before the commencement of that amendment until the end of that site agreement.".

PART 3—AMENDMENT OF FUNERALS ACT 2006

9New section 23A inserted

After section 23 of the Funerals Act 2006 insert—

"23A   Display of funeral goods and services price list and coffin price list on Internet site and at business premises

(1)A funeral provider must display the provider's funeral goods and services price list and coffin price list—

(a)on the funeral provider's Internet site; and

(b)in a prominent position at the provider's business premises.

Penalty:60 penalty units.

(2)For the purposes of subsection (1), the lists may be combined lists or separate lists.".

10Regulations

After section 82(1)(d) of the Funerals Act 2006 insert—

"(da)the form or particulars of funeral goods and services lists which are to be displayed—

(i)on a funeral provider's Internet site; or

(ii)at the business premises of a funeral provider;".

PART 4—REPEAL OF THIS ACT

11Repeal of this Act

This Act is repealed on 1 August 2026.

Note

The repeal of this Act does not affect the continuing operation of the amendments made by it (see section 15(1) of the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984).

═════════════

ENDNOTES

1   General information

See for Victorian Bills, Acts and current authorised versions of legislation and up-to-date legislative information.

Minister's second reading speech—

Legislative Assembly: 31 July 2024

Legislative Council: 29 August 2024

The long title for the Bill for this Act was "A Bill for an Act to amend the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 in relation to Part 4A parks, to amend the Funerals Act 2006 in relation to funeral goods and services price lists and coffin price lists and for other purposes."