TENANTS
RIGHTS
FACTSHEET
Your rights under
the Residential
Tenancies Act 1987
and Residential Tenancies
Regulation 2006.
Lead
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As a tenant you have rights under the Residential Tenancies Act
1987 and Residential Tenancies Regulation 2006. This factsheet
explains what you can do if you think your home is contaminated by
lead.
Lead in residential premises
Lead in residential premises can be harmful, especially to small
children and pregnant women. Lead is most commonly found in old paint
(before 1970), soil and dust in the roof.
If you think your home is contaminated with lead, get information
and advice from:
- the Global Lead [Poisoning Prevention] Advice and
Support Service (see below)
- your local council
- your doctor – about blood tests and health effects.
Then you can decide whether you want stay in your place and have
the landlord to fix the problem, or you want to leave.
If you want to stay
Under the Residential Tenancies Act, your landlord must
provide premises which are clean and fit for habitation and maintain
the premises in a reasonable state of repair.
You
are legally obliged to tell your landlord of any repairs needed, or
any damage to the premises. You also cannot make any renovation or
alteration to the premises without the landlord’s written consent.
Therefore, if you think there is lead in your place, contact your
landlord or the real estate agent immediately to sort out a solution.
Confirm all conversations and agreements in writing and keep copies of
all letters.
If your landlord has agreed to make the necessary repairs, make
sure that attempts to fix the problem do not make things worse.
Removal of lead needs to be done carefully and safely. Contact
the Global Lead Advice and Support Service (GLASS)
for advice and referral on safe methods of removal of dust and paint.
If the landlord refuses to do repairs, you can apply to the
Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal (CTTT) for orders
- that the repairs be done
- for a rent reduction for the time that you were unable to use
parts of the premises
- for compensation for any loss to you caused by your landlord
breaking the terms of your residential tenancy agreement (i.e.
failing to do repairs)
- that rent be paid to the tribunal until the repairs are done.
If you want to leave
If you want to leave, you need to end your residential tenancy
agreement. See Factsheet
09: You want to leave.
If you want to leave because the landlord/agent refuses to do
repairs, it may be better to apply to the CTTT first for an order that
they must do the repairs. You can always agree in conciliation to move
out of the premises at a time that suits you. You may also ask for a
rent reduction and/or compensation.
Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal
The tribunal decides disputes between landlords and tenants and can
order your landlord to do necessary repairs, reduce the rent, pay
compensation and/or end your agreement.
Get advice from your local Tenants
Advice and Advocacy Service before taking action in the tribunal.
The tribunal will need evidence from you to make the orders you
want, such as:
- your residential tenancy agreement
- all correspondence between you and your landlord
- drawings and photographs of the premises
- samples of contamination
- reports of professional lead assessment
- medical reports
- reports by your local council's building or health inspectors
- receipts for expenses paid
- printed material on lead hazards. (e.g.
factsheets from GLASS such as "Lead
paint & ceiling dust management - how to do it lead-safely".
You can seek an urgent hearing of your matter at the tribunal –
apply as soon as you can. If you think that your landlord is breaking
the terms of your agreement, you have 30 days to apply. You can ask
for an extension of time to apply, if necessary.
In tenancy matters, the tribunal cannot make orders worth more than
$10,000. For compensation over this amount, you will have to sue in a
court. If you have suffered significant injury, get advice from a
community legal centre about court action before taking action in the
tribunal. (To find your local community legal centre see www.nswclc.org.au).
Contacts
The Global Lead [Poisoning Prevention] Advice and
Support Service:
phone 02 9716 0132, free call 1800 626 086, www.lead.org.au
Updated: Sep 2008
Further help on tenancy issues:
Tenants NSW website: www.tenants.org.au
Tenants Hotline: 02 8117 3750 or 1800 251 101
Tenants Advice and Advocacy Services: see the Tenants NSW website or
call the Tenants Hotline to find your local general or Aboriginal
service Renting Services (NSW Office of Fair Trading): 133 220
Other factsheets on tenancy issues:
This is one of a series of factsheets on tenancy issues. Other
factsheets are available from www.tenants.org.au/publish/factsheets/
or your local Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service
Produced by Tenants'
Union of N.S.W. with assistance from The LEAD Group Inc.
Based on original work done by the Inner Western Tenants Advice &
Advocacy Service.
(Tenants Rights Fact Sheets were first developed by Western Sydney
Tenants Service. January 1999)
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