It is good to see that the City of Sydney has made an attempt to develop some restrictions for new development approvals. However, I have lived too long on this planet not be sceptical of even the best of endeavours! I can see legal loop ‘holes’ in this DA. I hope that those who reside in this development do not think that they have water tight protections.
One of the most obvious ‘holes’ is at (c) – the 3 month residential tenancy agreement. Signed leases are easy to get released from and without any penalty – all it takes is the owner’s consent.
What is to stop an unscrupulous owner requiring all of his tenants to sign the mandatory 3 month lease but permit the tenant to escape from the lease after one week? This is a contractual agreement between the owner and the tenant that the OC is not party to – therefore any excuse can be concocted to explain why the 3 month lease was not sustained and was terminated early.
There is no penalty on an owner who has permitted his tenants to break their 3 month leases. The only requirement is that a 3 month lease was initially signed.
And another ‘hole’ is at (d) – the no advertising of short term rentals …… The unscrupulous owner could advertise a 3 month rental but state that “the lease terms contain no penalties for early termination”. The short term rental has not technically been advertised – but has it been implied? Or is the owner just being magnanimous? A tricky one to decide!
This DA is a good initial attempt but the issue still needs some work to make it more ‘water tight’ and less ‘holey’.