Real estate agents are torn over new tenancy laws coming in on March 23, with some saying they bring much-needed clarity to ambiguous rules and others saying they could cost landlords big-time.
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These are the first major reforms since 2010, and Wagga Re/Max director Dave Skow said that many of the changes were a long time coming.
However Mr Skow said in his opinion some of the reforms were skewed in favour of tenants at the expense of landlords - particularly the new rules around break-lease fees.
Under the new laws, tenants can break their lease and pay as little as one week's rent as penalty, depending on when they break their lease.
"In any other industry, say a phone contract or a gym membership, you're committed to a term. It almost makes a mockery of how binding a 'fixed-term' tenancy is going to be," Mr Skow said.
"We hear constantly from landlords that their rights being chipped, chipped, chipped away in favour of tenants rights."
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Mr Skow said a broken lease could prove especially costly for landlords in the middle of the year, due to the seasonal nature of Wagga's industries.
An influx of workers coming into Wagga in the December, January, February period made it easy to find a replacement tenant earlier in the year, but harder to find one later in the year.
However Mr Skow said the break-lease reforms were "not the end of the world", and that on balance the new laws were a positive change for both tenants and landlords.
"From a landlord point of view they need to be mindful it's not doomsday. A good agent will adapt to these changes and keep them abreast of what the changes are."
"It's probably going to prove more difficult for landlords who choose to self manage, so engaging an agent that is qualified, appropriately insured, and has knowledge within the industry is more important now than it has ever been."
Wagga Fitzpatrick's senior tenancy manager Katie Davis said she welcomed the new legislation, which more clearly states what tenants and landlords can and can't do.
She said the previous laws were often vague and ambiguous, leaving tenants and landlords in the dark as to what was legal and what wasn't.
"It was definitely a necessity - quite a few things were outdated and it makes the rules more black and white," Ms Davis said.
"It really clears up that grey area and we're looking forward to making tenants and landlords alike aware of the requirements."
The new laws now define what a house needs to meet the minimum "fit for habitation" criteria and what changes a tenant can make to the house while living in it.
The new rules will apply to any tenant who starts a lease from March 23, and a full breakdown of those rules can be found on the NSW Department of Fair Trading website.
There will also be a free information session held by the Real Estate Institution of NSW at the Wagga RSL Club on March 10 from 6.30pm to 8.30pm.