Field, Sue --- "Regulation and Rental Accommodation for Older Persons in Queensland" [2003] ElderLawRw 4; (2003) 2 Elder Law Review 5

• Regulation And Rental Accommodation For Older Persons In Queensland

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REGULATION AND RENTAL ACCOMMODATION FOR OLDER PERSONS IN QUEENSLAND

Sue Field

Much has been written about, and legislated for, older persons in respect of their health, finances and accommodation needs. However, the issue of what happens to those lower income persons who do not own a home on their retirement has not really been canvassed. While these persons may have rented accommodation during their working lives, their reduced income following retirement, a redundancy, or long term unemployment will not usually permit them to continue living in rental accommodation at market rates.

In the past it would appear that as their income has reduced many of these people have moved into cheaper accommodation which may include hostels, boarding houses, subsidized housing or mobile homes. The need to provide inexpensive rental accommodation for older persons, with limited financial means, has been recognised by some developers and resulted in a rapid expansion of the rental retirement village concept. Legislation governing this type of accommodation varies in each jurisdiction. This article addresses the situation in Queensland.

Until August 2002 there was little protection for those persons living in cheaper forms of accommodation. Conversely there was little assistance, for the operators of such accommodation to either upgrade their facilities or develop benchmarks upon which to base their services.

On 23 August 2002 The Residential Services (Accommodation) Act 2002 and the Residential Services (Accreditation) Act 2002 were introduced in an attempt to address this situation. The former piece of legislation is administered by the Residential Tenancies Authority, and the latter, by the Residential Services Accreditation branch of the Office of Fair Trading.

Section 4 of the’ Accreditation Act’ is quite specific about the types of accommodation that are classified as “residential services” and therefore covered by the new legislation. Equally the legislation is quite specific about the types of accommodation that are exempt.

The reforms under the ‘Accommodation Act’ set out the rights and responsibilities of both parties ie the resident and the service provider. Some of these features relate to:

•	The requirement that agreements between the parties be in writing;
•	Notice periods in respect to rental increases;
•	The right of the service provider to introduce house rules (as long as they comply with the requirements of the Act) and
•	Dispute resolution mechanisms.

The ‘Accreditation Act’ sets out the requirements that the service provider must meet to operate the business. These requirements relate to registration of the premises and accreditation and include for example:

•	The form that the application must take, this includes fire safety plans and consent for a criminal check;
•	The type of person who is suitable to be a service provider;
•	The amount of notice the service provider is to supply before ceasing to operate; and
•	The building requirements.

There are three levels of accreditation and these are based on the services provided. For example Level one is accommodation; Level two includes accommodation and food services and Level three includes accommodation, food services and personal care services. Although seemingly complex the requirements for registration and accreditation can be summarised as follows:

For new services

•	Registration must be applied for prior to commencing operation;
•	Accreditation must be applied for within six months of registration, unless food and personal services are offered, in which case accreditation must be applied for within six months of commencing the service.

For existing services

•	Registration must be applied for by 23 August 2004 unless the provider offers personal services (Level 3) in which case registration must be applied for by 23 August 2003;
•	Accreditation for Level 3 (personal care services) must be applied for by 23 August 2004;
•	Accreditation for Level 2 (food services) must be applied for by 23 August 2005; and
•	Accreditation for Level 1 (accommodation only) must be applied for by 23 August 2006.[1]

To assist providers meet these standards The Queensland Department of Housing has allocated funds in the form of loans and grants. Details can be found at the Department’s Website

http://www.housing.qld.gov.au/key_projects/residential_services/assistance_package.htm

Confusion may occur for operators who conduct, on the one site, rental retirement accommodation which as outlined above is regulated by the Residential Services (Accommodation) Act 2002 and the Residential Services (Accreditation) Act 2002, and leasehold or freehold retirement villages which are regulated by the Retirement Villages Act 1999 (Qld). Particular instances where confusion may arise relate to the areas of complaint resolution and certification and accreditation standards to name but a few.

The introduction of legislation to protect the more vulnerable persons in the community is to be lauded. However, the administration of these two different pieces of legislation, which are so closely interwoven, may well prove to be problematic.

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[1] J Wrathmall, ‘Increased regulation of residential services’ (December 2002) Proctor 21.