COMMENT: Getting to grips with tenancy disputes

Tenant advocates frequently claim that private-sector residential tenants are powerless pawns in the hands of greedy, uncaring landlords. They claim that when a tenant makes a request for their landlord to fix something on the property that they are entitled to have fixed, the landlord either ignores them or terminates the tenancy in retaliation.

Some tenants have highlighted their plight through the media, creating a victim mentality among many others. As the rental shortage increases, our industry has come under intense scrutiny from those in the media as they lap up stories from tenant advocate groups and individual tenants.

Journalists constantly seek news stories and search through Tenancy Tribunal orders, looking for shock-horror stories which lead to more and more tenants being portrayed as victims of an unfair system.

I believe these claims exist because of the widespread ignorance of tenancy law and the relative powers of both landlord and tenant.