Landlord insurance bill canned - for now

The Maryan Street-sponosred Residential Tenancies (Damage Insurance) Amendment Bill is instead being worked into the on-going review of the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA).

Street said the bill aimed to protect tenants in group-flatting situations from being financially disadvantaged should their flatmates cause damage to the rental property.

If it passed the bill would have made it compulsory for landlords to provide this insurance for their tenants.
However, the Social Services Select Committee recommended that the bill not be passed.
It says that the issues covered by the bill will be considered in the Department of Building and Housing’s RTA review of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

“While we are interested in the intent of the bill, we are not convinced that the measures proposed would effectively protect innocent tenants from the consequences of damage caused by other tenants,” it says in its report.