麻豆精选 council wants a stronger Tenant Protection Plan with clearer rules.
At Monday鈥檚 (Mar. 3) meeting, Deputy Mayor Luke Stack said he was looking for a more structured approach.
鈥淚 think one of the things that the development community is always telling us is, don't leave it an open slate as to what council might want or what a future council might want,鈥� Stack said. 鈥淭hey usually say, 鈥楪ive us something definitive, give us some rules.鈥欌��
Stack expected staff to present a clearer plan, adding, 鈥淚 think it actually introduces uncertainty.鈥�
The need for tenant relocation policies were highlighted in May 2024 when council delayed a rezoning decision for a Mills Road property in Rutland. The site鈥檚 20 rental units are set to be torn down and replaced with 55 new purpose-built rentals, displacing several residents.
Under the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA), landlords must give tenants four months鈥� notice and one month鈥檚 rent in compensation when ending tenancy due to redevelopment. However, a staff report noted there鈥檚 no formal assistance beyond those basic requirements.
At Monday鈥檚 meeting, staff proposed new tenant protection measures for properties with five or more rental units that are being redeveloped. Developers would need to submit a tenant protection plan with their applications, outlining how they meet RTA obligations and any voluntary measures for tenant relocation and support.
麻豆精选鈥檚 2023 Housing Needs Assessment estimates that around 48 per cent of future housing demand will be for rental units, making redevelopment of older rental stock increasingly common.
Councillor Loyal Wooldridge backed Stack鈥檚 call for a clearer process.
鈥淚 think to even the playing field and make more certainty for the development industry, which we hear consistently that鈥檚 what they want, I think having a proven and repeatable system and template would be advisable,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he contents of that would be debated by council.鈥�
Council directed staff to report back with more details on tenant relocation policies and how they could be implemented.
