Queensland Subordinate Legislation as Made

RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES AND ROOMING ACCOMMODATION (COVID-19 EMERGENCY RESPONSE) REGULATION 2020 - REG 8

8 Moratorium on evictions

(1) Until the end of the relevant period, a lessor or lessor’s agent must not evict a tenant for failure to pay rent as required under the residential tenancy agreement if the failure relates to the tenant suffering excessive hardship because of the COVID-19 emergency.

Penalty—

Maximum penalty—50 penalty units.

(2) Subsection (1) does not prevent a lessor ending a residential tenancy agreement under the Act —

(a) for any reason other than a failure to pay rent as required under the agreement; or

(b) for a failure to pay rent as required under the agreement if the failure was not related to the tenant suffering excessive hardship because of the COVID-19 emergency; or

(c) as a consequence of having given a notice to leave, or applying to the tribunal for an order terminating the agreement, before 29 March 2020.

(3) In this section—

"evict" , a tenant, means—

(a) give the tenant a notice to leave; or

(b) apply to the tribunal for an order terminating the residential tenancy agreement; or

(c) cause the tenant to vacate the premises by any of the following actions—

(i) coercing the tenant into agreeing to end the residential tenancy agreement under section 277 (2) of the Act ;

(ii) preventing the tenant from freely accessing the premises, including, for example, by changing the locks or intimidating the tenant;

(iii) causing the tenant to vacate the premises because of false or misleading information given to the tenant by the lessor or by another person on behalf of the lessor;

(iv) causing the tenant to vacate the premises because of acts of intimidation carried out by the lessor or by another person on behalf of the lessor.

"relevant period" means the period starting on 29 March 2020 and ending on the earlier of the following days—

(a) 29 September 2020;

(b) the last day of the COVID-19 emergency period.