COVID-19 IMPACTS TIMEFRAME FOR RESIDENTIAL TENANCY HEARINGS
A recent notification from VCAT came as no surprise when they advised Victorian agents that COVID-19 has impacted normal timeframes for residential tenancy hearings.
Whilst we have been aware that some cases are taking longer to schedule a hearing than usual, the Victorian and Civil Administrative Tribunal have advised that they are prioritising cases that renting laws say must be heard within a certain time and those which they consider most urgent.
As an example, urgent repair cases are heard within 2 business days, and applications involving personal or family violence are heard within 3 business days.
DELAYS OF MORE THAN 12 MONTHS ARE NOT CURRENTLY UNCOMMON
Whilst applications for possession due to danger, damage, or disruption are scheduled for hearing as soon as possible, alarmingly, possession applications due to unpaid rent are currently taking about 17 weeks to be heard. Similarly, they currently have a large backlog of bond and compensation cases. Some of these cases have been waiting for several months or more. We know of several that are still awaiting a hearing date after more than 12 months.
A FASTER RESOLUTION
To reduce some of these delays, VCAT has introduced a new procedure in rent arrears applications.
If an owner/agent can reach a payment plan agreement with a renter, the agreement can now be lodged with VCAT prior to a scheduled hearing. On receiving the payment plan agreement, the Tribunal will recognise it by making orders without requiring a hearing first, providing a much faster resolution for these types of matters.
WHAT IS THE TIME FRAME FOR LODGING AN AGREEMENT?
Any such agreement must be lodged as early as possible. If a hearing has been scheduled, VCAT will cancel the hearing - provided the agreement is lodged at least seven days before the hearing date. If an agreement is reached within the preceding seven days, the hearing will proceed and the payment plan can be presented at the hearing. If the renter does not comply with the payment plan agreement, the rental provider can ask for a hearing, at which time VCAT will consider whether a possession order should be made.
VCAT will prioritise scheduling a new hearing in those circumstances.
This may be an option to consider for some situations and may allow a proactive approach rather than waiting 4 months for a hearing.
If you have questions, please contact the First National Neilson Partners Property Management team.
