NSW Government’s Rental Taskforce intervention | Bonds & Fixed Income

The Minns Labor Government’s Rental Taskforce has hit the ground operating, with a latest investigation into incorrect costs for rental background checks leading to nearly $50,000 being returned to renters.

The Taskforce can also be coming down onerous on real estate brokers who had been discovered to have misappropriated trust funds and rental bonds.

Following a $8.4 million investment by the Minns Labor Government, the Rental Taskforce has been analysing actions and trends within the rental market and conducting schooling and compliance actions reminiscent of inspections, audits, and blitzes to stop and act on breaches of the law.

This work has not too long ago resulted in refunds totalling $47,321 for renters, after a company was discovered to be promoting background checks to renters.

Led by the Minns Labor Government, the NSW Parliament handed adjustments to rental legal guidelines in October 2024, banning landlords from making rental candidates pay for background checks earlier than or when coming into into a tenancy.

The NSW Fair Trading investigation revealed an online rental utility platform had charged more than 2300 rental candidates for background checks allegedly as a consequence of a system error.

Rental candidates had been charged $19.95 for a search of public databases and the National Tenancy Database, however following engagement from the Rental Taskforce, the platform has since voluntarily refunded affected customers, disabled the background examine characteristic on its web site in NSW, and dedicated to periodic opinions to make sure compliance.

NSW Fair Trading is asking for any rental candidates who’ve been charged for a background examine to lodge a grievance with NSW Fair Trading by visiting: https://www.nsw.gov.au/departments-and-agencies/fair-trading/complaints-and-enquiries/housing-and-property.

NSW Fair Trading has additionally been working with NSW Police on a number of circumstances in latest months the place trust funds or rental bonds have been misappropriated.

On 7 March 2025, Parramatta Local Court sentenced real estate agent Vanessa Nguyen to a 15-month Intensive Correction Order (ICO), with a situation to finish 180 hours of neighborhood service and to pay $80,866.20 in compensation, after a NSW Fair Trading investigation revealed she had taken more than $100,000 dishonestly from NSW Rental Bonds and a trust account managed at Ray White Canley Heights.

Nguyen made 25 rental bond claims totalling more than $50,000, and on 14 separate events transferred a complete sum of $50,505 from the company’s trust account into her personal account.

Nguyen pleaded guilty and was convicted of two offences of dishonestly acquiring financial benefit by deception.

By law, real estate brokers are obligated to position shopper funds in trust accounts which can’t be used for any goal different than for that shopper.

In late 2024, NSW Fair Trading accomplished two prosecutions the place a property supervisor and an administration assistant at real estate company First National Parramatta, plead guilty to costs referring to the misappropriation of funds from Rental Bonds.

Rachel Fares was sentenced to a 12-month Community Corrections Order in December 2024 after pleading guilty to at least one charge of fraud beneath the NSW Crimes Act for misappropriating $1,801.34 of Rental Bonds, and one charge for money laundering after she obtained roughly $7,400 in circumstances the place there have been cheap grounds to suspect it was the proceeds of crime.

In a associated matter, property supervisor Matthew Rizk was sentenced to an 18-month Community Corrections Order with 40 hours of neighborhood service in October 2024 for one depend of fraud beneath the NSW Crimes Act for misappropriating the sum of roughly $15,436 associated to rental bonds.

In January 2025, an investigation into property agent Bree Patricia Callaghan revealed she had diverted trust account funds, together with rental funds, into her personal bank account and cancelled property management charges.

NSW Fair Trading cancelled Callaghan’s property licence and disqualified her from holding a property licence for 10 years.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading Anoulack Chanthivong:

“The return of almost $50,000 in incorrect charges back to renters demonstrates that the Minns Labor Government’s Rental Taskforce has hit the ground running and is doing the job it was set up to do.

“The significant prosecutions and punishments we are seeing for real estate agents also shows that the message is clear – if you are doing the wrong thing, the Rental Taskforce will catch you and serious legal consequences will follow.

“The new Rental Taskforce is a multi-disciplinary team bringing together new and existing resources drawn from across NSW Fair Trading, focused on preventing and responding to breaches of rental laws to create a more equitable market for the 2.3 million renters in this state.”

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