Disputes

Good neighbour initiative

Do you know someone who is a particularly good neighbour and ticks some of the boxes below? Housing Choices Australia would like to help you thank them and recognise their contribution to the community by rewarding them.

• friendly and helpful
• provides assistance to others
• contributes to the local community
• is mindful of others
• has performed a good deed
• respectful of others privacy and lifestyles
• maintains their property
• alerts others to danger.

If you would like to know more, please contact your Housing Officer.

Residents’ rights and responsibilities

Housing Choices Australia recognises that all residents have rights, as our resident you have a right to:

• expect a positive and respectful relations with your housing provider, us.
• expect clear and transparent communication about your tenancy or property
• expect a prompt response to your tenancy or property queries
• the peaceful enjoyment of your home
• seek advice, referral or support from HCA on solutions
• complain about others including residents, their visitors or contractors tenant(s) who you feel are violating your right to the peaceful
• enjoyment of your home
• access support, information and services to maintain a successful tenancy.

Residents, also have responsibilities, when you sign the Residential Tenancy Agreement, you are  agreeing to abide by the terms of this agreement and to meet all your tenancy obligations. This means you should not:

• cause or permit a nuisance
• interfere, cause or permit interference with the reasonable peace, comfort or privacy of any neighbour
• use the residential premises or cause or permit the premises to be used for any illegal purpose and intentionally or negligently cause or permit any damage to the residential premises.

Under the Residential Tenancy Agreement, you are responsible for your own conduct as well as the behaviour of all other household members and any visitors to your property.

What kind of behaviour is unacceptable?

Unacceptable behaviour is behaviour that causes, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to other people. It is behaviour that unreasonably interferes with other people’s rights to use and enjoy their home and community, such as:

• excessive and/ or repeated noise
• intimidation, abuse or harassment
• aggressive and threatening language or behaviour
• vandalism
• nuisance caused by vehicles, such as where they are parked or the way repairs are being carried out
• nuisance caused by pets.
• Be considerate towards your neighbours when you are doing something noisy. Let them know before you start and try to avoid making noise when people are likely to be sleeping.

There are a few simple things you can do to prevent disputes with neighbours.

• Co-operate if a neighbour asks you to reduce noise
• Be tolerant to your neighbours if they have a different lifestyle from yours
• Don’t use your property for illegal purposes such as drug dealing
• Don’t harass people in any way
• Don’t use violent or abusive language or behave in a violent or abusive way.

What can I do if I am experiencing problems?

If you are experiencing any problems with noise or nuisance, it is very important that you calmly deal with it as soon as you can. Sometimes a dispute may occur because of a misunderstanding between you and your neighbour.

We encourage early intervention for neighbours in dispute. Your first step should be to approach your neighbour to resolve the situation between yourselves. We can assist you to manage that conversation, including how to explain the problem from your point of view, the impact that it is making and how it could be resolved. If you feel you cannot speak with your neighbour directly, you can also, ask about mediation where a trained and independent person can speak with both of you to discuss how you may want to resolve the problem.

If the problem relates to a breach of tenancy that is negatively affecting you, contact your Housing Officer – he or she may ask you to keep a nuisance and annoyance diary. This is a document that records the date, time and details of any incident that occurs. If the problem relates to any type of harassment or abuse, we may refer you to specialised services that can offer you support and assistance. We may also ask you to keep a nuisance and annoyance diary.

Housing Choices Australia cannot take direct action where the problem in your neighbourhood or block of units involves criminal activity. You can report this directly to the police.

Ending your tenancy

You may find yourself in a situation where you want to end your tenancy agreement with Housing Choices Australia. To do this you must provide at least 28 days notice of intention to vacate or, 14 days’ notice of intention to vacate if you have been offered and accepted accommodation by another registered housing agency. Notice to your Housing Officer must be in writing either by email, post, in person or by fax.

The notice must:

• Be signed and dated
• Give the date when you will be giving vacant possession (removed all your belongings and handed in the keys)
• Include the reason for ending the tenancy

You should also download the Vacate Cleaning Checklist to ensure the property is left in a suitable condition. You may incur a debt and/or lose part of your entire bond if the items on the checklist are not completed.

Your Housing Officer will complete a final outgoing inspection when you have cleaned the property and returned the keys. If there are no outstanding costs, your Housing Officer will sign the bond form and the bond will be refunded to you.

You can telephone your Housing Officer if you are not sure about the procedure, or if you have any questions.