In the interests of community safety, it is important that a new generation of residents are not exposed to the health, social and financial risks associated with owning and/or living in a loose fill asbestos affected property.
An occupancy prohibition prevents properties on the Affected Residential Premises Register (the Register) from being occupied following ownership transfer or the end of a rental agreement.
Approved occupants will be exempted from the occupancy prohibition, and able to live in affected properties once they have been transferred or sold. An approved occupant is someone who has lived in the property continuously since it was added to the Register, or someone who is approved as a support person to a resident.
Additionally, any new residential tenancy agreement assignment, subletting or occupancy agreement in relation to an affected property entered into under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, will be void. Find out more about occupancy laws [PDF 1.6 MB] in the Renting Book.
What happens when occupancy prohibition is in place?
Owners of a property where an occupancy prohibition is in place are only restricted in relation to living in, or allowing others to live in, the affected structure(s).
Owners may choose to demolish the affected structures or sell the property, noting that the purchaser would have the same restrictions in relation to living in, or allowing anyone to live in, the affected property.
The occupancy prohibition will be removed once the affected structures have been demolished, the soil remediated, and the property deregistered.
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