Rooming house
A rooming house is a building where one or more rooms is available for occupancy by four or more people (in return for the payment of rent).
The Minister for Housing can also declare a property to be a rooming house. For more information, view Rooming house agreements.
Rooming house operator
A rooming house operator runs a rooming house as a business, from premises the operator either owns or leases from someone else.
A rooming house operator can be an individual or corporate entity.
If you are unsure whether you are operating a rooming house, you should Contact us.
Rooming house manager
People engaged by rooming house operators to take part in the day-to-day management of a rooming house are ‘managers’ of rooming houses, for the purposes of the Rooming House Operators Act 2016.
Day-to-day management can include negotiating residency agreements, giving notices to residents, and receiving rent payments.
A rooming house manager:
- is permitted to manage more than one rooming house
- undertakes on behalf of the rooming house operator such tasks as:
- negotiating residency agreements with residents
- entering into residency agreements with residents
- giving notice to a resident of the rooming house
- receiving payment of rent from a resident of a rooming house; and
- is not a rooming house manager merely because they carry out caretaking duties at the rooming house.
A rooming house manager must be 18 years or over and can include an estate agent engaged by the rooming house operator.
Relevant person
In relation to rooming house operators, a 'relevant person' is:
- for an individual licensee or applicant:
- the licensee or applicant
- a rooming house manager engaged by the licensee or applicant
- for a corporate entity (company, co-operative or incorporated association) that is a licensee or applicant:
- the entity
- a rooming house manager engaged by the entity
- an officer of the entity.
Officer
If a rooming house is operated by a corporate entity, an 'officer' can refer to:
- a director or the secretary (if the entity is a company)
- the secretary or a member of the committee of management (if the entity is an incorporated association)
- a member of the board of directors (if the entity is a co-operative)
- in the case of any of the entities above, someone who makes decisions (or participates in making decisions) that substantially affect the entity
- someone who has the capacity to significantly affect the financial standing of the entity, or
- someone whose instructions the above officers are accustomed to following.
Person of influence
A person of influence is a person that is not part of the management structure of the organisation, who:
- participates in making decisions that substantially affect the business of the organisation, or
- has the capacity to significantly affect the financial standing of the organisation, or
- is a person whose instructions are usually followed by the directors (company), members of committee of management (incorporated association) or members of the board of directors (co-operative).
For more information on definitions, view Part 1 of the Rooming House Operators Act 2016.