{"id":"tas:sr-2021-002","name":"Residential Tenancy (End of Emergency Period for COVID-19 Emergency) Order 2021","slug":"residential-tenancy-end-of-emergency-period-for-covid-19-emergency-order-2021","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"2 of 2021","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":182213,"registerId":"tas-tas:sr-2021-002-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"### 1 Short title\n\n> This order may be cited as the [Residential Tenancy (End of Emergency Period for COVID-19 Emergency) Order 2021](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/sr-2021-002) .","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"### 2 Commencement\n\n> This order takes effect on 31 January 2021.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"End of emergency period for COVID-19 emergency","content":"### 3 End of emergency period for COVID-19 emergency\n\n> For the purposes of [section 3A(4)](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1997-082#GS3A@Gs4@EN) of the [Residential Tenancy Act 1997](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1997-082) , it is declared that the emergency period has ended.\n\nDisplayed and numbered in accordance with the *[Rules Publication Act 1953](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1953-050)*.\n\nNotified in the *Gazette* on 28 January 2021\n\nThis order is administered in the Department of Justice.","sortOrder":2}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"other","section":"Title / Version Information","severity":"low","reasoning":"An order whose entire legal purpose is to designate a single endpoint in time logically exhausts itself upon commencement. Describing it as having a continuing 'current version' from 2021 to 2026 suggests either redundant ongoing operation or a drafting convention that misrepresents the instrument's legal character.","confidence":0.55,"description":"The Order purports to declare the 'End of the Emergency Period' yet its version is stated as current 'from 31 January 2021 to date', implying the instrument itself has ongoing operative effect despite its sole purpose being to terminate a period. An order ending a period should be a spent instrument with no continuing currency."},{"type":"retroactive_impossibility","section":"Authorisation / File Metadata","severity":"low","reasoning":"Ordinarily a file modification date should at minimum coincide with or follow the commencement date to reflect the final authorised text. A modification date preceding commencement by three days is not inherently unlawful but raises questions about whether any post-authorisation amendments were properly captured in the authorised file.","confidence":0.5,"description":"The file is stated to have been 'last modified 28 January 2021', yet the version is described as 'current from 31 January 2021'. This creates a three-day gap where the authorised file predates its own commencement, meaning the instrument as authorised never existed in its operative form prior to coming into force."},{"type":"other","section":"Status Information (duplicated headings throughout)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Where a legislative instrument contains duplicate provisions or headings, a court of construction must determine which instance controls. Although likely a website rendering error, if the duplicated text appears in the enrolled instrument it could constitute a drafting defect undermining certainty as to the instrument's content.","confidence":0.45,"description":"Every heading and section in the instrument appears to be duplicated verbatim (e.g. 'Residential Tenancy (End of Em Residential Tenancy (End of Emergency Period for COVID-19 Emergency) Order 2021', 'Status Information Status Information', 'Currency of version Currency of version', 'Authorisation Authorisation'). If this duplication is present in the operative instrument itself rather than being a rendering artefact, it creates ambiguity as to which instance of each provision is authoritative."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"Substantive Provisions","severity":"high","reasoning":"The entire legal effect of this instrument depends on it specifying a date or event marking the end of the COVID-19 emergency period for residential tenancy purposes. The reproduced text contains only metadata and status information. Either the substantive provisions have been omitted from the reproduction or the instrument is substantively empty, in either case rendering it impossible to identify or comply with its operative requirements.","confidence":0.6,"description":"The instrument as reproduced contains no operative provisions whatsoever — no clause declaring when the emergency period ends, no definition of 'emergency period', and no enabling power cited. An order that declares the end of an emergency period but omits the actual declaration is logically incapable of achieving its stated purpose."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"low","section_a":"File Authorisation — 'File last modified 28 January 2021'","section_b":"Currency of Version — 'Version current from 31 January 2021'","confidence":0.5,"description":"The authorised file predates the instrument's stated commencement by three days. The version on record as authoritative was finalised before the date from which it is stated to be operative, creating a contradiction between the date of authorisation and the date of legal currency."}]},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument appears to fulfil its original and straightforward intent — to formally end the COVID-19 emergency period for residential tenancy purposes in Tasmania. There is no indication of scope creep or deviation from its stated purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Very narrow and specific purpose — a single declaratory instrument with limited operative content","Relies on understanding of the parent legislation (Residential Tenancy Act 1997) and the COVID-19 emergency framework to fully appreciate its effect","Short instrument with minimal text provided, limiting full analysis of any technical provisions"],"plain_english_summary":"## What This Law Does\n\nThis is a short Tasmanian Government order that formally declares when the **COVID-19 emergency period ends** for the purposes of residential tenancy (renting a home) law in Tasmania.\n\n## Who It Affects\n\n- **Renters (tenants)** in Tasmania who had COVID-19 emergency protections applied to their lease\n- **Landlords** in Tasmania who were subject to temporary restrictions during the COVID-19 emergency period (such as limits on evictions or rent increases)\n\n## Why It Matters\n\nDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, Tasmania (like other states) introduced special temporary rules to protect renters — for example, making it harder for landlords to evict tenants who couldn't pay rent due to COVID-19 hardship. This order effectively **switches those emergency protections off** by officially declaring the emergency period has ended.\n\nOnce this order takes effect (from **31 January 2021**), the normal rules under Tasmania's residential tenancy laws resume. This means:\n- Landlords regain their standard rights to issue eviction notices\n- Tenants lose the special COVID-19 hardship protections\n- Normal rental rules around rent increases, lease terminations, and disputes apply again\n\n## In Plain Terms\n\nThink of it like a 'back to normal' switch for renting in Tasmania — the temporary safety net introduced during COVID-19 is officially removed from this date."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument performs exactly the narrow, specific function suggested by its title: declaring the end of an emergency period. There is no scope creep or expansion beyond this single purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short: only 3 operative sections","No defined terms within the instrument itself","Single substantive provision (section 3) containing a simple declaration","No conditional logic, exceptions, or nested provisions","Only one external cross-reference (to section 3A(4) of the parent Act)","No procedural requirements or compliance obligations"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a very short piece of legislation that officially ends the special COVID-19 emergency rules for residential tenancies (renting homes) in the Australian Capital Territory.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Declares that the \"emergency period\" for COVID-19 has ended for the purposes of the Residential Tenancy Act 1997\n\n**What this means in practice:**\n- During the pandemic, special protections likely applied to renters (such as restrictions on evictions, rent increases, or other tenancy changes)\n- This order turns those protections off as of 31 January 2021\n- Normal tenancy rules apply again from that date\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Landlords and tenants in the ACT\n- Anyone involved in residential rental agreements\n\n**Why it matters:**\n- Marks the formal end of pandemic-era tenancy protections\n- Returns landlord-tenant relationships to standard legal framework\n- Tenants may lose temporary protections they had during the emergency period"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/residential-tenancy-end-of-emergency-period-for-covid-19-emergency-order-2021","history":"/api/acts/residential-tenancy-end-of-emergency-period-for-covid-19-emergency-order-2021/history","analysis":"/api/acts/residential-tenancy-end-of-emergency-period-for-covid-19-emergency-order-2021/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/residential-tenancy-end-of-emergency-period-for-covid-19-emergency-order-2021/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/residential-tenancy-end-of-emergency-period-for-covid-19-emergency-order-2021/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/residential-tenancy-end-of-emergency-period-for-covid-19-emergency-order-2021/documents"}}