Coronavirus eviction ban: Industry calls for details on moratorium
Victoria’s real estate industry has welcomed the moratorium on evictions to help tenants struggling through the crisis, but says further details and support for landlords are urgently needed.
Victoria’s real estate industry has welcomed the moratorium on evictions to help tenants struggling through the coronavirus crisis, but says further details and support for landlords are urgently needed.
Both Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Premier Dan Andrews have confirmed evictions will be frozen for six months for residential and commercial renters “experiencing financial distress” due to the impact of COVID-19.
But details surrounding how the moratorium will work, when it will kick in and how landlords will be supported are scarce, with the National Cabinet agreeing to “consider advice from treasurers” at its next meeting this Friday, April 3.
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The state government said it was “working through the legislative changes needed to bring this into effect”.
When Mr Morrison announced the move on Sunday night, he urged landlords and tenants to “sit down, talk to each other and work this out”, while Mr Andrews posted on Facebook: “From hospo to retail, if you’re struggling to get by due to coronavirus, you won’t be evicted just because you can’t pay the rent.”
Leading tenancy legal service Tenants Victoria praised the moratorium, but chief executive Jennifer Beveridge said government urgently needed to provide details to the public.
“Every day, we are hearing stories of renters who are being told to leave their homes … of renters being reminded that no tolerance will be shown for people who fall behind in the rent, even if they have lost their jobs because of coronavirus,” Ms Beveridge said.
“We are even hearing people having their rent increased in the middle of this public health emergency.
“We understand some of the details are still being worked out. I would ask the Premier, … at his next press conference, to tell the Victorian community that as of last Sunday, no residential evictions for rent arrears can proceed.”
She added it was impossible for people without a home to “maintain social distance and follow the government’s health advice”.
Real Estate Institute of Victoria president Leah Calnan said a one-size-fits-all approach wouldn’t work when it came to supporting landlords who were also experiencing financial hardship.
She said different measures were needed for mum and dad investors with mortgages, self-funded retirees who relied on rental income, and those with larger property portfolios.
“While I’m as anxious as everyone to have a resolution, I’m very aware of the complex nature of trying to formulate the appropriate support package for everyone,” Ms Calnan said.
“There needs to be some rental relief as well. I would encourage the government to ensure those funds are delivered to (property management) agencies to ensure the appropriate distribution.”
University of South Australia property and investment researcher Peter Koulizos also urged immediate rental assistance for tenants so landlords didn’t experience flow-on impacts to their own mortgages or income.
“(Government) is overlooking the impact on landlords, many of whom need to pay mortgages, or rely on rental income as self-funded retirees,” Mr Koulizos said.
Banks offering six-month mortgage payment referrals was helpful, UniSA’s Reza Bradrania added.
But it was problematic that mortgages continued to accrue interest, adding to the overall expense.
The Victorian Council of Social Services labelled the moratorium “a good thing … the community sector has been calling for”.
But it said government urgently needed to determine the kinds of evictions that won’t be banned, which might include cases where the property owners needed to move into their investment property or if a tenants was a danger to themselves or others.
Other key questions to answer included: Would rental arrears simply be forgiven and forgotten at the end of the eviction ban, or would tenants be expected to pay up? What happens if tenants and landlords can’t come to an agreement? What about tenants experiencing financial distress that’s not a direct result of COVID-19?
Major real estate agencies Harcourts and Ray White have both encouraged the federal government to use the existing Centrepay system to offer rental assistance to residential tenants under rental stress during the pandemic.
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Originally published as Coronavirus eviction ban: Industry calls for details on moratorium