The Labor government has written off $70m in remote housing debt

Almost $70m in rental debt has been wiped by the Territory government. Read who it affects here.

TERRITORY Labor has written off almost $70m in remote housing rent debt as it enacts a new system for tenants.

The $69.7m in debt related to 7746 remote housing tenants accrued between 2010 and December 2021.

But some legal advocates branded the debt unwarranted.

The decision to wipe the debt was made public this week and follows a landmark decision that found the NT government, as a landlord, was responsible for providing remote residents with ‘safe and habitable’ housing.

In February, the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal set new precedent for remote tenancy when it found in favour of the Santa Teresa class action.

Mark Alice at the Santa Teresa. Source: Tom Hearn

The tribunal ruled the Residential Tenancies Act applied to those living in remote housing, and therefore the government was responsible for maintaining the homes.

Despite several appeals, Justice Jenny Blokland partially upheld the tribunal’s decision, ruling that “habitable” meant more than just threats to health and safety.

“An accumulation of defects in the property may so undermine its comfort and amenity as to render it unfit for habitation, even where those defects do not constitute a threat to health and safety,” the judgment reads.

Following the judgement, the then Remote Housing minister Chansey Paech – with former treasurer and chief minister Michael Gunner’s backing – decided to waive the $70m debt.

In December last year the NT News exclusively reported on the deteriorating state of housing in Barunga and the substandard living conditions for many residents, which was echoed across the NT.

Larisa Lee's daughter in their asbestos filled home. Picture: (A)manda Parkinson

However, it was not until earlier this month when the NTCAT dropped the Laramba community’s suit for clean drinking water that the debt was made public.

During NT Budget estimates the Country Liberal Party asked questions about $60m been wiped off remote housing, however were unaware of the futher $10m.

Opposition Housing Minister Bill Yan said this was $70m of Territory taxpayer money that is being written off because the Fyles Labor Government failed to appropriately manage remote housing.

“It has not been explained how the unpaid remote housing rents have also increased from $60 million to $70 million in just over a month. Where is this $10m discrepancy from?,” he said.

“Is this just remote housing that’s owed, or is there more money owed for urban housing again? The minister needs to come clean on those numbers too.”

Australian Lawyers for Remote Aboriginal Rights solicitor Daniel Kelly told The Australian, who represented two communities, said his clients were faced with unsubstantiated claims of rental debts on top of “having no choice but to rent houses which are ­inhumane”.

“It was extremely distressing for the people living in Santa ­Teresa, who were simply seeking to have their rental homes repaired to the legal standard, to have a huge amount of debt, about $20,000 a household, levelled at them by the government out of nowhere,” he said.

“The problem arose due to the complexity of the rental system and poor record keeping and administration by the department.

“Our clients have always maintained they have paid what they were asked and had no knowledge of the debts until they took legal action to try and improve housing conditions.”

Remote Housing

The debts accrued under a Labor-designed scheme billed in 2010 as delivering “long-lasting improvements” to “ensure people in the bush pay fair rents” and get better housing.

A Housing Minister Selena Ubio spokeswoman said the $69.7m was waived because it was deemed to be “uneconomical or unable to be recovered”.

“The majority of tenants pay their rent on time,” the spokeswoman said.

“As part of the new Remote Rent Framework the Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities will be assisting tenants through a clearer process for paying rent and ensuring they are supported to avoid rental arrears and make repayments in a timely manner.”

A new rental structure was implemented in May which moves away from headcount to a per room fee.

“The remote rent framework will introduce a simplified rental system where the cost of rent is $70 a week, per bedroom, to a maximum of $280 a week,” the spokeswoman said.

“Although about 68 per cent of households are expected to see an increase in rent under remote rent reform, it is important to note the last rent increase for remote public housing tenants was more than a decade ago.”

The NT’s remote housing program represents a $2.1 billion investment towards better housing in remote communities across the Territory by improving liveability and reducing overcrowding.