NSW Government to announce $440 million coronavirus rental assistance with a moratorium on forced evictions
·The NSW State Government is allocating $220 million to
residential renters and landlords
·A further $220 million will go towards shops, gyms, hairdressers
and businesses affected by COVID-19
·A two-month moratorium is in place on forced evictions for those
suffering financial hardship due to coronavirus
Half of that money has been allocated to
residential renters — a group that had not yet received financial support
during the pandemic.
The package is targeted at keeping people in
rentals over the next six months.
The Government has ordered a six-month
moratorium on new forced evictions if the tenant is in rental arrears because
they are suffering financial hardship due to coronavirus.
It applies to tenants who have lost 25 per
cent or more of their income.
Under the scheme, a landlord or managing
agent must enter into negotiations with a tenant who is struggling to make
rental payments.
We know many people are worried about meeting
their financial commitments at the moment," Better Regulation Minister
Kevin Anderson said.
"That is why we need more stability for
tenants and landlords."
The Minister said that as a sign these new
measures were not optional, an interim 60-day moratorium would be in place for
new applications to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal for forced
evictions over COVID-19-related rent arrears.
Tenants will be protected from eviction until
the tribunal is satisfied that negotiations have been finalised.
But they will have to repay the rent
eventually, as anything unpaid will accrue as arrears during this period.
The Government aims to provide relief to
landlords too, by waiving land tax or providing a rebate of up to 25 per cent
if they are accommodating tenants under financial stress.
Landlords that have already filed to evict
their tenants will have to wait 60 days for their applications to be processed.
When the 60-day moratorium has come to an
end, landlords will be able to recover their properties if they are in
financial hardship, while tenants will not get a black mark against their
names.
The Government is allocating $220 million to
this support package while another $220 million will go towards commercial
rent.
It applies to businesses such as shops,
cafes, gyms, hairdressers, restaurants and offices that are affected by
coronavirus restrictions.
The Government said landlords were eligible
for a land tax concession of up to 25 per cent for the rest of this calendar
year.
A further land tax deferral for any
outstanding amounts for a three-month period will also be offered to landlords
who claim the land tax concession.
The commercial landlords of those businesses
will be offered the land tax concession if they pass the savings on to tenants
through a rent reduction.
These new arrangements act on the code of
conduct agreed to by the National Cabinet earlier this month.
Under the code, a "good faith"
leasing principle is applied between landlords and tenants that are eligible
for the Commonwealth JobKeeper program.
It applies to businesses with a turnover of
less than $50 million that have at least a 30 per cent reduction in revenue as
a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"This provides a way forward for tenants
and landlords so they can reach an agreement during this difficult period and
includes an incentive in the form of a land tax reduction," NSW Treasurer
Dominic Perrottet said.
"I thank the many landlords who are
already supporting their tenants through this period and the banks for showing
flexibility with deferring loan repayments.
"We are all in this together and need to
work together."
Don’t forget to upload all
relevant forms and applications to the RealRenta platform to form part of the
tenancy file.
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Jason Gwerder
Tuesday, 14 April 2020
