We're in the middle of this pandemic and it's crucial that everyone has a home.

Renters were already under huge stress before this pandemic hit, now they’ve lost their income, don’t know how to pay the rent, and they are being unfairly burdened with trying to individually negotiate from a position of weakness.

Housing is a human right and everyone has the right to a safe, secure and affordable place to live.

We have a plan to protect renters during the Covid-19 pandemic.

We can solve the housing crisis and end homelessnesss. We can get a better deal for renters. It doesn’t have to be this way.

There are clear solutions - there are ways out of this situation, but to get there we need to call on the NSW government to take clear steps to support renters. We need to rethink housing so that it is respected and protected as someone’s home, and not a guaranteed income for investors.

OUR PLAN TO PROTECT RENTERS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

1. FULL MORATORIUM ON EVICTIONS 

• No loopholes. No evictions during the pandemic 
• No grounds evictions shouldn't be allowed ever and especially not at this time
• Banks are offering mortgage freezes and term extensions to property owners but they should not be able to add interest debts to any agreements

2. RENT NEEDS TO BE AFFORDABLE

• Rent relief and negotiated rent reductions should mean that no one has to pay more than 30% of their current income on rent
• No rent increases during the pandemic. The 6 month freeze on rent increases for commercial tenancies should be extended to the private rental market for a period of 12 months
• If landlords are experiencing hardship, we need the government to support them 

3. NO RENT DEBT

• How on earth are you going to make up any rental arrears if you’ve lost your job?
• Rental agreements which include large rent debts are not a solution and will mean renters are carrying large debts which they won't be able to pay off
• Renters aren’t responsible for maintaining the viability of an investment and at this time all investors are facing challenges 
  

4. EMERGENCY HOUSING FUND

• People in sharehouses, boarding houses, student accommodation, backpackers and informal housing arrangements need specific protections as their situations are not covered in the NSW Fair Trading guidelines for negotiating rent relief
• Many international students have lost their jobs but are not eligible for any financial assistance in NSW
  
• Many other visa holders have lost their jobs and are also not eligible for any financial assistance in NSW
• Under the current scheme sharehouses where tenants lose income but the combined household income is not below 25% are not eligible
  

5. RENTERS NEED TO BE NOTIFIED OF THEIR RIGHTS. 

• Health advice and information about restrictions is everywhere, but where’s the communication about what help and protections are available for renters?
• Renters need to know what their rights are and how they can get assistance, by getting direct information from the government.

There is help available if you are currently renting and trying to negotiate a rent reduction, are facing an eviction or need other assistance.

One on one assistance for your specific situation

The Tenants Union provide one on one assistance for renters facing evictions, needing to negotiate rent reductions and other tenancy issues.

Tenants Union  - Tenants' Advice Line

1800 251 101

Find out what your rights are as a tenant during COVID-19

The NSW Department of Fair Trading has the most up to date information about the most recent protections for renters during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In April 2020, NSW Government announced their plans to enact a moratorium on evictions in NSW renters and other measures to protect commercial and residential tenants during this pandemic.

These measures will see much needed protection put in place, but is it unclear whether the money allocated to the package will actually assist in reducing rents at this time.

If you are a renter and need the full detail for what it means for you - check it out here - we would also encourage you to read the information on the NSW Tenants Union site here.

The moratorium on evictions in NSW, including protection from being blacklisted, will provide crucial protection for those who have been living with the stress of being evicted into homelessness because they can’t pay their rent.

The announcement also includes an additional funding boost of $2.3. million for advice and advocacy services to the NSW Tenants Union so that they can continue to support tenants through these negotiations with their landlords.

Read the Greens media statement in response to the announcement here.

The announcement today does not include direct financial support for renters - it remains to be seen whether the measures put in place to support tenants in negotiations and incentivise landlords to provide rent reductions - will be enough.

The Greens are committed to ensuring that no-one is evicted into homelessness during this pandemic - or left with a massive rent debt when it is finally over.

[UPDATE May 14, 2020]

Legislation Passed Supporting Renters

The NSW Parliament passed the Covid-19 Emergency Legislation Amendment (Emergency Measures) Bill 2020 No 2 yesterday which included amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 to be in force during the emergency period - a big step forward from where the government stood just a few weeks ago regarding protections for renters. 

The amendments gave renters two important wins: 

1)  renters may be able to break their leases with reduced penalties by applying through the Tribunal under certain circumstances: if the landlord has refused to negotiate rent relief, or refused to negotiate in good faith or, if a tenant and a landlord are unable to come to an agreement on a fair and affordable rent reduction. 

2)  renters and households who are Covid-19 impacted (by losing more than 25% of their incomes or the household's income), will be able to receive reduced rents via a compensation fund that will support landlords who can show hardship and who pass on rent reductions to tenants.

The Greens put up a series of amendments which would have given renters more significant support at this time in key areas:  

• giving the Tribunal the power to impose reduced rents and to prioritize renters' applications as urgent
• rent relief for renters and landlords in financial hardship 
• restricting the ability of landlords to evict tenants on no grounds
• stopping retaliatory evictions
• break lease option without any financial penalty 
• maintenance records available on request to renters
• allowance of pets to give tenants more flexibility when seeking a home

Jenny provided a wrap up of what happened on Facebook live after the legislation passed which you can watch here.

To find the details about these changes and other measures and how they can help in your specific circumstances, go to the Department of Fair Trading site or check out the information on the Tenants Union site.

We will continue to work for a better deal for renters especially during this pandemic when the right to an affordable, livable home is more crucial than ever. 

UPDATE April 13, 2020]

Overdue Eviction Moratorium Welcome, But No Rent Relief Yet

Today the NSW Government finally made clear their plans to enact a moratorium on evictions in NSW renters and other measures to protect commercial and residential tenants during this pandemic.

These measures will see much needed protection put in place, but is it unclear whether the money allocated to the package will actually assist in reducing rents at this time.

If you are a renter and need the full detail for what it means for you - check it out here - we would also encourage you to read the information on the NSW Tenants Union site here.

The moratorium on evictions in NSW, including protection from being blacklisted, will provide crucial protection for those who have been living with the stress of being evicted into homelessness because they can’t pay their rent.

The announcement also includes an additional funding boost of $2.3. million for advice and advocacy services to the NSW Tenants Union so that they can continue to support tenants through these negotiations with their landlords.

Read the Greens media statement in response to the announcement here.

The announcement today does not include direct financial support for renters - it remains to be seen whether the measures put in place to support tenants in negotiations and incentivise landlords to provide rent reductions - will be enough.

The Greens are committed to ensuring that no-one is evicted into homelessness during this pandemic - or left with a massive rent debt when it is finally over.

[UPDATE April 9, 2020]

Renters waiting while Minister enjoys Pearl Beach ‘Holiday’ Home

It seems the NSW Arts Minister has been flouting the restrictions and spending time at his holiday home in Pearl Beach, while artists and the entire creative industry suffers as a result of this pandemic.

Read more about this and the need for urgent rental relief for tenants - many of whom are artists, musos and creatives - on Jenny's facebook here.

[UPDATE March 30, 2020]

A Moratorium on Evictions

Last night Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a number of significant and much needed measures to protect renters and tenants during this pandemic.

Commercial and residential tenancies

As part of its work on helping businesses hibernate, National Cabinet agreed that short-term intervention is needed for commercial tenancies. Work on this has begun, but there is more to do, including for residential tenancies. 

National Cabinet agreed to a moratorium on evictions over the next six months for commercial and residential tenancies in financial distress who are unable to meet their commitments due to the impact of coronavirus.''

Read the full statement and details here.

This is a vital first step in protecting renters to ensure that no one is forced into homelessness as a result of losing their jobs at this time. And I know this is a massive relief for so many people who have lost their income and didn't know how they were going to pay their rent this week. 

Thank you to everyone who signed the petition calling for a moratorium and have been pushing for this with us over the last weeks. 

It's now up to the NSW government to enact changes and bring this into law. There is nothing stopping them from acting on this - and putting the moratorium in place today. This is because we were able to secure much needed amendments to the NSW COVID-19 Emergency Measures Act to give them the power to act for renters and tenants immediately (read more about that below). 

We know that a moratorium on evictions is a crucial step - but more needs to be done.

A moratorium without direct financial support to renters is only pushing the problem further down the road.

We know that many renters have lost their income, so the last thing they need is to be living with the reality of an ever growing rental arrears debt. At the end of this pandemic, it isn’t acceptable for people who rent to be left with huge and unserviceable debts. 

If significant amounts of direct financial support can be handed out to big business and banks in this current crisis, then there is no excuse for not also providing direct financial support to renters.

These are our priorities: that NO-ONE is evicted into homelessness and that renters are financially supported so they don’t accrue massive debts.

To ensure no-one is evicted in to homelessness during this pandemic:

1. Immediate action by the NSW Government to implement the moratorium on evictions as agreed by National Cabinet
2. Direct financial support for renters to ensure they do not accrue large debts as a result of not being able to pay rent
3. Rents frozen for the next 12 months so that renters going back into the workforce won't face increased rents and rental stress during this transition period 
4. No mortgage foreclosures, so housing isn’t lost due to people being unable to meet their mortgage repayments.
5. Support and access for international students, refugees and asylum seekers and other visa holders, so that no one, no matter what their citizenship status, is homelessness during this pandemic

In addition to this, we have been working closely with Homelessness NSW and other key homelessness services to ensure that protections and plans are in place to house people who are currently homeless, living in boarding houses or find themselves in other specific circumstances and need specialist housing and support. 

We are also working to support local businesses to ensure they are updated and connected with supports for them - get in touch if you want to know more about this.

We will continue to provide updates and share more details as they are available.

In the meantime - we urge you to contact the Premier and the NSW Minister responsible for residential tenancies - to share your story and explain why they need to act immediately.

Greens Leader Adam Bandt and Senator Mehreen Faruqi discuss the housing crisis, and the looming debt crisis if tenants are forced to repay 6 months rent after the shut down is over.