CORONAVIRUS —
RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES
748. Hon TIM CLIFFORD to the minister representing the
Minister for Commerce:
I refer to the response provided to
yesterday's question without notice 735.
(1) Is the McGowan government concerned that the
mandatory conciliation service has resulted in a high rate, 87 per cent,
of rent deferrals and a low rate, 20 per cent, of rent reductions or waivers?
(2) What is the average rent
reduction agreed to in the mandatory conciliation process?
(3) What is the average amount of
rent deferred under the mandatory conciliation process?
(4) What further
support has or will be given to renters who were unable to reach an agreement
through the mandatory conciliation service but are still unable to pay the
required rent due to financial hardship?
(5) What are some
of the reasons why applications to the residential rent relief grant scheme
were rejected?
Hon
ALANNAH MacTIERNAN replied:
I thank the member for the question.
The following information has been provided by the Minister for Commerce.
(1) The
government is satisfied that the mandatory conciliation service is achieving
the purpose of assisting landlords and tenants to develop solutions that work
for them both, taking into account the financial circumstances of each party.
This is demonstrated by the high rate of agreement achieved by parties in
conciliations. In this process, tenants have the opportunity to put forward
their proposals that best reflect their interests. In many cases, tenants are
not requesting waivers.
(2) From the
analysis of the first 50 orders mentioned in question without notice 735, of
those agreements where waiver of rent was agreed, the average amount of rent
waived was $645. In some cases, both rent waiver and rent deferral is provided.
(3) From the
analysis of the first 50 orders mentioned in question without notice 735, of
those agreements where deferral of rent was agreed, the average amount deferred
was $1 885, and in some cases both rent waiver and deferral is provided.
(4)–(5)
Tenants who are unable to reach an agreement
through mandatory conciliation services are still able to apply to the
residential rent relief grant scheme to assist in the payment of four weeks'
rent. Some of the reasons that applications were not eligible for the
residential rent relief scheme were that the applicant had not lost their job
due to COVID-19; the applicant was not a tenant or subtenant in a private
residential property, a boarder or a lodger, or a tenant in a residential park;
and the applicant paid less than 25 per cent of their income on rent.