The economic crisis surrounding COVID-19 has left tenants around the world in financial turmoil, many have been unable to pay their rent and are on the verge of losing their homes without government intervention.
Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the United States, have all moved to protect virus-hit tenants in similar ways, implementing both financial supports and eviction moratoriums – but how well do Australia’s policies shape up when it comes to protecting renters?
A six-month moratorium on evictions, which has been extended in some states and territories, has done a good job at helping many tenants keep a roof over their heads but it hasn’t been perfect, according to Cameron Kusher, executive manager of economic research at realestate.com.au.
“The eviction moratorium has meant that tenants can’t be forced out of their accommodation, which was a distinct possibility given the loss of jobs due to the onset of the recession,” Mr Kusher said.
However, this has led to some landlords suffering drastic rental income reductions due to tenants staying on despite not being able to pay rent, Mr Kusher added.
Chief executive officer of National Association of Tenants Organisations, Leo Patterson Ross, agreed that Australia’s moratorium has indeed helped prevent many Australians from losing their homes, particularly due to rent arrears.
“[The moratorium] did reduce the numbers of [tenants] moving around, even if it didn’t prevent it entirely,” Mr Patterson Ross said, adding that while none of the elements of the policy framework were wrong, the Federal Government needed to do more to support COVID-hit residential tenancies.
Has the Australian government’s COVID assistance succeeded?
While Australia’s moratorium on evictions has protected tenants during the pandemic, experts say it has been somewhat problematic:
Rental reductions haven’t been easy for tenants or landlords
The state and territory eviction bans encouraged the negotiation of rental amounts during COVID-19 while the bank’s mortgage holidays for landlords had interest still accruing, which made it difficult for landlords to reduce rent, Mr Patterson Ross said.
In some states, including Victoria and Queensland, tribunals acted as arbitrators for negotiating rent amounts if an agreement couldn’t be made privately, while in other states, including New South Wales, this method was not used.
Mr Patterson Ross said this has prevented many negotiations from reaching a final agreement, resulting in disputes between landlords and tenants, which “could have been avoided by having an independent decision maker,” he said.
Rent waivers may have saved both tenants and landlords
Another shortfall in Australia’s eviction moratorium is that the Federal Government did not do enough to encourage rent waivers rather than rent deferrals, according to Brendan Coates, household finances program director at Grattan Institute.
“In Australia’s context, the government probably didn’t do enough to defray the cost of rental deferrals away from tenants and landlords, so as a result, they got more deferrals and fewer waivers,” Mr Coates said.
“The better solution would have been if [state and territory governments] had have chipped in more of the cost of any waiver, say half, with that cost defrayed across a state-based land tax.”
Which country gives tenants the best protection?
When it comes to figuring out the best country in which to be a tenant during the pandemic, the answer isn’t clear – as no policy has been perfect, according to experts.
Doctor Chris Martin, senior research fellow, City Futures Research Centre, Built Environment at the University of New South Wales, said New Zealand and the United Kingdom are the closest to reaching the best outcome for tenants during COVID-19.
“I think the economic and public health risks of the pandemic are best addressed by broad and complete moratoriums that cover all tenancies and reasons for wanting to terminate a tenancy,” Dr Martin said.
“New Zealand came close to this approach, the UK too…[but] most Australian jurisdictions have taken a different approach, by restricting terminations for a narrowly-defined core group of COVID-impacted tenants, and in most cases some lesser restrictions for tenants more widely. The exception is Tasmania, which has gone broader.”
Here is a breakdown of how eviction moratoriums and financial supports for tenants have played out in Australia and its main Western allies:
Australia’s tenant protection
In March, Prime Minister Scott Morrison implemented a six-month moratorium on evictions, making each state and territory responsible for legislating the emergency measure.
The moratorium has been extended in most states and territories, with Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia moving the end date to 28 March 2021, making it a 12-month eviction ban.
Find out more about the moratorium in each Australian state.
Under the Australian moratorium framework:
- Tenants who are financially impacted by COVID-19 are asked to communicate their situation with their property manager who will then try to negotiate a rent reduction, a rent deferral, or in some cases, a rent waiver with the landlord.
- There is also a hold on increases in rent and the inability to blacklist a tenant if they have to break their lease early due to the impacts of COVID-19.
- In some states and territories, rent arrears accrued during the moratorium period will have to be repaid.
What about financial assistance?
- The Australian Government has also offered financial supports to struggling tenants in the form of the JobKeeper wage subsidy program, the JobSeeker coronavirus supplement and rent assistance.
- Financially struck landlords are able to tap into mortgage repayment holidays from the banks as well as land tax relief.
Tenant protection in the US
President Donald Trump’s administration recently announced it would extend the US moratorium on evictions until 31 December 2020, covering all tenants across the nation in a bid to avoid mass homelessness and the overcrowding of homeless shelters, which could hasten the spread of the virus.
The country’s original eviction ban covered as many as 12.3 million tenants in apartment complexes or single-family homes financed with federally-backed mortgages, but this expired in July.
