Land lords still out in the cold as COVID tenancy rules tighten

Government fails to learn from abuse of state’s no-eviction protections, says

THE government has now stated that if or when future COVID-19 waves crash down on Tasmania that it will, once again, make it legal for tenants to not pay their rent and will remove the ability for inspections to occur.

This statement has been made in a speech to parliament by Minister Eli se Archer, which also highlights that landlords will soon be forced to accept are payment plan devised by the Residential Te nancy Commissioner. What the speech also features is absolutely nothing, deafening silence, on the fact the government introduced legislation that left the door wide open for theno-eviction protections to be abused— and abused it has most certainly been.

There are major omissions in this speech, and in communication from the government more broadly about tenancies, that go something like this—thank you to the hundreds of land lords who have been hit with the full force by the government’ s decision to exclusively target them as the only party who does not have to be paid for the service they provide. Thank you to the many land lords who are now thousands in outstanding rent, especially those who have also lost their own job. Thank you to the many land lords who have received no rent for several months from tenants who have abused the lazy legislation. Thank you to the many land lords who are attempting to repair sky rocketing damage as inspections were cur few ed and dog adoption centres emptied.

It is widely accepted that it is good practice to acknowledge and learn from your mistakes. The judgment the government has exercised around residential tenancies has been atrociously short sighted and unfair. There has clearly been no reflection, no ac know led gm ent that it could have been managed better, no listening to feedback, no seeing the consequences, no change—it will be more of the same.

Now the government has laid its cards on the table, it is up to land lords to decide where to from here as, despite the government’ s view that they will use private rentals as substitutes for their lack of social housing whenever it suits them, land lords still own the property. And every action has are action, and to assume that this disgrace will be without consequence is naive. We will now undoubtedly see landlord sending leases as

soon as allowable, leaving properties empty, returning them to holiday homes, considering short -stay, and raising rents to makeup for lost income, big damage clean-ups, landlord insurance hike sand massive land tax bills.

Land lords are already selling to cashed-up mainlanders and taking their properties off the rental market. And when the current protections lift, many more will follow suit, especially now that the government has shown that its disregard for land lords as people was not an oversight during a stressful time when something needed to bed one quickly, but rather what they consider to be fair and reasonable action. Let me be clear—landlords do not agree.

Land lords are first to be hit, but it is a trifecta of loss. Tenants lose as fewer private rental properties on the market,off-the-chartriskto factor in and higher expenses means higher rent sand busier rental open homes. Land lords will also avoid renting to those with low income stability, such as hospitality and tourism workers and visa holders. The government will pay for its poor judgment because the demand on income support and social housing will increase dramatically as private rentals disappear.

It does not need to be this way. The government should take on the responsibility for paying rent when a tenant genuinely can not in extreme eventslikeCOVID-19.This approach would bring housing and income stability, boost market confidence, help repair thetenant-landlord relationship and make the huge debts that tenants will carry much more manage able because it would be the government being paid back, not your local plumber, agedcare worker, or hair dresser.