Landlords paid $ 1.6m in COVID arrears

TAXPAYERS have paid out $ 1.6 million to help tenants struggling to clear rental arrears due to the COVID- 19 pandemic.

The state government banned evictions for unpaid rent during the pandemic and that ban expires on December 1, although the date is under review.

Figures released on Monday revealed that, as of November 13, the Landlord Support Fund had paid out $ 328,919.38 to 245 landlords.

A government spokesman said that in 56 per cent of cases, the money cleared all rental arrears for those tenants.

The Rent Relief Fund has paid out a total of $ 897,919.50 to 1051 tenants to help with their rent and the Rent Relief Extra Support Fund has paid out $ 444,969.96 for 471 individuals.

Ben Bartl from the Tenants Union of Tasmania said the schemes had been very helpful for tenants struggling to pay their rent through no fault of their own.

“The $ 6000 the government has made available in total for tenants and landlords to get rid of rent arrears is the most generous assistance for tenants and landlords in the country,” he said.

He encouraged tenants who remained in arrears to apply for Rent Arrears Payment Order via the Residential Tenancy Commissioner.

The figures revealed there had been 82 applications to terminate leases during the pandemic, of which 18 has been successful.

Louise Elliott from the Tasmanian Residential Rental Property Owners said the figures showed there was still large amounts of money outstanding.

“The programs haven’t cleared the majority of the rent debt,” she said.

“There are many landlords who don’t even know about those programs.”