Highlights
- The end of moratorium coupled with changes to JobKeeper and JobSeeker, could spark a surge in evictions and homelessness
- Rental debt may follow some Australians for years to come.
- Charity groups are now bracing for a surge in demand for their assistance
Losing income during Melbourne's stage four lockdown, Jolene Choo approached her landlord for a rent reduction.
Jolene kept a roof over her head thanks to a moratorium on rental evictions, which forced landlords to negotiate payment plans with their tenants.
This weekend, Victoria, New South Wales, and Western Australia will become the final three states to lift their moratoriums.
Tenants like Jolene are feeling anxious.
Tenants’ advocates say these moratoriums could not be finishing at a worse time.
JobKeeper is set to end on Sunday and the coronavirus supplement to follow on Wednesday - meaning those on JobSeeker will have $150 less to work with each fortnight.
In New South Wales, more than 40 renters’ groups and charities penned an open letter to the government, warning a wave of evictions could inevitably lead to a sudden spike in homelessness.
CEO of the Tenants' Union of New South Wales, Leo Patterson Ross, says they are particularly concerned about the amount of rental debt people are accruing.
A new study from the University of New South Wales City Futures Research Centre suggests that rental debt may follow some Australians for years to come.
At least a quarter of renters nationwide said they lost some income during the pandemic, but only 16 per cent were able to secure a rent variation.
Of those variations, 37 per cent were just rent deferrals, meaning as many as 75,000 households across the country are now in rental debt.
On average, households were deferring $216 per week in rent. If that continued for nine months, those households would now be carrying $8400 in debt.
One of the leaders of that study, Chris Martin, says unmanageable amounts of rental debt will likely be what pushes people into homelessness.
