Not sure if this belongs in the economic section, but wondering has anyone used/applied for this ? Is it per property or per landlord (seems to be per tenant/property?) Landlords are suffering too - it's time to make the $2500 subsidy available to those who need it And any ideas if it is going to happen in NSW?
Never heard anything about this in NSW. So in other states like QLD, VIC, WA & TAS this is law already and landlords are able to get $2k in Landlord Assistance Subsidiary?
My understanding (and I could be wrong about this) is that in Victoria it's an additional subsidy for tenants where they're in hardship. It's paid directly to the landlord (or property manager's) account, but it's instead of paying rent, not as an additional bonus. Where a rental reduction has been agreed to, it's not there to make up the difference for the landlord, it's so the tenant can pay less than they're otherwise obligated to pay. In essence, it appears to be a tenant rental assistance package, not a landlord assistance package.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) rent relief grant | Housing.vic.gov.au I’m a landlord, does this mean I don’t need to agree to a rent reduction with my tenant? No, landlords should still negotiate in good faith with their tenants. To be eligible for rent relief tenants must have either: negotiated a rental reduction with their real estate agent or landlord; or have undertaken a dispute resolution or mediation process with Consumer Affairs Victoria; or be subject to Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal decision which directs a grant be made. Rental relief grants paid on behalf of tenants will be based on reduced rent arrangements negotiated between the tenant and landlord and will be used as a credit for rental payments at this reduced amount. The grant should be treated as a deposit amount to the rental balance and has the same effect as if the tenant had made a rental payment. The grant should not be used as a top-up for the landlord to make up the difference between the previous rent and the reduced rent agreed as part of a rent deduction. So to in order to qualify, you need to have come to an agreement with the tenant to a rent reduction which they then can't afford anyway. Sure, that maks sense I'm actually going through this with one of my tenants at the moment. They've gone to cosumer affairs to negotiate essentially a 50% reduction after paying only partial rent since March. I haven't offered a discount on rent until now because I didn't see the point. My expectation is that they should pay as much of the rent as they can afford to without starving etc and at the end of the day they can only afford to pay what they can afford to pay. PM reckons though that in the other cases she has negotiated, no rent relief has been claimed and best chance at minimising losses is to come to an agreement and aim for 70% or whatever <shrugs>
