International student accommodation tenants in financial difficulty

You won't be able to turn off an essential service. In fact the essential service won't do it. Doing anything to that effect is one quick way to put yourself in breach of various acts (not to mention building codes) which could well land you in a whole mess of hot water that is far more problematic than being without rent a few months.

 

What do you mean negotiate loans? Are you saying we should take out a loan to pay the expenses? The bank will not give us a further loan as we do not have the appropriate income. So where does that leave us, when the electricity and gas get turned off because the bills are not paid? We have discussed about them doing the cleaning and gardening, but some have indicated that they dont do that sort of work and they do not have to either.

 

From my research into getting a Student Visa, they must demonstrate that they have certain amount of money in the bank to meet their living expenses for the year , which includes rent and food, lbefore a Visa is issued. The fees are normally paid upfront to the universities. So, I believe they are trying to take advantage of the situation. Surely, they can be called out on this??

 

put it this way AnneC,

if theyre refusing to help out even small things, and going to pay zero rent, you are going to have zero income,

if you evict, you will still have zero income, but less bills and headaches

thats two extreme ways to look at it

 

So, we cant pay for the essential services and hope that they wont get turned off.

 

Electricity and gas won't be turned off (utilities won't be allowed to) but bills will accumulate. This is where it sucks for everyone all round. A lot of Internet providers currently aren't even suspending accounts.

Cleaning and gardening... I suspect your contractors won't turn up if they don't get paid.

 

I don't think gas/electricity will be able to be turned off in next 6 months regardless of whether people pay right now (I think they will have their own moratorium if it is not already company policy). This is one of these things the govt will need to figure out in the next few sets of announcements.

I feel for you because the situation also sucks. I imagine a number of your tenants are also stressed (I kinda don't get their reluctance to help out and maintain... but their will be a cultural difference of opinion to begin with I reckon).

 

Do you know which university they attend? Maybe you could speak to a student liaison or welfare person at the uni and share your concern about their welfare (without naming them / breaching any privacy issues). You are worried about x number of students who can no longer pay rent - genuinely worried if they can afford to eat with no income and on student visas - wondering if the uni has any services to assist them?

 

Owlet, it is. Other businesses can decide to close down and mitigate their losses, put staff down etc and only have to worry about the rent that they owe. Instead of rent, we have a loan repayment as well as the other expenses to deal with and have to keep the business running.

 

It is mainly two universities. I think that is a good idea. I will not give out any names, perhaps the university may have some grants that are going around.

 

And then they will complain that the place is dirty .

 

Landlord wouldn't be physically turning the service off. They would be closing the account that is in their name and/or stopping paying it. Just like someone does when they vacate a property. Yes electricity companies say will still leave it on if landlord closes the account however, landlord will not be billed for it and a bill will be sent to the occupant eventually if the tenant does not then take out an account in their name. That is my understanding. Only water charges are actually attached to the property and other services cannot continue to be charged to the landlord if the landlord has closed the account.

Gardening and cleaning are absolutely not essential services and nor is the internet.

 

They will consider it essential for their university studies.

 

@AnneC does the university have an accommodation officer? or some other service that connects students with accommodation? There may be someone there that can help you. Local members of parliament may also be able to help with a letter to the University pointing out the unfairness of your circumstances. It will be happening to others who provide student accommodation in your state and others.

 

Does this mean those reminder notices followed by disconnection letters that electricity, gas and water companies send out when you don’t pay are empty threats?

 

Perhaps write to the department that gives then their visas too.

Maybe an email to the tenants letting them know that you will looking into various agencies (uni, visa officers, gov) to see what assistance there is to help them in this difficult time. (They may start paying something - fingers crossed)

 

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/student-500#Eligibility

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/student-500#Eligibility

Have enough money for your stay
You must have enough money to pay for your stay in Australia. To see how much money you need to have for cost of living, your course and travel expenses go to Gather Documents in the 'Step by Step'.

It is a requirement of their Student Visa that they have enough money for their stay and that is not supposed to be reliant on them having a job, as that cannot be guaranteed. The student needs to satisfy this condition before a Visa is given.

This is why I believe that they are rorting the system and taking advantage of us. I cant believe that we cannot question them on this.

 

Adprom , I dont think they are stressed . I think they are trying to take advantage of us and the situation.

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/student-500#Eligibility

Have enough money for your stay

You must have enough money to pay for your stay in Australia. To see how much money you need to have for cost of living, your course and travel expenses go to Gather Documents in the 'Step by Step'.

It is a requirement of their Student Visa that they have enough money for their stay and that is not supposed to be reliant on them having a job, as that cannot be guaranteed. The student needs to satisfy this condition before a Visa is given.

This is why I believe that they are rorting the system and taking advantage of us. I cant believe that we cannot question them on this.

 

I am just looking at it looks like annual income can be considered in that assessment. So if they lost their income, then that would be legit hardship. It looks like sufficient financial resources includes their aus income.

Student visa financial capacity requirements - Australian Migration Agents and Immigration Lawyers Melbourne | SeekVisa

Annual income option:

• Provide evidence that you meet the annual income requirement.

 

Have you got anything to back that up in writing ? I would imagine that some responsibility would come back on the service provider if this is so.