International student accommodation tenants in financial difficulty

I just realized this. International students dont qualify for Australian Government assistance directly. However, they are all claiming they have lost their jobs. If this is true, then wouldnt their employers qualify for the Job keeper allowance. That would give them $750pw. Surely that is enough to pay their $175pw rent and allbills , leaving them with $575 pw for food for one person. Does this sound right or am I missing something here?

 

Also, from my understanding, International students must not work more than 20 hours per week. Even though, they are part timers or casuals they would still qualify for the Job Keeper of $750 pw. They would be earning $37.50 per hour, with no tax payable. Not a bad income.

 

They also.have to be employed for 12 months,
Also they have to be re-employed as well, if the busienss has closed, or cant rehire, they won't get it.
Leaving the argument of whether tax payers should help overseas students or not , they're in a crappy situation with no support and can't even go home

 

To be eligible for the Student Visa, I think you need to provide evidence of a tax assessment for one year. How did they get their Student Visa, if they have not been working in Australia for one year. Unless it is not based on their income but overseas support- parents.

Why are these parents or their own individual governments not providing support? These students have paid for their university fees upfront - one year in advance. Ask for a deferrment of their courses. Stop the course at the end of first semester. They should request a refund of their outstanding University Course to pay for shelter and food, which is an essential service . The university course can be put on hold. Or ask for assistance from their universities?

 

I have spoken to some of the students to let them know that there are a lot of jobs going at Coles and Woolworths. They told me that they are not interested. Their parents have told them to reduce their exposure to the virus and to stay home as the Australian laws will protect them and to use this time to study hard and get good marks. So I dont know if they really had jobs, whether they lost them or chose to leave because of the virus risk.

 

Are you able to state what your lease says that you provide to the students?
I.e Internet, etc

If they aren't paying rent, then they aren't holding up their end of the lease agreement either, I don't see how you should still be providing paid (non-essential) services to non-paying tenants, i.e Cleaning/internet/gardening.

If they were genuine then I feel they wouldn't be demanding you upgrade the internet for them (they can get 4g data plans to do this if they need to) and they would be offering to pay some of the rent, or do gardening cleaning to help cover the cost of rent.

Terrible situation and I'm in agreement with Thatbum and Michael, you can't bankrupt yourself because you've been put over a barrel, this is not the sort of stress you need at your age/health condition and it may be better to cut your losses with the whole situation, you should be speaking with tenancy lawyers to see what options you have, you may not have much time to act.

 

Our lease does state that we provide electricity, gas and cleaning of common area. Actually, it states that the internet is provided free.
Yes, we do not want to bankrupt ourselves. I dont think the government will say we dont have to pay the electricity, gas , cleaners and gardeners fees , council rates, land tax and bank loan repayments. So I cant see how they can say that the tenant does not have to pay, especially an international student who will be going back home and no hope of getting any money from them at a later stage.

 

I still don't think you have got all your ducks in a row. Get the absolute facts then take the appropriate action. You will get all sorts of advice on here from well meaning posters but that is not enough. It is your investment , protect it with everything you have. You will get the right solution but it may take a few weeks and I think the law will be on your side.

 

Have started looking into options available to us. Monash University offers the following interest free loans. Our students are saying they are having trouble paying their rent. Surely they can apply for an interest free loan.

Student loans
If you need help with study-related expenses, talk to a Senior Officer at Monash Connect.

Eligibility
Both domestic and international students can apply for an interest-free loan.

To be eligible:

• you must be studying at an Australian campus, and
• your financial situation must be affecting your ability to continue studying.

You’re not eligible if you’re on intermission (study leave).

What the money can be used for
We can lend you money to cover a wide range of study-related expenses such as books, laptops (to meet BYOD requirements), car expenses, housing, etc. We’ll consider other legitimate expenses if your ability to continue studying is in jeopardy.

You can't use these funds to pay your amenities or course fees, or visa charges for international students.

 

I have dealt and met a lot with people on tourist/student/working holiday visa in my time,

showing assets vs actually having them can be very different,
obviously people will bend the rules to get their application over the line
also, due to the virus as well, their access to funds via parents might be affected as well,
at the end of the day, you will never know the truth,
frankly, I am not working at the moment but if woolworths offered me a checkout job, id decline
for me the health of my family and myself is not worth the $25 per hour

 

Thank you Patrico 1966. We are trying to inform ourselves and will not be making rash decisions. Am on here, just for different view points. One poster suggested getting in contact with the University. So, I have started looking into that . Monash offers interest free loans for cases of financial hardship. So there are avenues open to them.
This is affecting our retirement.

 

how much are they able to borrow from the uni

if its $500, its not going to get them too far,
you'll be having the same problem in a months time

 

So if all our checkout operators and healthcare workers thought like this, then the world would be doomed. I am sure they have family and also care for their own personal health.

 

at the end of the day you cant force them to work, also, ranting about the immigration laws wont help you one bit at this point in time
hence why ive recommended a hardship application form, that way, it will give you some piece of mind if they are under hardship, and you can make a decision or your next course of action

and as others have said, no point in making assumptions about which way the legislation will go

 

I couldn't agree with that decision. Our family have been workers our whole life and we find people who knock back work as bludgers unless they don't have to work of course i.e have enough money in the bank/super etc to survive. I would expect that anyone who declined any work whatsoever to be given no assistance of any kind from the Govt. There are many frontline workers putting themselves on the line for us and they need all the support they can get.

 

its my personal preference, and I wasnt incorporating the welfare aspect

if I got sick, and I caused the death of my elderly parents, I couldnt live with myself

3 months of working in a supermarket financially to me is not worth the risk

 

I see your point and fair enough but it may be more than 3 months. If others took that same approach though then we would be looking a bit sad

 

Can we use a

My daughter is a Health Care worker . I have not seen her for 3 weeks. This is to protect me. She has not stopped working to protect herself and is not defaulting on her rent. As she has told me, mum, my risk is low. I am young. It is up to the younger generation to fight this and I will do my best, dont worry.

 

I have so much respect for these health workers and doctors, they are risking their lives to save others, I am going to guess that no method is 100% fool proof in preventing them from getting sick, and they should be receiving some bonus from the government at some point

and back to your original problem, how is this going to help your situation?

 

Not at all - you are asking their permission to use their names. Are you intending to use physical letter or email? I think an email trail is a good idea - particularly if they respond with no. I also like your idea of speaking with each person individually.