Tenant Financial Hardship Application

Well it is some temporary life support to stop things collapsing immediately. I fear what the longer term will look like.

 

My biggest concern is that you would not get the money back you are owed. Especially if you had 200,000 debtors of the possible 3 million renters who potentially will be under this" hardship" on $600 a week minimum

 

Well I have re read my pds from my insurer of course and there is nothing in there covering this situation where they cannot be evicted as you would expect (since no one expected this) so I have asked them for clarification. Under normal circumstances a landlord who agrees to a rent deferral instead of taking the legal action available to them at the first opportunity WILL affect their insurance cover and I am pretty sure most insurers are the same. So I do not feel it is safe to assume that agreeing to a rent deferral under these circumstances is ok with the insurer.

They are not willing to state at this time whether I am or am not covered for anything due to these new laws or what I can or cannot do as they are still working on this. If there was something clear in the pds as to this, they would have been simply pointing to that clause as I am sure they have had a ton of similar enquiries and would have had a response pre prepared by now if that was the case.

It is obvious they are scrambling for their lawyers to try to find outs for this. If they are I do not feel that it is fair that they should be allowed to get away with this. If they try to exploit a legal loophole to get out of this the government should change the laws from under them just like is being done to us.

 

Our tenants are Students on Student Visas sharing a house together . They tell us they have lost their jobs and are having difficulty in paying the rent. My understanding is that they do not qualify for any government Rental assistance or am I missing something??

 

Might pay to check that one out properly- Might have to do your own legwork. I think they still get some type of govt payment though as a student

 

Nope.... they are stuffed. Will be no shortage of cases like this. I don't know what anyone does in that situation.

They are foreign - not a chance. There is no legwork to do. There is no chance they have any ability to pay.

 

I could be wrong but is that one of the Visa classifications the Government just recently asked to return home because there is no safety net for them?

 

Again, what are you supposed to do about it? I think you're needlessly worrying at this stage.

See above. You can have that concern, but how exactly is it a relevant concern to any of the decisions you currently have to make?

I don't think it is.

 

Correct. It isn't a question whether we will have hundreds of thousands of tenants and mortgagees with an inability to pay. That is all but certain.

The question is what to do about it.

Step 1 was the moratorium on rentals. Govt is still figuring out next stage. However there is a code of conduct coming for how commercial landlords and tenants negotiate. I expect there will be a code of conduct for housing rentals as well - similarly stopping some of the pointless things like hardship forms.

 

Incorrect to say ‘hundreds of thousands of tenants with an inability to pay’. It’s very clear that welfare measures have been put in place to ensure the vast majority of people out of work can afford basic living expenses (hint: that includes rent). No need to sensationalise an already difficult situation for all.

 

So , is this being sent to tenants who request rent reductions because of financial hardship?

 

For the vast majority, social welfare will not come close to replacing their full income. This isn't about sensationalising - this is about being realistic what the hit on the economy is about to look like. This is the single biggest economic event since WW2.

 

I didn’t say it would replace their full income. I said enable them to afford basic living expenses.

 

I haven't had to send any - have gotten less than 5 enquiries about this and I just spoke to them on the phone as soon as I got their emails, but it basically sums up my responses to their questions on one page save for having to go through the same conversation over and over assuming more will come*.

Also, since "the ASIC letter" to the industry, I think a lot of Agents will simply pull back on trying to 'assist' tenants since no good deed goes unpunished from merely pointing them in the direction for lack of watching the 6 o'clock news and learning what Government support is available themselves.

*caveat: unless a Landlord has instructed otherwise - it's also what I send to Landlords who ask about how I am handling it etc.

 

Wouldn't you be concerned if someone owed you 6 months of rent say 3-4 $thousand? It is very relevant to a decision that I make. Most of this thread has been about ability to pay or not pay rent so it is exactly why I am concerned. If you aren't then that's your problem.

 

I think that post

Michael, how many agents would you guess have sent out letters, emails phone calls regarding "advice" to "struggling" tenants on what to do with their money/rent issues as things turn pear shaped?

 

What decision is there to make? I personally would spend my time pondering things that actually I can control.

 

Tough one - I think it depends on the Agency's prerogative with how they want to be perceived to act in the situation (public perception - more so for the bigger brands), where they position themselves on Owners vs. Tenants and what's moral/ethical in this crisis event vs. what's the law and what's the contract say, and where they position themselves as their own business income is reliant on tenants paying (commission source) which aligns with the owners best interest of getting the money they're entitled to under the tenancy agreement (so it's not wrong and there's nothing wrong to want the best outcome for your Owner[Client] if it's also subservient to the business - that's business).

I think there are 4 camps, 1) those proactively trying to offer a rent reduction based on the assumption it will be easier to get some blood out of a stone and on time, 2) those proactively trying to keep tenants making their payments by referring them to the Government support options (however the Tenancy advocacy groups have jumped up and down and now ASIC is investigating whether this constitutes giving financial advice), 3) those doing both, 4) and those doing nothing.

My view: Gov. welfare paid to Tenants > Tenants pay Rent > PM businesses get paid > Owners get paid what they're entitled to under the rental agreement > Mortgages get paid > Gov. collects GST and income tax along the way along with other normal costs (rates, land tax, etc).

I was quite annoyed by the real estate industry head body publishing a media statement recommending rental reductions and implying real estate agents are there to help Tenants when they have a fiduciary obligation to do what's in the best interest of the Owner who is their client. At the time I sent an email - no reply and it probably went straight to trash but did feel it's important to voice an opinion. I share this as it just reflects I work for the Owners not the Tenants. Some members have questioned whether their Agent is working for them or their Tenants during this difficult and uncertain time...

 

They have no requirement to fill it in. Besides, given they don't have super or any access to government support, what are you going to figure out from a form that you don't already know? Waste of time to ask them to fill in a form 1. they have no requirement to and 2. won't gain any info you do not already have.

Why cause yourself the effort?

I would be stopping all non essential services/maintenance until further notice though. What other choice do you have?

 

If you seriously don't understand how the form can assist in the landlord and pm making a sensible decision, then your clear bias is clouding your judgement


Do you seriously think a nation full of property managers are all doing the same thing for the sake of it?