CORONAVIRUS —
RESIDENTIAL TENANCY EVICTIONS
329. Hon ALISON XAMON to the minister representing the
Minister for Commerce:
My question is on behalf of Hon Tim
Clifford, who is away on urgent parliamentary business. I refer to the Prime Minister's
announcement on 29 March of a six-month moratorium on residential tenancy
evictions and to the extreme levels of uncertainty and anxiety among tenants
who have continued to receive eviction notices from landlords and property
managers.
(1) Until this Parliament passes amendments to the
Residential Tenancies Act to give effect to the moratorium, will
landlords be entitled to continue to evict tenants who cannot pay their rent
due to financial distress as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic?
(2) Will the
government provide emergency housing or other assistance for tenants who are
evicted during this time?
(3) What measures
to protect tenants other than a moratorium on evictions is the government considering
introducing as part of the COVID-19-related amendments to the Residential
Tenancies Act?
Hon DARREN
WEST replied:
On behalf of the Minister for
Regional Development, I thank Hon Tim Clifford for some notice of the question.
On behalf of the Minister for Commerce, I provide the following answer.
(1) There are
legislative time frames in relation to a termination of a lease that involve
the servicing of notices to a tenant and when an application can be made to a court.
If those requirements are not met, the court cannot accept the application. A
tenancy agreement can be terminated only by agreement between the tenant and
the landlord or by a court order. The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation
and Safety's Consumer Protection division has information on its
website to assist tenants in this situation.
(2)–(3) Any
additional measures and reforms by the McGowan government will be consistent
with the measures determined by the national cabinet and are aimed at
supporting tenants and landlords to stabilise the residential tenancy market.