Landlord & tenant proposed laws

[Reschs]

Anyone following the proposed laws relating to Landlords and tenants ?

Can see a lot of evictions due to landlord removing property from market.

[Godzilla]

I have been trying to follow it but its a little confusing, it seems each state has its own way and its changing rapidly, rumors and news reports are also adding confusion fuel to the fire.

I feel for investors who have debt to maintain, stories of renters saying they cant pay the rent yet still work and able to looking for a free ride.

Other who genuinely did lose their jobs yet the landlord cannot evict them due to tenancy laws.

Banks are offering to pause repayments, however its not a free lunch, that interest is simply added to when repayments are restarted, the investor still has to pay, the tenant didnt.

The only solution i see is that the owners increase the rents to cover for it.

[ol' boy]

Yep, if you have 4 Investment Properties, No Loan..... The Tenants can cry poor, get 6 months free ride + eviction time (maybe another 3 months)

Say average rent is $400pw, that is $1600pm per property, so $6400 a month for 6 months or $38400 just taken off a property owner for what reason?
AU Gov seems to be using Hard Working Aussies, whom pay a fortune in Council Rates, LandTax, Insurance etc as a Free Bank loan that will never need to be repaid

Even worse if you have a loan against it.

The worst part it, these same grubs not paying rent will be the one with thier hands out for all the free money, and getting it.
While the poor Landowner gets nothing

[shred]

AU Gov seems to be using Hard Working Aussies, whom pay a fortune in Council Rates, LandTax, Insurance etc as a Free Bank loan that will never need to be repaid

It’s not that unusual for governments to solve a social problem by forcing certain businesses or investors to do things that are not in their best interest. There seems to be long tradition in Australia of governments punishing hard working people, who do without and save for retirement, while rewarding those who waste money on frivolous things, then have no savings when times get tough. I am surprised though that this one came from the Liberals, it’s more the style of the other side of politics.

Now wait for all the angst when many small investors ditch their rental properties and there’s a rental accomodation crisis. If I had a rental that was vacant or became vacant during this crisis, I’d just leave it empty, rather than risk getting stuck with a bad tenant who cannot be removed.

I’ve been following a number of horror threads from property investors in a other forum. Some are from renters who still have jobs, trying to figure out how they can cash in on the rent holiday. There’s one from a landlord whose tenant just signed a new lease (renewed) and immediately stopped paying rent. No negotiation, just stopped.

What happens when some of the real estate businesses go broke? A big part of their income is from taking a cut of the rent. No rent = no income. If they close their doors, then how does the landlord get his rental ledger, entry report, signed copy of the lease and other critical documents?

[Johnno]

Landlords should check if they have Insurance cover for loss of rent cover options ?? Some Insurance companies also cover pandemics. /bonus

I have noticed that nearly all insurance companies have recently removed that option from New policies... hehehe.. going broke maybe..

Even with landlord cover it's still bloody confusing.. lol

[bob_m_54]

Even though I see some tenants trying to get a free handout from the moratorium, it isn't so straight forward as the tenant just say they can't pay. There are steps that need to be taken by both parties, to try and resolve the situation.

Flow chart from Fair Trading NSW:


As others with rental properties will know though, if a tenant just doesn't pay, it's not always that easy to turf them out, even in normal times.

[enf]

Geee, I'm so glad I don't have to deal with this anymore...

[bob_m_54]

Geee, I'm so glad I don't have to deal with this anymore...

I'm glad that one of my rentals is a DHA rental :-)

The other one has good tenants at the moment (even if they don't know how to change a fuse) So I'd have no problems negotiating a rent reduction with them, if it was necessary.

[ol' boy]

Yes, of course there is going to be a mix of tenants and attitudes
Those with some morals and whom are trying to be stand up citizens will pay and have likely received a discount in rent from the Landlord
(as has happened next door to me, from $400pw to $200pw)

But the bottom of the market, those struggling, single mums or just those wanting to play the game, they will do it anyway.

As you say bob, if they just stop paying, as a Landlord, you are screwed, nothing you can do for 6 months, nothing!


And this is all nothing compared to Commercial Rents of $2000 a week plus!

[lsemmens]

What I find rather silly, the effect on landlords not withstanding, is that those who are purchasing their home get no such relief. If you are a young person who has just purchased their first home and find that you are out of work, as has been observed, you get some mortgage relief, but the interest on said mortgage is not negated. Even those who do own investment properties get some form of relief at tax time with deductions for expenses. The poor home owner, for whom it could well be a struggle to pay the mortgage on one home, let alone any thing else, can't even claim any expenses.

After my accident I received a payout which I used to purchase my home. Although I was eligible for a DSP the rules of Centrelink say that I must live off that payout for a period of time before I can claim (Called: Deeming). I got a letter effectively telling me to sell my home, live off the proceeds and they will give me a rental subsidy to help pay for someone else's investment property (in effect). Anyway, I managed to keep my home and have been on a pension, now, for some years having passed my deeming period. I now get absolutely no assistance towards owning or maintaining my home because social welfare is not set up to help the home owners. It, in effect, indirectly, helps those for whom an investment property is their "ticket" to wealth.

What's the answer? Unfortunately, there is no easy solution. If Centrelink stop paying rental subsidies there would be more people on the streets because no one could afford rent at the current levels. If rents were adjusted (downward) to adjust for the removed government subsidy, many landlords could not afford to remain in the market and sell. This would then cause a glut on the housing market forcing home prices downward....and so forth. There would need to be some major adjustments across the board and none of them would be easy or short term.

[Reschs]

My property became vacant at Easter. Looks like a good time to leave it so.
I will do a few minor upgrades, such as new curtains window tinting and a window awning or two.
Own it outright, so no mortgage.
If the right tenant pops up, I will reconsider.

[Reschs]

The big question that I have not seen answered is, Do the Tenants still have to pay outgoings as the are not Rent?
Not paying them would still be grounds for Eviction.

[VroomVroom]

Yep, if you have 4 Investment Properties, No Loan..... The Tenants can cry poor, get 6 months free ride + eviction time (maybe another 3 months)

you're right , its hard to get non paying tenants out at the best of times , and all these tenancy tribunals in every state always take the side of the non paying tenant , I know ive been there , done that multiple times as a landlord.

what I have done , very successfully , is bypass the rental tribunals and take out civil action directly against the tenants for loss of income. I file a small claims case which can be upheld by the courts where orders can be taken for garnish of wages and property. I even had one matter where , in parallel , the NSW CCITT said the tenants had no case to answer yet the local court found they owned me the money and enforced repayments!!!! . Yeah it cost me some money , which I claimed as a tax deduction anyway , and when the money was paid back at $50 a week I failed to declare it as income , therefore not paying tax on it. All this would not have happened if the CCITT had simply enforced the lease agreement and stood up for MY rights as a landlord.

don't get me wrong i'm not a total arsehole , and I have given tenants free rent if they approach me and I believe the situation is genuine. You have to be fair , and tenants who are getting a handout and not passing it on is very unfair.

[exited]

My property became vacant at Easter. Looks like a good time to leave it so.
I will do a few minor upgrades, such as new curtains window tinting and a window awning or two.
Own it outright, so no mortgage.
If the right tenant pops up, I will reconsider.

With your situation you might like to consider offering discounted rent for tenants who pay 6-12 months up front... and yes, such tenants do exist if the discount is there

[alpha0ne]

So are the banksters going to take a hit like everyone else ??......................yeah I know I'm being silly

[lsemmens]

So are the banksters going to take a hit like everyone else ??......................yeah I know I'm being silly

You wish!!!!

[Reschs]

With your situation you might like to consider offering discounted rent for tenants who pay 6-12 months up front... and yes, such tenants do exist if the discount is there

Strangely enough I have an enquiry from a Essential Health Worker.
41 Single with all children flown the coup. No pets. Grrrrr.

[Keith]

Geee, I'm so glad I don't have to deal with this anymore...

Same here. I sold my last property 7 years ago when the second last tenant was a single mother with 2 kids who going by the rental manager had a good bank account. Turns out she was a drug addict and working as a prostitute. Stopped paying within a month of moving in. Took 6 months to get her out. She got her emergency government housing then. I recouped the lost money via landlord insurance and a payout from the real estate the rental manager worked for after I got the property back. Last tenant again, a couple, woman was pregnant. She had the baby, he took off and she stopped paying. Property then went onto the market. Never again.

[hinekadon]

Domestic rentals are a mugs game , Commercial lease is the only way to go ????

[ol' boy]

Domestic rentals are a mugs game , Commercial lease is the only way to go ????

When its good, its great, when its bad, its terrible