How struggling renters could be set for a $2,500 lifeline – as government looks to give cash to landlords to help with reductions in monthly payments
- Landlords and tenants in New South Wales could be set for financial relief
- State government may impose $2,500 package for disadvantaged tenants
- Landlords would get money directly and take it off future rent payments
- State parliament will continue to debate the proposal on Wednesday
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Struggling landlords and tenants in New South Wales could be set for financial relief as the state government proposes a $2,500 hardship allowance.
Labor’s upper house leader Adam Searle on Tuesday suggested offering landlords whose tenants couldn’t pay rent during the coronavirus pandemic a $2,500 pay packet.
That subsidy would allow landlords to offer rent relief to tenants who have found themselves out of work or disadvantaged as a result of COVID-19.
Landlords would be eligible for the one-off payment if they could prove their tenants had lost 25 per cent of their income, had less than $5,000 in savings and generally spent 30 per cent or more of their income on rent.
Struggling landlords and tenants in New South Wales could be set for financial relief as the state government proposes a $2,500 hardship allowance
A rent strike sign is seen on a wall in in Newtown on May 07 amid the coronavirus crisis
The Greens suggested a series of amendments to the proposal, including protecting tenants who still could not pay council rates.
The New South Wales government introduced legislative changes to about 40 state laws in an attempt to ease the economic blow from the crisis.
Other discussions focused on implementing payroll tax exemptions for JobKeeper payments which have been offered to stood-down workers, and ensuring employees are still accruing annual leave.
Anybody who has been exposed to the virus would be required to undergo further testing before entering courthouses in NSW under the proposed rules, as well.
At least one million workers found themselves unemployed in the wake of the coronavirus crisis and required government assistance. Pictured: Centrelink queues following business closures on March 23
The registrar of births, deaths and marriages would also have to notify the health secretary of all deaths, to help identity potential virus clusters.
The NSW Legislative Council sat past midnight and into early hours of Wednesday morning to debate the proposals, and made a number of tweaks.
The opposition’s other amendment ensures that annual leave of workers stood down without pay continues to accrue throughout the pandemic.
Politicians are required to socially distance in the scaled-back NSW parliament, with just 23 MPs allowed in each of the two houses at any one time.
The upper house will resume later on Wednesday morning, with their tweaks to return to the lower house for debate later.