REIWA welcomes the announcement by PremierMark McGowan concerning proposed amendments to the Residential Tenancy Act(RTA), which will provide much-needed clarity to the industry during thecoronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
REIWA President Damian Collins said while theInstitute and its members have been supportive of helping those who arestruggling due to the impacts of COVID-19, its important that clear guidelinesare put in place to stop the pandemic encouraging people to take advantage ofthe situation.
We are pleased the WA Government has providedguidelines because the industry has been in a state of uncertainty since thiswas first announced, Mr Collins said.
Some elements of the announcement we stronglysupport. Importantly the announcement makes it clear that rent is still payableby all tenants and the tenants will have to pay back their rent once they arefinancially stable again.
It is pleasing to see a free fast-trackeddispute resolution system will be provided by Consumer Protection, which willhelp both owners and tenants who are suffering financial hardship sort out anyissues without the costly and lengthy court process.
The industry understands that we must cometogether during this time and while we support a prohibition on the eviction oftenants affected by COVID-19, a blanket ban on all evictions except in very limitedcircumstances is a step too far, Mr Collins said.
The decision to allow all leases to be broken,regardless of whether or not the tenant has been impacted by COVID-19 is alsoan unnecessary addition.
Despite many initiatives currently beforegovernment, its disappointing that the Premier did not announce any form ofrental assistance payment to help property owners that are strugglingfinancially due to tenants being unable to pay their rent.
The government is expecting property owners tocarry the burden and while the debt is still payable by the tenant, in somecases the property owner will never be able to recover the debt, Mr Collinssaid.
Most other states have a rent assistancepackage in place and just yesterday New South Wales announced a $440 millionpackage for residential and commercial tenants and owners. Western Australiantenants and property owners deserve a helping hand from the State Government duringthis difficult time."
