PRD Northern Rivers Property Management News - March 2020

Renting & the COVID-19 Situation

There has been a lot of speculation and unclear news coverage in regards to what happens with rent if your tenant finds themselves in financial hardship due to the current COVID-19 situation.

We wanted to ensure that our landlords and tenants have the latest and most accurate information from the NSW Fair Trading Website.

In particular, we wanted to highlight the following advice from Fair Trading, which we have also emailed to all tenants for their information:

Can the landlord terminate my tenancy during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis?

Your landlord will need to rely on existing reasons for termination as identified by the Residential Tenancies Act 2010.

Visit ending a tenancy for more information on how a tenancy can be ended.

I’m having trouble keeping up with my rent payments. What can I do?

If you fall behind with the rent and cannot pay the overdue amount, talk to your landlord or agent immediately.

Explain the situation to them and try to negotiate a repayment plant to pay the money you owe in instalments, over time.

Any repayment plans agreed to should be made in writing and signed by both the tenant and the landlord to avoid any misunderstanding or disputes over what was agreed. 

It's important you don't ignore the problem, as not paying rent is a breach of the tenancy agreement and may result in termination if the rent has remained unpaid for 14 days or more. 

We encourage you to discuss your situation with your agent or landlord and seek alternative arrangements if you have concerns.

Depending upon your circumstances you may be eligible for assistance through Centrelink. You will need to clarify your eligibility directly with them.

If you are under a fixed term agreement and you believe that you would suffer undue hardship if your tenancy continues, then you can apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (the Tribunal) to end the tenancy on hardship grounds. 

Please refer to the Tribunal website for further information on hearings currently. 

We are here to help our tenants as well as our landlords, so if you have any questions or concerns at any time, please feel free to contact us on 02 6624 7700 / 02 6632 3380 or email prdnorthernrivers@prd.com.au

From the entire team at PRD Northern Rivers, we wish you all the best in this stressful time.