Urgent Relief for Flood Impacted Renters in NSW
Renters who are impacted by the catastrophic floods throughout NSW need urgent support.
Sign the petition to join the Greens calls for the NSW Government to take immediate action to support renters in this crisis and through the recovery period from these devastating floods.
Many renters have lost everything and are now facing the prospect of finding temporary accommodation while also dealing with their landlords, negotiating rent waivers and even facing eviction or rent hikes once the clean up is complete.
On the NSW North Coast, the demand for rental properties was already exceeding availability before the storms hit. This chronic shortage of rental properties could cause a huge increase in the cost of rent as people scramble to find somewhere to live.
We've put up a Bill which calls for tenants in flood impacted areas to be protected with the following:
- Evictions Ban: Tenants in areas which have been declared flood impacted will be protected from evictions unless the property is uninhabitable or the property ceases to be able to be used as a residence.
- Cap on Rents: Existing rents will be unable to be increased during this period. New leases and leases on new rental properties will also be limited and must be in line with the median rent for the same type of property prior to Feb 25th 2022.
And for the following increased tenant protections for all tenants throughout NSW
- Mould and Damp Free: Landlords for residential premises will be required to ensure that the premises are ‘free of mould’ and have adequate ‘waterproofing’, in addition to existing plumbing and drainage as a determination of ‘fit for habitation’.
- End No Grounds Evictions: Puts an end to unfair evictions. Tenants will only be able to be evicted under a specific set of circumstances. Guidance to the Tribunal is also inserted to prevent retaliatory evictions.
- Limiting Rent Increases: Rent increases will be restricted to a maximum of once per year and only in line with either the public sector wage increase or the CPI for Sydney, whichever is lesser.
Sign the petition to add you voice to the call for urgent relief for flood impacted renters now.
We the undersigned call on the NSW Liberal/National Government to urgently implement a relief package for renters impacted by catastrophic floods and heavy rains throughout NSW.
In all flood impacted areas, we are urging you to:
- Halt evictions for 12 months.
- Apply automatic rent waivers on uninhabitable homes.
- Issue Bond Vouchers for all impacted renters.
- Halt rent increases for 12 months.
- Increase funding and resources for tenancy advice, advocacy and tribunal.
In all rental properties across NSW we are urging you to:
- End unfair no grounds evictions.
- Class mould treatment as an urgent repair under the Rental Tenancies Act.
- Class the presence of serious mould as a breach of minimum housing standards.
