Tenants in financial hardship have been urged to push ahead with rent reduction requests, despite concerns landlords will follow Real Estate Institute of Victoria advice and refuse to negotiate.
Tenants Victoria lawyer Georga Wootten said renters should not wait “more than a week” for landlords to respond to a formal request before taking it to Consumer Affairs Victoria.
It comes as the REIV advised members to “refuse to negotiate rent reductions” with tenants in COVID-19 hardship in response to the government’s road map for reopening announcement on Sunday.
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Renters experiencing financial hardship should push ahead with rent reduction requests. Picture: iStock
REIV president Leah Calnan told the Herald Sun the peak body would instead be advising tenants to “make their own inquiries with Consumer Affairs Victoria”, until the state government engaged in “genuine consultation” with the real estate industry.
But Tenants Victoria has encouraged renters to continue following government guidelines by contacting a landlord or property manager as a first step towards a reduction.
“It’s important to do the maths and figure out what amount of rent you can afford with your reduced income, and then reach out to your landlord in writing, usually that’s by email,” Ms Wootten said.
“If you don’t have a positive reply, we recommend stepping it up to involve Consumer Affairs Victoria via their website.”
Tenants Victoria lawyer Georga Wootten.
Renters should start the process as soon as they started experiencing financial hardship and ask a landlord in writing to not delay their response, she said.
“If you cannot agree on a rent reduction with the landlord informally within a week, then you should register your rent reduction request with Consumer Affairs Victoria,” Ms Wootten said.
“This government body is there to help the parties reach an agreement or, if that’s a sticking point, they can refer the renter and the landlord to a mediation process.”
Ms Wootten also said it was illegal for landlords to evict renters who had fallen behind on rent, but there were some exceptions where the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal could still order a tenant to leave.
These include if a renter had caused serious damage to a property or was endangering the safety of others.
Rent increases are also banned across Victoria until the end of March 2021, as part of the evictions moratorium.
“We have seen some attempts by landlords to increase rent, and that’s not permitted under the law,” Ms Wootten said.
Tenants Victoria chief executive Jennifer Beveridge said they were “really disappointed” the REIV had called on landlords to end negotiations with tenants.
“The scheme we have to seek a rent reduction relies on what is known as ‘good faith’ negotiations, that’s a fair-go system to assist both renters and landlords amid the huge challenge we are facing as a community,” Ms Beveridge said.
“At a time when all of us are bing told to stay at home, renters who’ve lost income and jobs are doing it really tough.”
The REIV has been widely criticised for its advice.
But not all agencies plan to follow the REIV advice. Real Estate Industry Partners — a body which represents 6300 offices across Australia, including major brands Ray White, Harcourts, PRD Nationwide, Belle Property and Raine & Horne — advised its members to continue working with landlords and tenants to achieve fair rent reduction agreements.
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