Confusion around whether tenants can start new leases under Melbourne’s stage four lockdown has led to some rental applicants being wrongly knocked back.
But Victoria’s leading tenancy legal service has now cleared this up, confirming renters in the city can legally sign new leases and move house — even if they hadn’t arranged to prior to stage four kicking in.
Tenants Victoria also stated these rights weren’t restricted to people experiencing family violence or at immediate risk of homelessness.
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Tenants Victoria has cleared about confusion about whether tenants can start new leases during lockdown.
“Tenants tell us some agents were confused about whether they could begin new tenancies,” Tenants Victoria lawyer Georga Wootton said.
“This misunderstanding has been resolved: tenancies can certainly end and new tenancies can start.
“Tenants who have been impacted by COVID-19 and are having difficulties paying rent must be able to move, and this is reflected in the state government directions and changes to the Residential Tenancies Act.”
The business.vic.gov.au website confirms under stage four restrictions, tenants can provide notice to vacate, and engage removalists and other services related to ending and commencing a lease.
Bond Estate Agents director Lee Marks said he’d found tenants, too, were “unsure whether they can move and sign a new lease”, despite some desperately needing to after losing income to the pandemic.
Adding to their hesitation was the fact renters, like all Melbourne househunters, could not physically inspect homes.
“A lot of tenants are conscious they could be signing up to a property for 12 months and it could be filled with mould or rats,” he said.
“There’s a domino effect there — we’ve got vacant properties with landlords who are starting to feel the pinch because we can’t show anyone though and get a deal done.”
Mr Marks accordingly urged the Victorian Government to “make it clear tenants can sign a new lease and move through the lockdown”, and revive one-on-one inspections as soon as possible.
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Maribyrnong tenant Alex, who didn’t provide her surname, said she decided to look for a new rental after her landlord tried to evict her last month.
But despite there being “places (available) everywhere in my area”, she was repeatedly knocked back by property managers who said they wouldn’t allow her to sign a lease until Melbourne’s stage four restrictions were eased.
“One real estate agent said there were two reasons they’d let me sign a lease — if I was a victim of domestic violence, or facing homelessness. I kind of fell into the second category,” she said.
“I came into this thinking it would be a renter’s market. I made 20 applications in two days. At most, we could have landed one or two places because the real estate agent was willing to help us.”
Melbourne tenants thinking they would be entering a “renter’s market” are being wrongly knocked back for properties.
The 34-year-old fitness instructor said after she lost work due to COVID-19, her landlord agreed to an initial reduction for three months. But that no longer applied.
And despite Victoria’s eviction moratorium for tenants in coronavirus-related hardship, her landlord tried to evict her after she sought a rent reduction to help fill a “pretty expensive room” that had opened up in her share house.
“She sent me a text message saying she’d decided she wasn’t going to renew the lease and I had 10 days to move out,” Alex said.
“I’d feel a lot better if I could move somewhere else, but it’s really hard when you’ve lost half of your work and people are questioning whether you can afford to live somewhere.”
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