Tenants in the ACT who have accrued rental arrears because of the coronavirus pandemic have been given a three-month grace period before they can face eviction due to the debt.
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It comes as a six-month moratorium on evictions is set to expire in late October.
ACT Attorney-General Gordon Ramsay has altered the government's residential tenancies COVID-19 declaration to allow for the transitional period.
Under the changes, from October 23 tenants who were financially impacted by the coronavirus crisis will have until January 31 to pay back any arrears accrued before or during the six-month moratorium. During the three months tenants cannot be evicted.
But the measure will only apply if tenants pay their rent after October 23 when it is due. This was designed to ensure the tenancy remained sustainable an ACT government spokesman said.
If tenants are unable to make payments after this date, the ACT Civil Administrative Tribunal would be required to consider a supervised re-payment plan for tenants in arrears, rather than ordering an eviction.
The changes came after tenants advocates and community sector organisations urged the ACT government to extend the moratorium period.
Last week five organisations jointly penned a letter to Mr Ramsay calling for the moratorium extension.
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They said renters in Canberra could face a "crisis of evictions".
The signatory organisations were the ACT Council of Social Service, ACT Shelter, Better Renting, Canberra Community Law and the Tenants' Union ACT.
In the letter, they also expressed concerns that few renters had obtained rent reductions. As part of the territory government's coronavirus response, landlords who gave impacted tenants a rental reduction of more than 25 per cent could receive tax rebates.
The organisations felt as income support was withdrawn renters would find themselves in arrears and at risk of losing their home.
"An extension of three months will provide time for our organisations and the ACT government to assess the impact of changes to income support and to develop a process for measures to deal with rental debt accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic," the letter said.
As well, from September 13 tenants can also pay two weeks rent in advance.
Lucy Bladen
Lucy Bladen has been a journalist at The Canberra Times since 2019. She is an ACT politics and health reporter. Email: l.bladen@canberratimes.com.au
Lucy Bladen has been a journalist at The Canberra Times since 2019. She is an ACT politics and health reporter. Email: l.bladen@canberratimes.com.au
