Use our online template to send an email. For extra impact, add details of your personal experience and why you believe the extension is needed.
We urge all of our supporters to put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard and contact our Housing Minister, Mick de Brenni, and Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, asking them to extend the moratorium.
As we move into September, we inch closer to the end date for Queensland’s moratorium on evictions. Designed to protect those Queenslanders who have been significantly impacted by COVID-19, we don’t believe now is the appropriate time to end the moratorium.
By continuing the moratorium to 31 December, our most vulnerable tenants will be protected from the mental, financial and physical stresses a premature eviction would cause.
Media Release 2 September 2020
Tenants Queensland calls for three-month extension of the moratorium on evictions
Queensland’s peak tenant advisory group is calling on the Queensland Government to extend a ban on evictions, fearing a surge in homelessness once the September deadline ends.
Tenants Queensland (TQ) CEO Penny Carr said a ban on evictions was necessary at least until the end of the year with a preferred tapering of protections extended into 2021 for those affected by COVID-related hardship.
“Increasingly Queensland renters have been contacting our service expressing concerns about potential homelessness and anxiety for the debt they have accrued while renting during the pandemic,” said Ms Carr.
“Many are desperately worried they will lose their homes due to unresolved negotiations on rent reductions and because they cannot rely on the goodwill of their landlord.
“With no end in sight to the pandemic, we believe it is premature of the Government to end the evictions moratorium with unemployment still so high and incomes reduced.”
From 30 September, landlords will be able to go to court to evict tenants, prompting fears from TQ and social services groups that there could be a rush in cases.
Other changes to come into effect include:
- Rent will increase with a return to the ‘starting rent’ i.e. if a renter has been paying less rent under a variation agreement or unresolved dispute, the renter is required to return to the contracted rent;
- Income is likely to drop due to changes to the rates of coronavirus supplement and JobKeeper payment; and
- Rents owed during the ‘protected period’ will become due.
TQ’s proposals post 31 December include; exemption from tenancy database listings if the dispute arises during the three-month extension period and a blanket ban on evictions for rent arrears and disputes which also occur during the protection period until the case is resolved through mutual agreement, the RTA or QCAT.
“The current exit from the COVID tenancy protections for affected renters will be harsh and will result in a significant number of renters facing eviction,” she said.
“We believe a softer exit will be fairer in order to maximise opportunities for renters to remain housed beyond the end of the evictions moratorium.”