Crackdown on public housing holidays – Housing Minister Mander

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NB 285 households is around.005% of total public housing households.

Media Release 15-9-13
Minister for Housing & Public Works Hon Tim Mander

Housing Minister Tim Mander has vowed to fix public housing rules that allow tenants to take getaways of up to 12 months without losing their public housing properties.

Figures released by the Minister today reveal public tenants took  285 breaks of between 3-12 months last financial year and were absent from their taxpayer subsidised homes for an average of 171 days.

Mr Mander said the current rules not only permitted a leave of absence for tenants receiving medical treatment but also for those planning extended holidays and even those who have been jailed for a criminal offence.

“Obviously, the current situation is absurd and needs to be changed,” he said. Continue reading →

Calling for volunteers to help us out!

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We’re working on the next stage of our campaign to have funding returned to tenant Save Tenant Services Iconadvice services in Queensland.

Are you able to help us get our message out – what’s going on and how people can help us?  We’re looking for volunteers who can give us a few hours of their time on a weekend or two in the coming months.

Wherever you are in Queensland, if you’re interested we’ll see if we can include you. To find out more you can email us at [email protected]

The Qld government introduces tenancy law changes for social housing tenants

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The Queensland government today introduced the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill which will, amongst other things, provide new options to evict social housing tenants.  It also introduces limits on the Tribunal when considering whether to evict a social housing, so that they do not refuse to terminate the tenancy just because the tenant is a social housing tenant.

If passed, it will also reduce the notice time required to end a social housing tenancy agreement when the tenant is no longer eligible for housing.  The time is reduced from two months to one month.  We will seek more information and post it when we get it.

TU NSW writes about changes to public housing in their state

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Rerprinted from the TU NSW’s The Brown Couch.  Read directly here.

Friday, September 6, 2013
The same for less, or more to stay the same?

Not to take your mind off the Federal Election that’s to be held tomorrow, but if you are a tenant in NSW Public Housing there is another important date that is fast approaching – on Monday, September 9th, HNSW will flick the switch on the new ‘better approach to filling vacant bedrooms’ policy. We expect to see the full details of this policy on Monday.
This policy has been referred to as a new ‘vacant bedroom charge’, but you might have also heard it mentioned as the spare bedroom tax. Essentially, it will require tenants with more bedrooms than allowed by their entitlement to make a choice: pay the same for less, or pay more to stay the same.

We’ve already spoken about this a couple of times on the Brown Couch, and it is worth revisiting those discussions for a refresher about what we already know. You can find these posts here, here and here.

But to summarise, briefly: tenants who have more bedrooms than they’re entitled to (based on the policy at this link) may be asked to relocate to smaller premises. If they are asked, and they decline, their rent subsidy will be adjusted so that they pay more. For singles, this will mean a rent increase of about $20 per week; for couples, it will mean a rise of about $30 per week.

If, on the other hand, the tenant chooses to relocate to a smaller premises, they will be placed on the waiting list for a transfer, and will be considered a priority applicant.

Since writing those earlier posts, we have had some further discussions with Housing NSW about how this policy will be implemented. Here’s what we have been lead to understand: Continue reading →

The Greens talk about rent increases

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Despite results from the ABC fact checker, rent is expensive……

Reprinted from ABC new online 5-9-13.  Read directly from here.

Greens Senator Scott Ludlam exaggerates rent increases

Greens Senator Scott Ludlam exaggerates rental prices. 
Photo: Greens Senator Scott Ludlam exaggerates rental prices. (AAP: Lukas Coch)

Greens Senator Scott Ludlam says household rental costs have doubled across the country and tripled in Queensland, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.

“Rents across the country have doubled since the year 2000, but in the ACT, Queensland and WA they’ve actually tripled,” Senator Ludlam told the ABC’s The World Today program on August 28.

“It’s actually been a disaster for the third of Australian households that rent.”

Senator Ludlam made the statement after The Greens launched a policy document aimed at easing rental circumstances for Australia’s low income earners.

  • The claim: Greens Senator Scott Ludlam says rental prices have doubled across the country and tripled in the ACT, Queensland and WA since 2000.
  • The verdict: In dollar figures, national rental rates have doubled since 2000 but they have not tripled. According to the real value of the dollar which takes inflation into account, rents have not doubled or tripled anywhere in Australia. Continue reading →

Tenant Advice Network Alive and Well in Queensland – Tenants’ Union

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Tenants’ Union of Queensland Media release September 3, 2013

The rebranded Tenant Advice Network Queensland (TANQ) today announced that independent tenant advice services are alive and well in the state.

Free tenancy advice continues to be available locally across the state, although services have now been sub-contracted by the Tenants’ Union of Queensland (TUQ) rather than the State government.

‘Whilst funding is still only secured until the end of December, all tenant advice locations have been retained despite a long thirteen month fight for the survival of our services,’ said TUQ spokesperson, Ms Penny Carr.

Tenants can access free advice services at the locations attached. The TUQ’s statewide advice service is available on 1300 744263

The commitment of workers and committees of management has been astounding according to the TUQ. Continue reading →

Amalgamations of Queensland community housing providers commence – Minister

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Media Release – Minister for Housing and Public Works, Hon Tim Mander

Housing merger to improve local services
Social housing in the Fraser Coast region will take a big step forward today thanks to a merger between locally based Fraser Coast Housing Limited and Community Housing Limited.

Housing Minister Tim Mander said the partnership was a smart move for the locally based organisation.

“We need to create a flexible, efficient and responsive housing system to help our most vulnerable Queenslanders,” Mr Mander said.

“Community Housing Limited is a major player in the social housing sector with more than 4000 dwellings throughout the country.

“I am pleased to see two great organisations working together to boost services to the community.

“By 2020, we want to see up to 90 per cent of all social housing managed by the community housing sector so I wish the new organisation all the best as it responds to the important issues ahead.” Continue reading →

(WA) Housing group pushes for hardline eviction rules to be scrapped

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Reprinted from ABC News online Thu 22 Aug 2013

Western Australia’s peak housing advocacy organisation wants the State Government to scrap its policy of evicting public housing tenants for minor disturbances.

Shelter WA is urging the Housing Minister Bill Marmion to abandon the policy of evicting tenants for minor disturbances such as excessive noise, minor property damage or domestic disputes.

More than 120 tenants have been evicted under the so-called ‘three-strikes’ policy since its introduction in 2011.

Shelter’s executive officer Chantal Roberts says councils can resolve noise disputes, but by threatening people living in public housing with eviction, tenants are being held to an unreasonable standard.

She says many of the complaints do not justify eviction.

“What our report is asking for is those minor criteria – such as children being overly noisy – to be removed, because they don’t exist in the private sector,” she said. Continue reading →

Better Deal for Renters – Greens release policy

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Today the Greens release their better deal for renters policy.  We thought we’d post the extract below because of it’s relevance to our situation.  The full policy is available at this link.  By the way, we’re happy to publish rental market policies released by any political party.  However, this is the only one we’ve seen so far.

A STRONGER VOICE FOR TENANTS

The Greens Rental Health Survey found there is strong need and support for tenant’s advocacy services, with 53% of respondents have needed to contact a tenant’s advocacy service for issues with their rental property in the past.

85% think renters need better representation in Australia and 92% support a nationally consistent model of consumer protection for renters that includes legal advice, dispute resolution and advocacy.

The Greens will provide an additional $3 million per year to existing tenants advocacy services to help them provide a stronger voice for tenants and a new national model of ‘consumer protection’ for renters.

This would mean better funding for legal advice, dispute resolution, and advocacy for tenants. This is a crucial part of a national approach to preventing homelessness. The Greens’ package would also provide more funding for specialist Indigenous tenants advice services or Indigenous advocates.

Landlords enjoy considerable power over the tenant particularly in Australia’s tight rental market, and are able to offer rental housing to prospective tenants on a take-it-or-leave-it basis. The Greens don’t want to take away any protections for landlords, but want to set a level playing field that is fair to both parties and nationally consistent and enforceable.

The Greens propose a model that is based on the same body that administers similar programs such as the Universal Design standard for housing policy, which supports the implementation of liveable housing designs for those with disabilities. The body would research, consult and set the standards, and oversee their implementation.

Baby Grace calls for re-funding of Tenant Services in Qld!!

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Baby GraceWe’d like to introduce you to our newest recruit.  Baby Grace says she’s happy to live with her family for now but one day she’s going to want to move out into a place of her own.  The chances are, that’ll be into the private rental market.  And she wants to have a fair market to live in – one that includes services which can help her understand her rights and responsibilities and assist her to act on them in order achieve the best outcomes for her.

Baby Grace really wants Tenant Services in Queensland to be re-funded by the State government (all it would take is a small percentage of the interest generated on tenants’ own bonds) before the current funding ends on December 31, 2013.

Help SAVE TENANT SERVICES beyond 2013!  Keep an eye out – we’ll be updating this site in the very near future and moving back into campaign gear.

(Note – names have been changed to protect the young!)

 

Minister calls on PM to reinstate long-term funding for homelessness

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We think there is more than a hint of hypocrisy in this media statement issued today by Minister Mander. The Queensland government has failed to fund tenant advice and advocacy services which we understand is a requirement of them under the current National Partnership Agreement on  Homelessness.
 
Minister Mander’s Housing statement aims to divert 250,000 people from social housing into the private rental market (PRM) between now and 2020. The services being expanded by the Minister, like the government-run RentConnect, help people enter the PRM but don’t help to keep people more safely and securely housed while they live there. And they don’t advocate changes to tenancy law to make sure the market works for tenants and mitigates against them slipping out of it and onto social housing waitlists.
 
Come on Queensland government, re-fund tenant advisory services before December 31 this year. It only takes a small percentage of the interest generated on tenants’ bonds.

Tenants being offered TVs, iPads and cash to rent properties as mine job losses empty out Mackay

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Reprinted from Perthnow – read directly from their site here.

TENANTS are being offered free TVs, iPads, gift vouchers and $2000 cash to rent in Mackay as the effects of mining jobs losses hit the economy.

The city that is the gateway to the Bowen Basin once had one of the tightest rental markets in Queensland, with people forced to live in dongas and garages.

But it now has the highest vacancy rate, with landlords forced to slash rents by up to $100 and offer enticing deals.

One agency has been offering $2000 or $1000 towards the cost of moving (but the money can be spent on anything) plus two weeks’ free rent.

Another advertised a free iPad or 81cm flatscreen TV for a limited period while another was giving away $500 Coles-Meyer vouchers.

Many new four-bedroom, brick-and-tile houses are advertised with one or two weeks’ free rent or promoting the fact that ”We are doing deals”. Continue reading →

A commentary on the Minister’s budget estimates statements on TAAS

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For rent sign with houseWe’re not sure if you noticed the following comments made by the State Housing Minister during budget estimates hearings.  We posted this as part of a larger post a few days ago.  Today we repost in order to respond; here’s what the Minister said in response to a question from an LNP colleague on July 24:

We made the very hard decision, but I believe the right decision, to stop the funding to TAS because we believe there was a duplication of services………. It is very important to note that, amongst the services that TAS provided, only 10 per cent were related to advocacy. The majority of services are already offered by the RTA and other organisations. Seventy-five per cent of TAS services were over the telephone. We believe that we have made a good decision in this area. We have streamlined the processes and we have more money available now for our housing and homelessness strategies.

We’re not sure how the Minister determined that 10% of TAAS services were related to advocacy but we do know that in the last full year of funding, 35% of all the advice provided by TAAS services was related to advocacy.  This equates to just short of 19,000 hours of advocacy services to Queensland tenants. Where will Queensland tenants gain access to these services when the Commonwealth emergency funding ends on December 31 this year? Continue reading →

Are you looking for tenancy advice?

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Tenants'rights (2)Are you a tenant looking for advice?  We just noticed that the Tenants’ Union has updated the contact details for local tenancy advice services across the state – click here.

Services are still available thanks to six months’ emergency funding from the Federal government. Once we’ve had the chance to update our campaign we’ll be coming back to you to ask for your support to achieve on-going funding.