Tag Archives: savetaas

Homelessness Partnership agreement progresses

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Federal Housing Minister Mark Butler issued the following information this afternoon.  Whilst it looks like discussions with the States and Territories has progressed, indeed they’ve now received a draft agreement from the Commonwealth, we have no word whether the commitment by Minister Butler’s predecessor has been fulfilled.  The Housing Minister O’Connor sought to have governments (including the Queensland Government) fund tenancy advice services as part as a requirement of this agreement.  We are currently seeking an update on the situation.

COMMUNIQUE
The Australian Government is committed to the provision of quality services to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

A National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness for 2013-14 is currently under discussion between the federal, state and territory governments. The Australian Government is committed to the continuation of current service levels and would like to reaffirm to the services sector, all stakeholders and clients that the Commonwealth’s level of investment, as well as our commitment to quality and transparency, will continue.

To this end, the Australian Government will provide up to $159 million over the next year towards a transitional agreement to be matched by the states and territories to tackle homelessness. As well as funding for services, this investment includes a competitive Development Fund that will support capital projects to help people move out of homelessness into safe and sustainable housing. States and territories will be invited to bid for a portion of the Development Fund as part of a competitive process, and will be required to match capital funding provided by the Australian Government.

A draft agreement is now with state and territories for consideration, and I look forward to hearing back from them on their funding commitment, which will importantly provide funding surety to service providers in each jurisdiction Continue reading →

Homelessness services share concerns with TAAS

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The Age Photo: Tanya Lake

The Age Photo: Tanya Lake

An article in the Age on February 25 (click here to read) covers the concerns  of services working with the homeless which are relying on the signing of a new  Homelessness Partnership Agreement (NPA) to secure their funding eyond June 30.                                                                               Their concerns mirrors those of the  Queensland Tenant Advice and Advocacy Services (TAAS), all of which are seeking a commitment from the Newman government to reinstate funding beyond June 30 when current funds run out.  TAAS services received one-off emergency funding from the Commonwealth government after the state government discontinued the Tenant Advice and Advocacy Program (funded from tenant bond interest) on October 31.

When announcing emergency funding, the Commonwealth also announced its intention to require funding for tenant advice services within the up-coming NPA.  Along with clients and workers in the homelessness services, Queensland tenants and advice workers will be hoping this comes to fruition in the very near future.

Privatisation of public housing?

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Together Union’s state secretary, Alex Scott, thinks the Newman government may be looking to privatise a range of services including public housing.  We already know that both the state and federal governments intent to transfer some stock from the public to community housing sector, in terms of management and possibly.  Is this what is being alluded to?

Read the article from the Courier Mail here.

Be fair – at least 15% by June!

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Did you know that the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA), which is an   impartial  government authority providing information and other services to lessors, agents and tenants is fully funded from the interest generated on tenants’ bonds?

Less than 15% of tenant bond interest was previously provided to independent specialised tenant advice services and now we want that back. We call on the state government to provide AT LEAST 15% of the interest generated on tenants bonds annually for tenant advice services.

Tenants are effectively paying for services provided to industry – we are unaware of any other industry where that happens – and have now lost the only services specifically targeted to them. 

Come on state government, play fair and keep a level playing field in the residential tenancy sector by restoring funding to tenant advice services now. Without that, services will cease operating by June this year.

If you are concerned about this situation, please write to your local state member of parliament, the Housing Minister, Treasurer and or the Premier. Here’s some information about how you can help   https://savetenantservices.net.au/how-can-i-help/what-you-can-do-to-help-in-2013/

‘SAVE OUR SERVICES’ – Whitsunday

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(From the Whitsunday Times 14-2-13)     WHITSUNDAY workers from the Social and Community Services Sector (SACS) will be hitting the streets on Saturday morning to alert the community to the impacts of State Government funding cuts.  

A community awareness event titled ‘Save our SACS’ has been planned for this Saturday at the Airlie Beach foreshore from 10.30am.

Service organisations represented at Saturday’s event will include the Whitsunday Neighbourhood Centre, Whitsunday Crisis and Counselling Service, Tenancy and Housing Information Service (TAAS), Whitsunday Housing Company, Ideal Placements, Proserpine Youth Space and the Whitsunday PCYC.  (Read the full article here).

Private mix ‘may not help estate’ (The Age)

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Governments are moving towards a ‘mixed communities’ model in the delivery of social housing (for example the Logan Renewal Initiative imn Queensland) but a recent Victorian report questions whether stated goals are actually achieved, at least in the case example used. Yesterday the Age reported on an independent report into the Victorian Kensington public housing estate dedevelopment. Read the Age’s coverage here.

Proceed with caution is probably the take out message.

WA debates rental option fees

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Reprinted from The West Australian.

Minister pans Labor’s vow on rent fee

The Government accused Labor yesterday of failing to do its homework after promising to abolish a real estate fee that is set to drop dramatically from April 1.

Opposition Leader Mark McGowan pledged, if elected, to get rid of the rental option fee to make house-hunting more affordable for lower and middle-income families.

The rental option fee – usually equivalent to a week’s rent – is collected by landlords and real estate agents and credited as rent if the applicant wins the tenancy but refunded in full if it is not awarded.

Landlords keep the fee to cover the cost of checking references if an applicant is awarded the tenancy but rejects it to rent elsewhere. Continue reading →

Thanks to Minister O’Connor as he moves to a new portfolio

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With Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s cabinet reshuffle last weekend, the Housing sector loses Minister Brendan O’Connor to the immigration portfolio.

In light of this change, Save Tenant Services wants to once again thank Minister O’Connor for his support last year. Minister O’Connor understood that access to our services sometimes means the difference between having a home or becoming homeless.  Three weeks before the state government was to withdraw all funding the the Tenants’ Union of Queensland and the 23 local/regional tenant advice services across the state, Minister O’Connor announced a rescue package.

His intervention – providing interim funding to the end of this June – allowed all 24 services to remain open and continue assisting tenants with their tenancy issues.  We have a battle to win with the state government between now and June to reinstate a tenant advice program in Queensland.  However, we are hopeful that Minister O’Connor’s intervention may be the game changer we needed.

Minister O’Connor has also been trying to embed a requirement on the states and territories to provide tenant advice services as part of a new funding agreement for homelessness services.  This is also due to be finalised by the end of June.  We will be pursuing this with the new Minister for Housing and Homelessness, Minister Mark Butler.

Thank you Minister O’Connor for your foresight, your support and good luck with your new portfolio. And welcome Minister Butler.

Is the company tenant doing a disservice to the average renting household?

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The articles linked below seem to imply that it’s easy for tenants to break leases without liability by falsely arguing the lessor is in breach of the agreement. That’s certainly not the experience of the average tenant.  If there is any truth in these claims, perhaps big companies are more able to risk paying out large sums of money in compensation if they can’t prove their case whereas the average tenant is not.

If a party to a dispute believes the claims of the other side are unfounded, the current system allows arbitration at the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) where both parties get to make their case

Renters Claim Defects Jan 31
Balance Sought in Lease Dispute Feb 4

A tenant’s tale of the landlord from hell

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Reprinted from the ABC’s the Drum Opinion, by David M Green. Read this story, along with readers’ comments, directly from the ABC website here.

Who hasn’t had to deal with a bad landlord at some point? From sparking heaters to pen-operated doors, David M Green shares his own experiences with a less-than ideal landlord.

Being a landlord is like being a parent. No qualifications are necessary. Anyone can become one, no matter what your level of complete incompetence.

And unfortunately if you’re the tenant, you’re the child in this relationship. If your landlord says you can’t dig in the backyard or hang that poster of your favourite band on the wall, those are the rules.

When we think of landlords, it conjures images of Victorian era dandy fops with stovepipe hats, grumbling about the price of coal. But the modern reality is landlords are just regular people. Regular people who own property.

What attracts someone to the wondrous world of landlordism? Continue reading →

Minister issues press release about flood affected tenancies

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The following is a press release from State Housing Minister, Tim Mander, about flood affected tenancies.  We note there is no mention of the great services provided by the Tenants’ Union of Queensland (TUQ) and the Tenant Advice and Advocacy Services.  The TUQ has an excellent fact sheet for tenants.  To see it click here.

The following press release was issued today by the Miinster’s office.

Cleaning   flood damaged rental propertiesHousing   and Public Works Minister Tim Mander has urged tenants and landlords to work   together to arrange the cleaning and repair of rental properties damaged   during this week’s floods.   

“We know that a lot of people are going to be wondering where they stand and who is  responsible for what when it comes to the clean-up process,” Mr Mander   said.   

“At times like this it’s particularly important that tenants and landlords communicate, either directly or through a property manager, about the clean-up and any repairs that are needed.”  Continue reading →

The case against the case for negative gearing

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This article is reprinted from The Brown Couch, blog site of the Tenants’ Union of New South Wales.  (Read it directly here).

Negative gearing is an issue that is rather close to our hearts. We’re not the biggest fans of this tax break for landlords, and we’ve talked about it a fair bit over the last couple of years. We understand that many landlords don’t feel the same way about it – about 1.12 million of them, in fact. Whenever the question of its efficacy gets a run in the press, we start to see many of its supporters pointing to the calamity of 1985-1987, after the Hawke government trimmed it a little.

(Bob Hawke and Paul Keating
had a bit of a go at negative gearing in 1985)
 
During that time, rents went on a bit of a rampage. It is often claimed that this is because investor sentiment was so damaged by the restrictions to negative gearing (losses could only be offset against rental income, not other income) that landlords simply started to abandon the market. In the face of serious pressure from the propertied classes, the government capitulated, and negative gearing was reinstated in full.
 
We’ve always thought that this was a bit of old hokum, and we’re not the only ones. In April 2011, while the world was gearing up for the National Tax Forum, Saul Eslake pointed out that it was extremely low vacancy rates in Sydney and Perth, and not a nationwide landlord strike, that pushed the national rental yield into the doldrums. More recently Tim Lawless, head of RP Data’s research and analytics team and friend to all Australian property speculators, has published a spiel that appears to support the idea that the great rent rise of ’85 was not the result of changes to negative gearing. Continue reading →

Victorian tenant advocates raise overcrowding concerns

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Victorian tenant advocates seek changes to the law following the sad death of three International students.  Reprinted from the Age, January 24.  Read it from the website here.

Packed share houses pose risk for international students

International students are at grave risk of house fires with overcrowding and  a lack of understanding about smoke alarms among major problems, housing groups  say.

The Tenants’ Union of Victoria and Homeless Persons’ Legal Clinic raised  their concerns in a recent submission to Coroner Peter White over the deaths of  three Indian students in a house fire in Footscray.

Sunil Patel, Jignesh Sadhu and Deepak Prajapati died after a computer monitor  short circuited in their room. Another Indian student also often slept in the  room but was not home when the house caught fire in January 2008. Continue reading →

Assistance for flooded Gold Coast and Logan area residents

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Today Minister announces more regions covered by assistance packages.

Residents affected by ex-Tropical Cyclone Oswald and associated rainfall and flooding in the Gold Coast City Council and Logan City Council areas can now access assistance from the Queensland Government to help their recovery.

Communities Minister Tracy Davis said disaster relief arrangements had now been activated in these affected areas.

“Personal Hardship Assistance Scheme (PHAS) grants are now available to support those families experiencing personal hardship, by covering the immediate, unexpected basic costs of essential items such as food, clothing and accommodation due to the extreme weather,” Ms Davis said.

“A grant of up to $180 per person, up to a maximum of $900 for a family of five or more, is available to eligible people experiencing genuine hardship.”

Essential Household Contents Grants, Structural Assistance Grants and Essential Services Safety Reconnection Scheme Grants would also be available for individuals and families affected by the flooding caused by ex-Tropical Cyclone Oswald. Continue reading →