The Victorian Government announced today their Rent Relief package.
Premier Daniel Andrews announced on a six-month ban on evictions and rent increases for both commercial and residential tenants, as well as tax relief for landlords.
These measure will take effect from the 29th of March and be in place for 6 months.
To encourage landlords to negotiate with their tenants, the Government will provide $420 million in land tax relief. If a landlord provides tenants impacted by coronavirus with rent relief, they will be eligible for a 25 per cent discount on their land tax, while any remaining land tax can be deferred until March 2021.
The Government will also create an $80 million rental assistance fund for renters facing hardship due of coronavirus. To be eligible, renters will need to have registered their revised agreement with Consumer Affairs Victoria or gone through mediation, have less than $5,000 in savings and still be paying at least 30 per cent of their income in rent.
The laws are expected to be passed through Parliament shortly.
At Domain & Co we have a strong system in place for Hardship applications which is being headed up by one of our Directors.