{"id":6049,"date":"2020-04-16T03:39:55","date_gmt":"2020-04-16T03:39:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=6049"},"modified":"2020-04-16T03:39:55","modified_gmt":"2020-04-16T03:39:55","slug":"housing-needs-a-national-response-with-more-protection-for-tenants-greens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2020\/04\/16\/housing-needs-a-national-response-with-more-protection-for-tenants-greens\/","title":{"rendered":"Housing Needs A National Response With More Protection For Tenants: Greens"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australian Greens Housing spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi and Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt MP have said that the federal government must step up and develop a national housing policy that addresses big gaps left by the states.
\nHousing packages announced by state governments in recent days have largely left vulnerable renters in the lurch and failed to address the power imbalance between landlords and tenants.
\nSenator Mehreen Faruqi said:<\/strong>
\n\u201cWe have seen some positive steps from the states, such as moratoriums on evictions and funding for tenant advocacy services, but it\u2019s not good enough to leave renters at the mercy of landlords.
\n\u201cMeasures across the board are still skewed towards landlords and leave renters behind. Leaving negotiation up to individual landlords and their tenants makes the most vulnerable tenants open to exploitation at a time when they need security and certainty.
\n\u201cThis power imbalance between landlords and tenants will further entrench inequality post-pandemic. This is the time to ensure a better deal for renters and the dignity of a secure home for everyone.
\n\u201cRenters need confidence that if they ask for a rent-free period or for rent reductions now, they won’t be faced with rental hikes or a big debt to pay later when the pandemic is over. We need a nationwide rent freeze so no one is left behind now or later.
\n\u201cThe federal government has really failed here. They must immediately step up. We need an increase and expansion of Commonwealth Rent Assistance payments. The government needs to bring big banks to the table, and direct them to provide mortgage relief, with no interest accrual, a ban on foreclosures and a freeze on owners\u2019 credit ratings,\u201d she said.
\nAdam Bandt MP said:<\/strong>
\n\u201cNo one should be forced onto the streets during a pandemic. These approaches by the states are a good step towards keeping a roof over everyone\u2019s heads through this crisis, but they need to go further.
\n\u201cEven when faced with the prospect of thousands of renters being unable to pay their rent, state and territory governments have heavily weighted their response in favour of landlords.
\n\u201cAs it stands, renters face being saddled with thousands of dollars of debt.
\n\u201cTelling renters to \u2018work it out\u2019 with their landlords doesn\u2019t mean much when landlords hold all the cards.
\n\u201cWhile some landlords are wondering whether their investment properties will turn a profit this year, renters are wondering whether they\u2019ll be able to eat this week. It shouldn\u2019t be difficult for governments to figure out who needs the most help.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Australian Greens Housing spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi and Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt MP have said that the federal government must step up and develop a national housing policy that addresses big gaps left by the states. Housing packages announced by state governments in recent days have largely left vulnerable renters in the … Continue reading “Housing Needs A National Response With More Protection For Tenants: Greens”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6049\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}