Tenants living in Australia’s Top End say the Northern Territory government has been too slow to act on proposed measures to protect renters hit financially by the coronavirus pandemic.
As the economic impact of COVID-19 deepens, renters, who make up a third of Australian households, are finding it tougher to keep up payments.
"Even at that point that would have been a massive stretch and we were going to be digging into our savings and that was rejected.The 21-year-old said while the household was not officially evicted, she felt"forced out" of the property she'd called home for the last six months.Just days after moving in, Ms Smith said her new home was broken into.
"Six months was what they talked about in national cabinet which most jurisdictions have gone for, but here in the territory we've gone for 120 days," she said. Sean Slattery collects coral for fish tanks and sends them by freight across Australia, but with planes grounded as a result of coronavirus, his work has come to a halt.
"We understand that landlords are experiencing difficulties at this time. COVID-19 does not discriminate, it means landlords and tenants are having trouble paying their rent or mortgage," she told SBS News.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
'Quite a number of angry phone calls': Thousands sign NT landlords' petition against renters' rights to petsProperty owners are calling for pet-friendly tenancy laws to be scrapped before they are even enacted in the Northern Territory.
Read more »
immunity 'not guaranteed' after catching COVID 19In a big development, British scientists will begin human trials of a coronavirus vaccine this week. sophie_walsh9 9News More here:
Read more »
'I need time to heal': Chinese-Australians speak out after racist vandal attackA Chinese-Australian family whose home was targeted in a coronavirus-related act of vandalism receives an outpouring of support from neighbours, celebrities and fellow Australians online.
Read more »
Think your employer is ripping you off over a JobKeeper claim? Here's what you can doThe Federal Government's $130 billion JobKeeper scheme has been designed to support those impacted by the coronavirus, but employment law experts say employees are already being exploited.
Read more »
'Quite a number of angry phone calls': Thousands sign NT landlords' petition against renters' rights to petsProperty owners are calling for pet-friendly tenancy laws to be scrapped before they are even enacted in the Northern Territory.
Read more »
How heartwarming is thisTom Hanks has sent a heartfelt letter and a Corona brand typewriter to an Australian boy who wrote to him about being bullied over his name, Corona.
Read more »