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The ACT will continue to safeguard tenants from eviction if they are struggling due to financial losses as a result of COVID-19.
Support measures that were instituted in the territory to protect tenants who fell behind in their rent during last year’s lockdowns will now be in effect until 13 May 2022. They were previously set to expire on 18 February.
This means that impacted tenants who were unable to pay rent during the moratorium will continue to be protected from eviction, provided they are currently paying rent as it falls due.
Anyone who is required to quarantine or self-isolate in response to a public health direction will also continue to be protected from being required to leave their rental property.
The measures make provisions for temporary rent reductions or deferrals to be negotiated between a landlord and a tenant.
And they allow for impacted households to end a fixed-term tenancy early by providing three weeks’ notice and evidence that they have been impacted by the public health emergency.
Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury said the extension acknowledged that many people are still struggling financially due to lockdowns needed to curb the spread of the pandemic.
“As we continue to face the challenges of the COVID-19 public health emergency, we must continue to support the most vulnerable in our community,” he said.
He also noted that the ACT government’s Rental Relief Fund, which provides grants of up to $1,000 to people experiencing rental stress or severe financial hardship, is also still operating.
The state reports it has so far provided over 70 grants to struggling Canberrans since launching on 26 November 2021.
