As the impacts of COVID 19 continue to ripple through everyday life, Government relief strategies have ignored property investors who have been left to deal with the broad range of tenant issues evolving from the COVID 19 pandemic.  

And this time  in the midst of a housing affordability crises the issues at hand could be deadly.

“74 per cent of investors are mums and dads juggling their own repercussions from COVID-19 and at the same time they’re expected to absorb the full force of tenant related issues without any financial support or guidance,” said John Gilmovich, President of the POANSW.

“We’re absolutely in unchartered waters with no advice available from the government or local councils, and no financial relief in sight.”

Property investors are currently dealing with critical issues such as managing tenants diagnosed with the COVID-19 while protecting the safety of other tenants and service providers visiting impacted properties.

Property managers look after about 80 per cent of the private rental stock around Australia  and are in a state of flux grappling each day as more and more rent reduction or zero rent payable requests are flying in.  

The financial impacts are extensive.  Tenants have begun making requests for rent reductions or temporary suspension of rental payments.  

This is crossing over into existing problems with some tenants with a history of missing their rental commitments.

Not all cases are genuine.

"In most cases these are panic reactions from tenants who are neither ill from the virus nor in any financial hardship that moment but are hypothetically preparing to be" said John Gilmovich.  

“If tenants are in a family environment, that’s an urgent situation but if tenants diagnosed with the virus are in shared accommodation like a boarding house or student accommodation with shared facilities, how is the property investor expected to manage this while ensuring the other tenants are not put at risk?”

Property investors are buffeted from all sides.  They’re expected to take the economic hit as well as deal with logistical issues that have no precedent.

They want to help and support their tenants but if they’re losing their jobs as well as care for tenants who can’t pay their rent, let alone protect tenant safety then this situation will get out of hand very quickly. Some landlords are tenants themselves,have jobs or run businesses,care for their elderly and their kids,have mortgages to pay. 

The Tenant Unions, a state government funded organisation with grants received each year in the millions via rental bond interest provides advocacy services to tenants.

They have come out with a tax payer funded campaign saying "tenants should be seeking rent reductions from their landlords"  as a solution.  

Like landlords are some sort of charity or funding organisation for the needy. What the tenant unions seem to have missed is if landlords are expected to take a 50 per cent hit on rents who is paying the other 50 per cent of their bills?

"That is not a win win situation and their funding has to be revised or withdrawn as this is just wastage" said Mr Gilmovich.

"They are not stepping up to discuss the matter with those who provide the accommodation in the first place. They are biting the hands that feed them and this is going to hurt the one's they are lobbying for"   

Private landlords are willing and able to assist however financial institutions as well as State and Federal government need to take urgent measures to provide relief and guidance to all stakeholders.

Measures such as short term mortgage repayment suspensions, land tax freezes and support to cover property running costs such as utilities need to be addressed.

Other nations have already implemented this.  Why can't we? “Guidance from health authorities would also be extremely helpful" said Mr Gilmovich.

The other white elephant in the room is landlords insurance. Much confusion going on here about policy coverage for loss of rent or possible break lease scenario's playing out due to financial and or health related breaches.

So if a landlord decides to waive the rent or not issue a breach notice does that mean you are compromising a possible payout?

Most policy's state that a landlord has to follow correct procedure during a breach.

If this issue isn’t urgently addressed in a comprehensive way, property investors will be trapped between a rock and hard place,so are their property managers who cannot earn a fee for service and forced to make tough commercial decisions during a pandemic. This will have extensive long term impacts for the broader community.