SUNRAYSIA renters are feeling the pinch as jobs continue to disappear.
Real estate agencies are being inundated with daily calls from tenants fearful they will not be able to pay rent after losing their job.
Burns & Co property manager Casey Kiel said the situation was “scary” and it was not just tenants they were hearing from, but landlords who relied on rental income to pay their mortgage.
Ms Kiel said at first it was mainly hospitality workers calling but as the effects of COVID-19 started impacting more businesses, more distressed tenants called.
“Now it’s filtering through every day,” she said.
“It’s really sad to hear it all.”
Ms Kiel said they were hoping to find out more about the renting situation when the National Cabinet meets on Friday.
“Best-case scenario I would love it if they froze everyone’s rent and mortgages,” she said.
“We need clear guidelines either way.”
Ms Kiel said in the meantime tenants were expected to pay rent.
First National Real Estate Collie & Tierney director Ben Ridley said what they did not want to see was tenants not paying rent and then landlords not being able to pay their mortgage.
“The government has got to look at all options but they’ve got to make it fair,” he said.
Mr Ridley said the banks would play a big part and so far they had responded positively to help ease mortgage repayments.
“We certainly do have to give (banks) credit for how they’re handling the situation in most cases,” he said.
Meanwhile, Tenants Victoria has spoken to the Victorian Government regarding the situation.
Tenants Victoria said on its website the National Cabinet meeting on Friday was likely to consider whether evictions could proceed to the short term, and if so for what reasons.
Ms Kiel said it would be better if rent and mortgages were waved for the next few months so people could continue to self isolate without fear of becoming homeless.
Changes in real estate industry
NEW government restrictions on the real estate industry has the Sunraysia market changing all of its protocols.
The Federal Government announced on Tuesday night that real estate auctions and open home inspections would no longer go ahead due to the risk of COVID-19.
Collie & Tierney, however, had made some major changes to its processes as of Monday.
“I know they were mentioned on Tuesday night but we had already changed to private inspections for both rental and sales,” commercial director Joe Fleri said.
“What we will do is take all of the enquiries and then stage private inspections with a small group.
“It is more time intensive for us but we have to be safe for not only our staff but our clients.
“We understand we still have clients that still rely on that income.”
The administration office closed to the public on Monday, and the company has advised staff to work from home where possible.
Mr Fleri said the business was open for business, but would be taking every precaution necessary to remain safe.
“We are still trading and we are still having some really good success,” he said.
“At the end of the day we just want everybody to be safe.
“Our main thing is safety first but we recognise that a lot of people are relying on us to do what we do and we are doing everything possible to cover all of our bases.”
