The New South Wales Real Estate Institute (REINSW) urged government and insurance groups to provide support to homeowners in the midst of the COVID-19 epidemic.
Leanne Pilkington, President of REINSW, said that homeowners' insurance policies with default rental guarantees discouraged landlords from following government instructions to negotiate with their tenants.
"The government asked the landlords to negotiate in good faith, but insurers say they will not honor their default rent coverage in the policy if the landlord willingly accepts a rent reduction" she said.
According to Pilkington, this puts the owners in a difficult position, since if they refuse to negotiate, the tenants will take the matter to the civil and administrative court of New South Wales.
"Indeed, if the owner agrees to reduce the rent of his tenant, his owner insurer abandons them. It is clearly a dreadful requirement and contrary to the spirit of what is required throughout the community, "she said.
REINSW asks the government to order insurance companies to allow landlords who have negotiated a reasonable reduction in rent to make a claim. Another option is for the government to allow homeowners to force their insurers to resume negotiations.
"In this way, when the owner negotiates a result with his tenant, if the insurer wishes to put an end to it, the owner can give him the right to resume negotiations," said Pilkington.
In a previous report, Carolyn Parrella, Executive Director of Insurance at Terri Sheer, explained that the rent reductions are not considered defaults and do not constitute a valid trigger for a claim.
"Landlords who choose to negotiate lower rents with tenants will remain covered by their current policies until the new rent is paid," she said.
REINSW also urged the state government to release the $ 2,500 homeowner's grant, which was passed down by the New South Wales Parliament on May 16, 2020.
"Let's say the obvious here. In today's environment, providing owners with financial assistance is ultimately and directly supporting tenants," said Tim McKibbin, CEO of REINSW.
Some states, including Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia, have already implemented homeowners assistance, offering assistance of $ 2,000.
"We ask the Minister to give priority to this parliamentary directive, to give life to all the support measures and, in so doing, to remedy the plight of the residential rental market", a said McKibbin.
Main suburbs:
st kilda west
,
campsie
,
glendenning
,
Flemington
,
redcliffe
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