There’s nothing quite like a Labor Government to protect property holders over workers:
Just had a briefing with Qld ministers on legislation to be debated by Parliament tomorrow.
Rather than implementing a moratorium on evictions like they’re meant to, these new laws *create extra grounds* for landlords to evict a tenant during COVID-19. Thread:
— Michael Berkman (@mcberkman) April 21, 2020
The Qld Government is proposing that the ban on evictions should ONLY apply to tenants who can prove they’re affected by COVID-19. Anyone else can be kicked out.
Aren’t we trying to keep everyone inside? How does this help us keep the whole community safe?
— Michael Berkman (@mcberkman) April 21, 2020
Even if you’re eligible under these laws and the eviction ban applies to you, you can still be kicked out for a bunch of reasons. Like keeping a pet. (Yes, seriously).
— Michael Berkman (@mcberkman) April 21, 2020
Here’s the kicker. The laws add a NEW GROUND for eviction if the landlord wants to sell the property with vacant possession. Right now they can’t do that on a fixed term lease.
I cannot understand how they’re justifying creating a new way to kick tenants out during a pandemic.
— Michael Berkman (@mcberkman) April 21, 2020
I would have thought landlords would be desperate to hold onto tenants.
More of this then, at the ABC:
Hannah* was working a 10-hour shift at a Queensland hospital when her phone buzzed.
“Hi Hannah. This is a sore subject but due to isolation and this virus I want to have a talk to you all ASAP. Just so you know it’s about isolating the house,” the text message from her landlord read.
Hannah, a doctor specialising in anaesthesiology, had been sharing a house with three other young women — one of whom was the landlord’s daughter.
“I had a bit of a bad feeling about [the message]. I was at work, so I just tried to push it out of my mind so I could concentrate on what I needed to do,” she said.
Upon finishing her shift at the hospital near Brisbane, she called her landlord.
“He essentially said I could either stop working or I had to move out as soon as possible,” she said.
“He felt that I was at high risk of being exposed and thus bringing COVID-19 back to the house, I suppose.”
Labor is lost.
