Housing relief packages for flood victims ‘will be announced soon’, says NSW government agency

Housing relief packages for flood victims ‘will be announced soon’, says NSW government agency

By SEJA AL ZAIDI

A NSW government executive agency focused on disaster management and recovery has said that flood relief packages addressing accommodation support, among other aid programs, is “currently being developed and will be announced soon”, as a push came from the NSW Greens this week to provide rental relief for impacted people across the state.

Flooding in the last week has ravaged northern NSW and parts of Sydney, rendering thousands of homes destroyed, and countless families bedless.

Resilience NSW, the state agency in the Department of Premier and Cabinet focused on dealing with disasters, have said that more relief packages for people impacted by the floods are on the way, and that some of this support will include a “broad range” of new measures targeted at accommodation. 

Flooding has also impacted Sydney’s inner city and inner west, leaving the community to grapple with extraordinary events, including hazardous surf conditions, substantial flooding in Marrickville and debris floating across residential streets. 

“Marrickville Golf Course has turned into a series of lakes and smells like a sewer – I’ve seen houses with sandbags out the front and roads closed off,” Justine Langford, an Inner West councillor in the Marrickville-Midjuburi ward, said. 

The Greens, led by State Members for Newtown Jenny Leong and Member for Ballina Tamara Smith, have called on the NSW government to urgently provide financial support for renters that have been impacted by the floods.

Ms Leong has launched a petition to ensure that the government will “limit the ability of landlords to profiteer from this catastrophic situation”. 

“It’s hard enough losing everything and having nowhere to call home, but then having to deal with your landlord, negotiate a rent waiver and cope with the stress of all of this –  is just not fair and that’s why we are calling on the NSW government to step in and immediately waive all rents on uninhabitable properties,” Ms Leong said. 

Properties across the inner city and inner west have been damaged by floodwaters, leaving renters to “scramble to find somewhere to live” while renters are “dealing with their landlords, negotiating rent waivers and even facing eviction or rent hikes once the clean up is complete”.

“A friend has had his ceiling fall in due to a leak in his roof,” Cr Langford said. 

Urgent action 

Leong sent a letter to the NSW Premier, Deputy Premier and Minister for Fair Trading on Wednesday, outlining a series of actions that she urges the government to take immediately. 

The recommendations include halting evictions for 12 months, automatic rent waivers on uninhabitable homes, bond vouchers for all impacted renters, no rent increases for 12 months, and an increase in resources for tenancy advice, advocacy and tribunal. 

Ms Leong said in the letter that she is “keen to discuss options with the appropriate person in your government as soon as possible”. 

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