Queensland Subordinate Legislation as Made

RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES AND ROOMING ACCOMMODATION (COVID-19 EMERGENCY RESPONSE) REGULATION 2020 - REG 6

6 When person suffers excessive hardship because of COVID-19 emergency

(1) This section applies to a person who is a tenant or a resident.

(2) For this regulation, the person suffers excessive hardship because of the COVID-19 emergency if, during the COVID-19 emergency period—

(a) any of the following circumstances apply to the person—

(i) the person, or another person under the person’s care, suffers from COVID-19;

(ii) the person is subject to a quarantine direction;

(iii) the person’s place of employment is closed, or the trade or business conducted by the person’s employer is restricted, because of a public health direction, including, for example, because a public health direction has closed a major supplier or customer of the person’s employer;

Examples—

1 The person’s place of employment is closed in compliance with a public health direction.

2 The person’s place of employment is unable to continue to operate because of a loss of trade or business resulting from a public health direction.

(iv) the person is self-isolating because the person is a vulnerable person, lives with a vulnerable person or is the primary carer for a vulnerable person;

(v) a restriction on travel, imposed under a public health direction or other law, prevents the person working or returning home;

(vi) the COVID-19 emergency prevents the person leaving or returning to Australia; and

(b) the person—

(i) suffers a loss of income of 25% or more; or

(ii) the rent payable by the person under a residential tenancy agreement or rooming accommodation agreement is 30% or more of the person’s income.

(3) However, if there is more than 1 tenant or resident under the residential tenancy agreement or rooming accommodation agreement, subsection (2) (b) is taken to provide—

(a) that there has been a 25% or more reduction in the combined total income of all of the tenants or residents; or

(b) that the rent payable under the agreement is 30% or more of the combined total income of all of the tenants or residents.