Are evictions stopped in NSW? Yes. But...

Yes. But...

From today (Wednesday 15th April) the NSW Evictions Moratorium announced earlier this week is now in place.  

There is a stop on evictions (at least for 60 days), but not on all evictions and not for all people – see our explainer on the eviction moratorium here.

The NSW moratorium implements an interim 60 day stop on rent arrears evictions for renters financially impacted by COVID-19. The 60 day stop commences today. A longer term (6 month) restriction follows this. These restrictions will require landlords to engage in meaningful negotiations around rent reduction before applying for an eviction for rent arrears for impacted tenants. The Fair Trading website provides more info on the details on this. And have a read of our explainer.

There is also an extension of notice periods to 90 days for evictions on a range of other grounds for notices given after today. This includes end of fixed term 'no grounds' evictions (section 84), termination for other breaches (section 87, breaches apart from rental arrears), and for evictions for longer term tenancies (section 94). 

Residents of registrable boarding houses will also need to be given 90 days written notice before eviction.

Further protections include a ban on 'blacklisting' on tenant databases where a tenant has breached due to Covid-19 impacts, and greater advocacy support for tenants.

To better understand how the COVID-19 measures introduced today will change your rights or obligations under the agreement, including on evictions or the rent see our Renters' Guide to COVID-19. Contact your local Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service if you are worried about your rental housing and whether the new protections in place apply for you. Also check out your general rights under Tenancy info.

 For the latest info see our Renters' Guide to COVID-19.