A landlord who owns seven houses alleges he got death threats after an interview on Australia’s rental issue in which he claimed his remark, “I’m not a charity,” was misconstrued.
Andrew Duggan owns seven properties in Queensland and has been flipping residences in the state for the last 25 years from his home office in Sydney. After an interview with ABC 7.30, Mr. Duggan reported receiving death threats and hateful comments, telling Daily Mail Australia that one of his replies was taken out of context.
Mr. Duggan was questioned by the ABC reporter whether he went into real estate investing to offer homes for people.
The response was, “I’m not a charity.” It is not selfless.
I began doing this so that I might be a self-funded retiree and have a little of money set away for when my children are ready to purchase their own homes.
A Reddit post based on the 7.30 report has generated over 600 comments, the vast majority of which are hostile.
One user said, “You are not operating a charity.” You are not in control of anything. You hold access to a fundamental human right hostage… Charitable giving is a public benefit. ‘Renters are not’
Mr. Duggan acknowledged that landlords are often portrayed as “evil, cinematic slum lords,” but he maintained that exorbitant interest rates, tenant restrictions, and state-based property taxes are to blame for Australia’s rental issue. Mr. Duggan said, “There is a sense that landlords are sitting on mounds of wealth and boats.”
While we do own the titles to these properties, they are heavily mortgaged.
After APRA (Australian Prudential Regulation Authority) restricted our capacity to refinance, the good days for landlords are ended – a full game changer for landlords.
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority issued a rule in 2014 aimed at reducing lenders’ exposure to interest-only and low-deposit loans.
The mandate worked as a restraint on investors and precipitated a precipitous decline in rental market supply.
According to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), “throughout-the-year investor credit growth more than halved from 10.8% in May 2015 to 4.6% in August 2016,” a development that generated a volatile investment market. Mr. Duggan said that his property portfolio began to decrease after APRA implemented the rule and his property loans got locked into a high interest rate.
Mr. Duggan said, “The market is devoid of investors.”
‘It was believed that this (APRA’s regulation) would keep housing prices low, but all it has done is produce a thin layer of investors and less rental stock.
It is bad for both tenants and landlords. If I sell it, a renter would become homeless, which is something I would never, ever do.
While attempting to absorb some of the ‘bumps’ caused by rising interest rates, the real estate advocate has upped the rent on at least one of his homes.
Mr. Duggan said, “I have some remarkable renters, some of whom I’ve kept for 15 years.”
“I do not want to tax renters, nor am I attempting to line my own pockets. I generate no weekly income from my properties.
Simultaneously, I need to meet my expenses and have a little cushion in case I need to repair a broken water heater or other property issues.
Mr. Duggan said that many landlords are seeking a quick buck, while others are only attempting to offset the costs of higher land tax and mortgage payments. On August 2, the Reserve Bank of Australia hiked the cash rate for the fourth consecutive month by a half percentage point, bringing it to a six-year high of 1.85%.
It was also the third consecutive month that the cash rate increased by 0.5%, the quickest increase in interest rates Australia has seen in over three decades.
Victoria, Tasmania, and the Australian Capital Territory prohibit landlords from evicting tenants without reason, however in Queensland ‘no-cause’ evictions are prohibited unless at the conclusion of a fixed-term rental agreement.
Attorney-General of the Australian Capital Territory Shane Rattenbury said that by prohibiting ‘no-cause’ evictions, states and territories built a more equitable rental system and addressed rising affordability and availability challenges for renters.
Rattenbury said, “The main line is that individuals deserve a place to live and should not be evicted without a valid cause.”
The ACT government has pledged to abolish no-cause evictions to help rectify the present power imbalance between landlords and tenants. Mr. Duggan noted that landlords are under pressure from inflation and must contend with legislation meant to safeguard renters.
Mr. Duggan said, “The no-cause eviction statute is problematic when you have really terrible renters.”
“I’ve had renters who walked out and left $65,000 in damages,” the author says.
The reality is that no landlord would want to evict an excellent or even average renter.
Following the publication of data by the analytics company SQM Research indicating that the national rental vacancy rate dropped to 1% in July – the second-lowest national rate in more than 17 years – this development occurs.
Sydney’s vacancy rate has decreased to a historic low of 1.5% since July of last year, while Melbourne’s vacancy rate has decreased to 1.6%.
Adelaide has the lowest vacancy rate of among major cities at 0.4%, whilst Perth, Darwin, and Hobart all stayed at 0.6%.
Meanwhile, vacancy rates in Canberra and Brisbane increased by 0.1% to 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively. Louis Christopher, managing director of SQM Research, characterized the rental market as “tight” and said that the return of international tourists may exert extra pressure on the market.
Mr. Christopher said, “The rental market is very tight.”
‘And now, with rental vacancy rates in the central business district falling to far below average, we have indications that the increase in international arrivals is beginning to exert further demand pressure on some segments of the rental market.
We will see if the increasing demand for immigration produces pressure elsewhere.
Mr. Duggan said that state governments, notably Queensland, must cease “double-dipping” with land tax and begin seeking methods for reintroducing livestock to the market.
The Queensland government has enacted an interstate land and property tax that will take effect at the end of June 2023.
Landlords’ land tax will be computed based on the overall worth of their land in Australia, both in Queensland and elsewhere.