An average of one Wyndham family a day is being issued with a warrant for eviction from a rental property as low-income earners struggle with the cost of living in an outer suburb.
Figures from the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal reveal that in the 2013-14 financial year, 361 “warrants for possession” were issued for rental properties in Wyndham. Tarneit had the highest number of warrants, with 96 granted by the tribunal.
Wyndham tops the Victorian warrant figures, with Brimbank the next-highest with 338.
The warrants allow landlords to evict tenants, but not all warrants result in evictions.
Wyndham Legal Service manager Denis Nelthorpe said Wyndham had one of the highest warrant of possession rates in the state.
He said people moved into the area because it was regarded as having cheap rents, but many families found that the cost-of-living in Wyndham was unaffordable, with bills for cars, petrol and CityLink adding up.
Mr Nelthorpe said single mothers on Newstart payments were most likely to receive possession warrants because they didn’t receive enough money from Centrelink to afford private rentals.
The service runs a tenancy clinic that supports people who have been issued with notices to vacate their rental properties.
Mr Nelthorpe said a small number of tenants actually appeared at VCAT to prevent a warrant being issued, adding that many were too scared to complain about the notices because they didn’t have enough money to pay their rent or they thought the tribunal would rule against them.
He is calling on the state and federal governments to do more to prevent people being issued with warrants of possession.
“This is impacting on families. Schools tell us that parents are turning up and saying that they need to take their children out of school,” Mr Nelthorpe said.
